EBulletin for July 29, 2022
Special Statement on Jew-Hatred By An Associate of Gubernatorial Candidate — Plus, Our Newsletter
Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel,
We hope that our newsletter this week finds you and your loved ones well. For those who are not feeling well, we wish for you or them a complete and speedy recovery.
The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Zionist Organization of America takes Jew-hatred and the incitement of Jew-hatred seriously. No matter who or what the source of the Jew-hatred or incitement is, we will call it out, demand that it be rejected and condemned, and assert that it must be unwelcomed by all decent people. This includes any and all forms of Jew-hatred – including anti-Zionist and anti-Israel rhetoric and activity.
Depending on your sources of news or information, you may or may not be aware that a candidate for governor of Pennsylvania has had an association with the founder and CEO of a social media platform who has made a litany of virulently anti-Jewish statements and accusations.
The situation has received quite a lot of attention in some media outlets, other web sites and on social media. Much of this attention has had political and/or partisan overtones. In weighing in on this situation, it is not our purpose to contribute to efforts to turn Jew-hatred into a political weapon nor for it to be used as a partisan tool. Our purpose is to let you — our members, supporters and friends – and frankly the entire community know the facts, assert that there is no excuse for Jew-hatred, demand that those who participate in it be repudiated and insist that Jew-hatred in all its forms be universally rejected.
In a joint effort with ZOA’s Pittsburgh Chapter, together we have issued a statement/news release on this serious and dangerous matter. See an excerpt of our joint statement below as well as a link to read the full statement in its entirety on the Web. The full statement includes many specific examples of the anti-Jewish statements that were made by a supporter of one of the candidates. We strongly encourage you to share our statement in its entirety as widely as possible. Thank you.
ZOA: Mastriano’s Statement Falls Short – He Must Repudiate Torba; Not Enough to Say Antisemite “Doesn’t Speak” for Him
The Zionist Organization of America’s Greater Philadelphia Chapter and Pittsburgh Chapter call on Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano to unequivocally and immediately specifically repudiate the anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist rhetoric and attacks made by Gab social media platform founder and CEO Andrew Torba, who is a vocal Mastriano supporter. Further, Mastriano must reject Torba’s endorsement and support.
Mastriano’s statement on the matter that he issued on July 28 (see it below) does not go far enough, and his minimizing of Jew-hatred by conflating it with economic issues and matters related to government policy in response to COVID are disturbing and insulting.
Greater Philadelphia ZOA and Pittsburgh ZOA together represent and serve the Jewish people, advance Zionism and support the pro-Israel community throughout the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Mastriano is the Republican Party’s nominee for governor of Pennsylvania for the general election in November. On Thursday, July 28, Sen. Mastriano posted a terse statement on the matter of Jew-hatred to his twitter feed – though not on his campaign web site. The statement (see below) neglects to repudiate Torba or any of his anti-Jewish claims, accusations and demands, and it lacks any apology for any discomfort his association with Torba and Gab may have caused Jewish Pennsylvanians.
Were he to become governor, Mastriano would represent nearly 13 million Pennsylvanians and among these are hundreds of thousands of Jewish Americans. Pennsylvania is America’s fifth most populous state.
Please see our entire statement at:
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Teachers Helping Teachers:
Greater Philadelphia ZOA is looking for retired or current schoolteachers, principals, professors and others who have worked in education to speak with teachers throughout our region. We are trying to prevent anti-Jewish curriculum and materials from being used in K-12 classrooms. The NEA has approved an initiative to emphasize teaching a narrative that denigrates, deceives and delegitimizes Jewish history and heritage.
Teachings that are not factually correct would not be acceptable in other disciplines such as mathematics and science – they should not be acceptable in world history or social studies.
If you would like to participate – to provide facts and to explain what is behind the NEA measure to other educators, please call our Greater Philadelphia ZOA Office: 610-660-9466. Thank you.
Greater Philadelphia ZOA Needs Your Financial Support
No other organization is doing the valuable work that ZOA is doing to expose and combat Jew-hatred, educate the community and to boldly promote and defend Zionism and Israel!
To donate electronically, go to: https://zoa.org/donate/philly/
To donate by check, send to:
ZOA
PO Box 56
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
We are grateful to those of you who have made donations to our chapter this week. We appreciate each and every donation!
Please make your donation today while you are thinking about it.
Greater Philadelphia ZOA is looking for volunteers to help with three projects:
We are looking for someone to edit segments from existing digital videos.
We are also looking for people to do internet research projects.
We are looking for volunteers to make calls.
If you are able to help with any of these, please contact executive director Steve Feldman at 610-660-9466.
Thank you in advance.
We are grateful to volunteers Sharon and Andy for their invaluable help!
Let’s Talk About Zionism, Israel and ZOA
– Over Coffee or Another Beverage:
Your questions answered about ZOA, advocacy, Middle East history, Zionism, the peace process, media bias and related topics that interest you in a one-on-one conversation.
Call our office at 610-660-9466 to make an appointment for Coffee with Executive Director Steve Feldman. Your first cup is on us!