Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana

NEWS ALERT

 

The Jewish American Affairs Committee of Indiana is pleased to share the following notable successes we have achieved over the past few months:

• Yesterday the Indiana State Senate voted 47-3 to approve our anti-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) bill.  This follows in the footsteps of a 93-0 vote of support in the Indiana State House.  Special thanks goes to House Speaker Brian Bosma, the bill’s primary sponsor (please take a moment to call his office at 800-382-9841 and thank him for his support).   We expect that Governor Pence will sign this bill into law very soon.  This will place Indiana among the vanguard of states willing to publicly defend the Jewish State of Israel.   An anti-BDS resolution that was also authored by JAACI and that unanimously passed both the State House and Senate last spring received national and international attention.  We expect the current bill will receive even greater attention (numerous articles have already been written about it—you can google them) and we look forward to sharing some of it with you. The current bill can be read here:  https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/house/1378#document-bc66abd9
• The IUPUI campus has recently been plagued with anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and pro-BDS incitement, most of it sponsored by a particular professor on campus.  JAACI recently found out that this same professor had organized a Holocaust memorial ceremony in 2015 and planned to do so again this year.  This was not your typical Holocaust memorial service.  The primary sponsoring group was Students for Justice in Palestine and speakers included two local BDS-supporting Jews.  Moreover, the service intentionally conflated the Jewish victims of the Holocaust with various other groups that were also targeted by the Nazis.  This strategy of “universalizing” the Holocaust is an increasingly common tactic used by Israel’s enemies and the first step to accusing Israel itself of carrying out a holocaust.  Through an influential ally, JAACI was able to establish a dialogue with the IUPUI chancellor and explain why having this professor run the Holocaust service was intolerable.  The chancellor ultimately agreed and has turned the service over to campus Jewish groups to administer.

• Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is a virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic national group that serves as the “tip of the spear” for the pro-BDS movement.  Last fall JAACI found out that the regional leader of JVP was and is continuing to serve on the boards of local Jewish communal organizations.  JAACI immediately organized a large public awareness campaign to notify these organizations that this individual cannot reasonably continue to serve as an officer of these groups while at the same time trying to undermine the Jewish State and Jewish people.  JAACI has received assurances, which will need to be confirmed over time, that this individual will no longer be able to play both sides of the fence, so to speak.

 

• JAACI continues to promote the cause of Israel and the Jewish people through published op-eds, letters, and speaking events, some of which can be found on JAACI’s website (www.jaaci.org).

 

JAACI has achieved some great success recently and hopes to bring further good news in the coming months.  JAACI wishes to thank all its supporters throughout Indiana and beyond and remind them that its success is due to the hard work of dedicated individuals who have volunteered their time and effort for the Jewish values of Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh beZeh—that all of Israel is responsible for one another—and Pikuach Nefesh—the preservation of human life.

 

Respectfully,

 

The Staff of JAACI