CALL TO ACTION: Urge your senators to reject Friedman as U.S. Ambassador to the State of Israel

TAKE ACTION: Call your senators and urge them to reject Friedman. Call (202) 224-3121 to be connected directly to your sentator's office.

YOU CAN USE THE FOLLOWING SCRIPT AS A GUIDE FOR YOUR CALL:"I am calling to urge you as a member of the U.S. Senate to stand against the appointment of David Friedman as U.S. Ambassador to the State of Israel.He represents the most extreme factions within Israel and their supporters in the U.S., rather than the wide spectrum of views on Israeli politics. Furthermore, his appointment would be to the detriment of a two state solution.We need an ambassador to Israel who will prioritize a two-state solution and re-invigorate the peace process, not one who will further impede it through support for the expansion of settlements and outposts beyond the Green Line. As a supporter of a two-state negotiated solution, I am calling to say that David Friedman will not further the peace process -- and I urge you to reject his appointment."

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JLC Opposes the Nomination of David M. Friedman to be the U.S. Ambassador to the State of Israel

The Jewish Labor Committee opposes the nomination of David M. Friedman to be the United States Ambassador to the State of Israel, proposed by President Trump. His many statements and actions over the years make it clear that he will not help, but rather impede, any meaningful progress towards a fair and just negotiated resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.Mr. Friedman has no experience in foreign policy or in diplomacy, and he doesn't even seem to believe in diplomacy. He is an active supporter of the West Bank settlement movement and has stated in very clear terms that he does not believe in a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian people. The Jewish Daily Forward has reported that he is president of American Friends of Beit El Institutions, which raises over $1 million in tax-deductible donations each year from supporters of the settlement movement in the U.S. for institutions in and associated with Beit El, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, one of the oldest West Bank settlements.Last fall, we learned that he described the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as "morons," as reported in The Forward, "for raising questions about a pre-election ad in which Trump spoke about secretive international banking conspiracies while featuring images of Jews that Trump associated with his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. He has slandered the liberal J Street and its supporters, and other groups that believe in a two-state solution and even went so far as to condemn them as "worse than kapos" (Jews who were forced to collaborate with the Nazis in concentration camps.)These positions are a departure for U.S. ambassadors to Israel, who have represented the U.S. policy in favor of a two-state solution and who have traditionally been open to meeting with a wide spectrum of the American Jewish community. Indeed, five former U.S. ambassadors to Israel - Thomas Pickering, William Harrop, Edward Walker, Daniel Kurtzer and James Cunningham - have stated that Mr. Friedman is unqualified for the position. 

Jewish Labor Committee Opposes Israel’s Settlement Expansion, Calls on Government, NGOs, to halt Expansion of Current and Establishment of New Settlements

 January 31, 2017: New York, NY

The Jewish Labor Committee opposes the expansion of Jewish settlements within the West Bank and East Jerusalem, particularly the most recently-announced Israeli Government's authorization of the construction of 2,500 new housing units in West Bank settlement.  We also oppose the so-called settlements bill, now under consideration in the Knesset, which would retroactively legalize close to 4,000 settler homes that are on private Palestinian property in Area C of the West Bank.

The entire enterprise of enlarging existing and creating new settlements beyond the borders of the State of Israel is unwise, and harmful to the best interests of Israel and its Palestinian neighbors. Such actions make a peacefully negotiated end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict harder to achieve. It is with alarm that we note that it is increasingly clear that elements within and outside Prime Minister Netanyahu's governing coalition, including the Prime Minister himself, are emboldened by the emerging shape and policies of President Trump's new administration to expand Israel's presence and assert its dominance in these areas.

We call on the Government of the State of Israel to halt the expansion of current settlements beyond the Green Line, and the establishment of new settlements there, and ask non-governmental agencies, from the Settlement Division of the World Zionist Organization to the Jewish National Fund / Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael to end their cooperation with the government's settlement activity.

