The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), also known as "Jewish Dems", is an organization that defines itself as "the voice for Jewish Democrats and socially progressive, pro-Israel, and Jewish values". It was announced in August 2017, and officially launched in November 2017. JDCA was incorporated in Washington, D.C., in June 2017. JDCA has 15 chapters across the United States.
Purpose
The organization's official mission is to serve as the voice for Jewish Democrats. According to its website, it "promotes like-minded candidates and elected officials and embraces a platform that is grounded in fairness, integrity, the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, and a strong U.S.–Israel relationship, energizes the Jewish electorate to engage in the electoral and legislative processes, and maintains a commitment to positive change through information sharing, issue advocacy, rapid response, and research, messaging, briefings, and other activities to increase Jewish community engagement in policy and support elected-officials and candidates who share our values". JDCA says that it "serves as the voice for Jewish Democrats and the socially liberal, pro-Israel values that Jewish voters hold dear, the leading voice for Jewish Democrats and socially progressive, pro-Israel and Jewish values". The organization's platform lists policies on numerous topics; among them are education, health care, paid family leave, taxes, climate change, Israel, Iran, fighting anti-Semitism, Holocaust education, immigration, criminal justice reform, racial justice, and reproductive rights.
Background
The JDCA is the unofficial successor to the National Jewish Democratic Council, but the organizations are not affiliated.
JDCA was announced in August 2017, in response to President Donald Trump's failure to condemn white nationalist and neo-Nazi demonstrators for violence which took place during the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it was formally launched in November 2017. Halie Soifer, JDCA's first executive director, explained the catalyst for JDCA's formation, stating that "at that moment, it was very clear, unlike even past Republican administrations, this administration had no qualms about affiliating itself and even sympathizing with anti-Semites". Ron Klein, chair of JDCA, has written that American Jews can not afford to be "complacent" in the wake of Donald Trump's election, and must be "on the front-lines of fighting for justice and equality". In his fund-raising appeal for the JDCA, he wrote that "President Trump must be held accountable".
In its launch statement, JDCA said that it would "actively promote to Democratic officeholders and candidates national and local legislative policies consistent with the Jewish community's values, as well as a strong US-Israel relationship".
The organization's inaugural press release said that Trump's rhetoric and tolerance of neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and racists will "empower and embolden" such groups. It criticized the "deafening silence" from some members of Congress and Trump's cabinet and accused those who refuse to speak out of abdicating "their constitutional and moral obligation to our country and its citizens".
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a statement saying he looks forward to working with the JDCA on "issues that are important to all Americans, including maintaining the strong U.S.-Israel relationship, curtailing Iran's malign activities, and combating anti-Semitism".
Organization
The JDCA is chaired by former Florida congressman Ron Klein. In June 2018, JDCA announced that it had hired its first executive director, Halie Soifer, a former national security advisor for U.S. Senator Kamala Harris and senior policy advisor in the Obama administration. In 2020, Halie Soifer was promoted to CEO.
As of July 2021, the Executive Committee of JDCA's board included Ron Klein, Barbara Goldberg Goldman, Beth Kieffer Leonard, Diane (Dede) Feinberg, Ada Horwich, Israel "Izzy" Klein, Marcia Riklis, Michael Rosenzweig, and Susie Stern.
Several of the board members were also involved with the National Jewish Democratic Council and "Jews for Progress".
Launch event
JDCA's launch event was attended by many high-profile members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, Ben Cardin, Tim Kaine, Chris Murphy, Sherrod Brown, Steny Hoyer, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Over 20 elected Democratic leaders spoke at the event, drawing 250 people. Senator Cardin (D-Md.), who is a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, stated the Democratic Party's objection to imposing "religious tests for who can come to America" but did not explicitly mention Trump's travel ban.