The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) announced on Monday that it was kicking off new campaign ads to re-elect President Donald Trump by hammering Democrats for “turning their backs on” and “threatening” Israel.
“The RJC, which is backed by billionaire GOP donor Sheldon Adelson, has spent millions over the past two presidential elections, leading the Republican Party’s outreach to Jewish voters,” Axios reported. “In April, the RJC board authorized its largest ever campaign budget: $10 million.”
“The ad, called “Shanda” (Yiddish for shame or a shameful act), will be targeted to Jewish voters,” RJC said in a statement. “The RJC is putting $50,000 behind the ad on Facebook, YouTube and other media.”
“Leading Democrats have completely turned their back on Israel,” the ad begins.
“Democratic leaders cozy up to fringe groups that attack Israel,” the ad states while showing Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
“Front-running Democrats are campaigning on cutting critical aid to the world’s only Jewish state,” the ad continued. “The radical left has taken over the Democratic Party and now they’re moving to undo decades of bipartisan support for America’s crucial ally.”
“Just how low can they go?” the ad concluded. “It’s sad what’s happening to the Democratic Party. It’s shameful.”
WATCH:
This morning we launched our first ad of the 2020 campaign cycle. The ad, called “Shanda,” criticizes leading Democrats for turning their backs on Israel and threatening to cut US aid to our closest ally.
See more >>> https://t.co/x1uNDX86g6 pic.twitter.com/GkyX0Wy2EK— RJC (@RJC) November 4, 2019
In a statement, RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said:
In 2016 and 2018, the RJC’s digital and television ads moved the needle in crucial races in states like Pennsylvania and Florida. This ad is the first salvo in our multi-million-dollar effort to help President Trump and Republicans running for Congress in 2020.
The radical Left has taken the reins of the Democratic Party, and their policy proposals will devastate our national security, our alliance with Israel, our economy, and our health care system. We’re fighting for Republican candidates because Jewish Americans – our families, our businesses, our elderly, our children – will bear the impact of the policies that far-left Democrats are pushing if they succeed in these elections.
This isn’t our parents’ Democratic Party anymore. What’s happening to the Democratic Party is a disgrace, a shanda, and a potential disaster for our community. We want American Jewish voters to understand what’s at stake in November 2020. Look for much more from the RJC in the months ahead.
Axios noted that the “RJC is initially committing only a small amount — $50,000 — to this first digital ad buy” and that the group’s 2020 goal is to “identify every Jewish voter in the battleground states, contact them and then turn out as many as possible to vote for President Trump and Republicans.”
“The RJC is currently hiring its battleground state field staff and plans a launch event in Florida later this month,” Axios added.
Many experts believe that Trump is among the most pro-Israel presidents in U.S. history.
Political analyst Bill Schneider told The Hill, “He has probably been the most pro-Israel president since Israel began since Harry Truman recognized Israel.”
“He is in line with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s policies on Israel,” Schneider said. “The problem is the Israel issue has become more of a partisan division in the United States. Israel is still admired and liked by most Americans, but it is the source of a partisan division that didn’t exist so much in the past.”