President Trump has indicated his openness to expanding Israeli settlements by naming David M. Friedman as United States ambassador to the State of Israel and in suggesting that the U.S. should move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Mr. Friedman has headed an American fundraising organization for a West Bank settlement and communicated his hostility to even the idea of a negotiated two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Two announcements have been made in the past several days for the building of over 3,000 new housing units for Israelis in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Although 2,500 are being planned for what Israel regards as "settlement blocs," land contiguous with Israel's pre-1967 border that most Israelis expect to annex even if a peace agreement is reached with the Palestinians, there is no agreement with the Palestinian Authority defining those blocs, and none that currently permits Israel to build there.

Particularly contentious are the 900 units slated for the Ariel bloc, the narrow sliver of land outside of the State of Israel leading to and including the settlement town of Ariel, which has a population of 20,000 Israelis. Most Israelis expect Ariel to eventually be incorporated into Israel, while Palestinians view its location as especially problematic, because it projects deep into Palestinian-populated territory, virtually cutting the West Bank into two non-contiguous segments.

The Jewish Labor Committee reiterates its strong belief that only a freely negotiated two-state solution between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority can guarantee Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic, and secure country. While we understand that there will probably need to be mutually-agreed-upon exchanges of territory agreed upon by the two parties in a final peace accord, Israel's unilaterally creating new facts on the ground is making negotiating a two-state peace all the more difficult.

The Jewish Labor Committee expresses its solidarity with Israel's peace camp, and its efforts to bring that country's elected leadership to meaningful negotiations with the Palestinians, and salutes the majority of Israel's population that continues to aspire to a peaceful two-state solution to its conflict with the Palestinian people.

Jewish Labor Committee Opposes President Trump's Executive Order on Refugees

January 27th, 2017: New York, NY

 The Jewish Labor Committee is dismayed at President Trump’s executive order to “block the entry of refugees from war-torn Syria and suspend the entry of any immigrants from Muslim-majority Middle Eastern and African countries Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen while permanent rules are studied,” as reported recently by Reuters. These actions run counter to the best traditions of the United States, and counter to the pressing needs of not only American society but refugees seeking shelter from violence and oppression in other lands.It is unacceptable that President Trump will bar people fleeing war and persecution While the proposal says it is aimed at refugees from certain countries where there is terrorism, it is likely to be interpreted as against Muslims. As Jews, we have been victims of religious and ethnic discrimination, and understand that these need to be combated, especially when they become government policy. These refugees need a sanctuary -- as we once needed a sanctuary -- and the United States cannot close the door on these victims of religious and ethnic violence and hatred.The vast majority of today’s refugees are people in desperate need. Today, all refugees who are trying to get to the United States are screened very thoroughly by the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies before being allowed entry to the United States.President Trump’s proposed actions, combined with proposals to build a wall and seal off the U.S. border with Mexico, will likely have no impact on national security – and may serve to weaken our economy and society.We understand that any government has a right – and duty – to rationally regulate trade, and our borders. But putting out a Not Welcome sign to Latin America and Muslim countries will not improve the lives of workers in the United States, and certainly not improve the lives of workers in other lands.We call on our unions, as well as ethnic, religious and other community organizations, to make every effort to counter the proposals regarding refugees of the Trump Administration. We will, and call on others to, make our voices heard through every means appropriate to today’s difficult political climate.At the same time, we call on our members and the larger community to support the refugee aid groups which are both in the frontline of assisting current refugees and their families, and working to stop the proposed refugee policies of our Government, and strengthen the United States as a country of refuge and sanctuary.

JLC Statement on Nomination of Puzder for Secretary of Labor

Jewish Labor Committee Opposes the Nomination of CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder to be the United States Secretary of Labor

December 22, 2016 New York, NY

The Jewish Labor Committee opposes the nomination of CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder to be the United States Secretary of Labor, as proposed by President-elect Donald Trump. It is unprecedented to appoint a corporate chief executive officer to this position, especially one who in his public statements, in the sexist advertising promoted by his company, and in his numerous writings has made clear he opposes most of the laws he will be sworn to enforce. A man who makes $17,912 in a day and who argues against a raise for minimum wage workers is not an acceptable Secretary of Labor.

Mr. Puzder has been CEO of a company which has been cited repeatedly for violations of our nation's employment and safety laws. That alone should automatically disqualify him from becoming Secretary of Labor. When the Department of Labor conducted investigations of the 20 largest fast food brands, more than half of the CKE-affiliated restaurants investigated were found to have at least one wage and hours violation. The company admits in filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it faces multiple class action lawsuits over violations of wage and hour laws. Since Mr. Puzder took over as CKE CEO in 2000, the company has been cited 98 times for safety violations, including 36 classified as "serious", meaning risking death or grave physical harm to employees. Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, has argued that it is "hard to think of anyone less suited for the job" and we agree that a CEO whose company has such a record of rampant violations of the law is not a credible enforcer of labor and employment laws against other employers.

On policy, Mr. Puzder has been an outspoken opponent of government taking action to help raise wages of low-income workers, including opposing expanding coverage of overtime rules and raising the minimum wage. We are deeply concerned that Mr. Puzder has publicly promoted predictions of job loss in cities and states that have raised the minimum wage, but seems to refuse to adjust his views now that those predictions of job loss have proven false in cities and states with higher minimum wages such as New York and California. There is no place for such a rigid anti-worker ideologue in the position of Secretary of Labor.

We ask the United States Senate to reject this nomination when it is asked to deliberate on it early in 2017.

JLC Statement on Friedman Appointment for Ambassador to the State of Israel

Jewish Labor Committee Opposes the Nomination of David M. Friedman to be the United States Ambassador to the State of Israel

December 21, 2016, New York, NY

The Jewish Labor Committee opposes the nomination of David M. Friedman to be the United States Ambassador to the State of Israel, as proposed by President-elect Donald Trump.  His many statements and actions over the years make it clear that he will not help, but rather impede, any meaningful progress towards a fair and just negotiated resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The Jewish Labor Committee opposes Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, whether the establishment of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements. We support the consensus desire of most Israelis and Palestinians (long confirmed by polling data) for a reasonably negotiated, fair and secure two-state solution for Israel and its Palestinian neighbors. It is essential that any U.S.ambassador to Israel be supportive of a two-state solution.

The nomination of David M. Friedman, President-elect Donald Trump's bankruptcy attorney, to the sensitive post of United States Ambassador to the State of Israel is a serious mistake for several reasons.  First and foremost, because Friedman is an active supporter of the West Bank settlement movement and has stated in very clear terms that he does not believe in a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian people, we believe he is not an appropriate nominee for this crucial post.

Mr. Friedman has no experience in foreign policy or in diplomacy, and he doesn't even seem to believe in diplomacy.  This is best exemplified by his condemnation of the liberal pro-Israel organization J Street as "worse than Kapos" (Jews who were forced to collaborate with the Nazis in concentration camps) within the context of his refusal in advance to meet with J Street or other groups that believe in a two-state solution.  This alone is a departure for American ambassadors to Israel, who traditionally are open to meeting with a wide spectrum of the American Jewish community.

We are deeply concerned that the incoming U.S. Administration apparently wants to go on record as endorsing the views of a supporter of the settlement enterprise who opposes a two-state solution This will communicate to Israel, the Palestinians, the Arab world and the entire international community that the US is no longer interested in using its good offices to promote a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And we cannot see how the status quo will move forward without at least the supportive involvement of the United States.

Friedman's attitudes and positions are contrary to what have been the bi-partisan policies of the United States for decades. Rejecting a two-state solution would doom Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state.

If the incoming United States Senate effectively repudiates a peaceful two-state solution by confirming Mr. Friedman's unwise appointment, this would dangerously and unnecessarily inflame extremist passions against both the United States and Israel.  We would not want to see the incoming administration get off to such a bad start, in one fell swoop endangering our national security and that of the State of Israel, and undermining efforts toward Mideast stability.

For all of these reasons, we oppose the nomination of David M. Friedman to be the United States Ambassador to the State of Israel, and ask the United States Senate to reject this nomination when it is asked to deliberate on it early in 2017.

Open Letter to President-elect Donald Trump from Jewish American Organizations

On November 18, 2016, the Jewish Labor Committee joined with other American Jewish organizations in sending the following joint letter to President-elect Donald Trump:

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Dear President-elect Trump,

We write on behalf of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Jewish Americans deeply committed to the values that underpin our people's faith, our country's democracy and our relationship with the people and state of Israel. We wish to raise several serious concerns based on issues and events from the recent campaign.

For centuries, Jews have lived as minorities in the lands of other people. As Americans, we recognize how blessed we are to live in a land that respects religious liberty and works to guarantee freedom and opportunity for all. As Jews, we have been proud to help lead our nation's steady march to fulfill its founding promise that all people are created equal-a promise that echoes the biblical assertion that all human beings are equal creations in the divine image. We have played, and continue to play, a vital role in the process of perfecting our still-imperfect laws that guarantee life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all.

Based on our community's experience, we begin by strongly condemning the many instances of anti-Semitism - both subtle and overt - that appeared around your Presidential campaign. We have been deeply concerned by words and actions during the campaign that attacked and offended Americans on the basis of their gender, race, religion, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation. Expressions of xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, misogyny and other forms of prejudice, in and around your campaign, threatened to undermine our nation's core values and to erode our people's shared sense of what it means to be an American.

As President, we expect that you will make it absolutely clear that you emphatically reject anti-Semitism in all forms, and that you are committed to ensuring the religious freedom that is at the heart of America's identity. Further, we call on you to forcefully and consistently reiterate our nation's commitment to respect the rights of all citizens and to fight discrimination in all of its ugly and un-American forms. All American citizens have the right to expect no less from our nation's highest elected leader.

Like you, American Jews are the descendants of immigrants. We believe that immigration and successful integration of newcomers into the fabric of American society has been key to our country's strength and prosperity. Because many of our families arrived in this country as refugees fleeing persecution-and because so many died when the borders closed, we are committed to defending our country's identity as a land of refuge.

As such, we will not support efforts to limit or foreclose access to this great country on the basis of a person's religious faith or country of origin. We also oppose efforts to punish those who have made and continue to make great contributions to our society, but who are here without the required documentation, often because of the near impossibility of securing a legal visa.

Finally, as Jewish Americans, we are committed to our country maintaining a strong relationship with the State of Israel - one that must be grounded in our shared values and shared interests. We, and an overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans, support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an active role for the United States in achieving this vision. We expect the State of Israel to embody democratic principles, as enshrined by its Declaration of Independence and an active role for the United States in efforts to defend those principles.

We cannot support an abandonment of America's fundamental policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - which have been recognized as vital to American national interest and supported by Presidents of both parties for 50 years. We therefore have been alarmed by changes in the Republican Platform, as well as statements by your key advisors on Israel, which eliminate the goals of the two-state solution and creation of a Palestinian state living at peace with Israel.

As you prepare to take office, we call on you to commit to be a President for all Americans - including those who did not support you.

We call on you to be a President who protects all Americans, including and especially those in more vulnerable communities who, based on the tenor of the campaign we've just experienced and the upsurge in hate crimes, are increasingly afraid for themselves, their families and their children.

We call on you to protect the great traditions of our country that have been a beacon to "the huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

And we call on you to staff your administration with individuals who exhibit excellence and empathy, and a commitment to protecting the security, honor and dignity of all American regardless of religion, race, gender, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation. Your recent decision to appoint Stephen Bannon to the post of Senior Counselor and Strategist in the White House runs counter to these principles and should be rescinded for the sake of the American people and the honor of the government of the United States.

As you begin your term we are certain that you will find willing partners in the Jewish community to join with your administration if it follows a path that upholds and defends the principles of fairness, justice and freedom on which this country was built.

But, we will not stand idly by if you choose to take actions that violate human rights, or that reverse the progress we have made at home and abroad. You will find us as powerful opponents of any effort to undermine these gains.

With hope for cooperative activity to promote peace, justice, equality, we are sincerely,

AmeinuGideon Aronoff, CEO

Americans for Peace NowDebra DeLee, President

J StreetJeremy Ben-Ami, President

Jewish Labor CommitteeStuart Appelbaum, President

Hashomer HatzairAlexis Karpf, National Director

Habonim Dror North AmericaYasaf Warshai, National Director

National Council of Jewish WomenNancy K. Kaufman, CEO

New Israel FundDaniel Sokatch, CEO

Partners for Progressive IsraelMay Flam, Director of Operations & Development

The Workmen's CircleAnn Toback, Executive Director

T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human RightsRabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director

Uri L'Tzedek: The Orthodox Social Justice MovementRabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President

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