Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Monday morning!
The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, which for half a century allowed for women across the country to receive abortion services, dominated headlines and agendas throughout the weekend.
In her remarks on Friday afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) quoted from the poem “I Have No Other Country,” by Israeli poet Ehud Manor.
In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, Jewish organizations sent out statements, the majority of which denounced the decision. Others linked to donation pages for abortion providers, including the National Abortion Federation.
The American Jewish Committee said that the ruling “denies individuals health care options consistent with their religious beliefs, including many in the Jewish community, thereby presenting issues of religious freedom and privacy,” while the National Council of Jewish Women organized a virtual vigil within hours of the ruling that was joined by upwards of 1,100 attendees.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America called the ruling “antithetical to this historical and legal precedent and a betrayal of our values,” noting that the group is “determined to see this draconian decision overturned.”
When a draft of the decision was leaked earlier last month, we spoke to some Orthodox Jewish organizations, which have historically aligned with conservative Christian groups on legal matters.
After Friday’s ruling, the Orthodox Union reiterated its statement from May, saying that it “is unable to either mourn or celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade. We cannot support absolute bans on abortion — at any time point in a pregnancy — that would not allow access to abortion in life-saving situations. Similarly, we cannot support legislation that does not limit abortion to situations in which medical (including mental health) professionals affirm that carrying the pregnancy to term poses real risk to the life of the mother.”
Agudath Israel of America, which told JI in May that it would “have to review the precise nuances of the final decision itself — how, for example, it treats abortion rights when the ‘mother’s life or health is endangered’ or when the ‘mother’s sincerely held religious beliefs allow or require’ her to seek an abortion,” issued a statement on Friday that it “welcomes this historic development.”
A recent survey by the Jewish Electorate Institute — which was put into the field before the draft opinion leaked — found that three in four Jewish Americans had expressed concern that the ruling would be overturned.
A poll conducted by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist immediately following the decision found that a majority of Americans (56%) opposed the decision, and that a slight majority (51%) said they would vote for a candidate who supports federal legislation to restore abortion rights.
The ruling came the same day as lawmakers in Germany overturned a Nazi-era law that outlawed the advertising of abortion services.
bdb backs away
Bill de Blasio says he no longer supports AIPAC and wishes Nina Turner was in Congress

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during the AIPAC annual meeting in Washington, D.C, on March 25, 2019.
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is facing scrutiny from local Jewish community leaders over recent comments in which he came out forcefully against AIPAC and said he no longer supports the pro-Israel lobbying group because of its opposition to a friend and fellow progressive Democrat, Nina Turner, in a Cleveland-area House primary last month, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
‘Unacceptable’: “They have changed in a way that is unacceptable to me because they have attacked people I believe in,” de Blasio, who is now running for an open seat in New York’s redrawn 10th Congressional District, said last Wednesday during a virtual candidate forum hosted by Our Revolution and the New York Progressive Action Network. The attacks against Turner from a new AIPAC-affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, were “horribly unjustified” and “deprived our nation of someone who could have been a huge difference-maker in terms of our progressive movement,” de Blasio argued.
Pro-Israel promise: In an interview with Jewish Insider on Sunday afternoon, de Blasio stuck to his remarks. “I have a tremendous sense of personal loyalty to the Jewish community. I have a tremendous sense of personal loyalty to the State of Israel and support for the State of Israel. But I also have real personal loyalty to Nina Turner as a friend,” he explained. “That doesn’t mean I agree with every statement that she’s made… I believe in supporting Israel and providing the defense support that Israel needs. From my understanding, Nina Turner thinks aid should be conditioned. I disagree with that. I think we have to protect Israel.” De Blasio insisted that he “can simultaneously be a very proud progressive and a very proud supporter of Israel and opponent of BDS,” using the abbreviation for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting the Jewish state. “I don’t see any contradiction.”
Rebuttal: Marshall Wittmann, a spokesperson for AIPAC, suggested in a statement to JI that de Blasio’s comments were misguided. “It is unfortunate that Bill de Blasio has not been consistent in his commitment to the pro-Israel cause and his past support for our work to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship,” he said. “He has now reversed course and is taking the side of those who would weaken our alliance with Israel. We will not be deterred in our efforts to support pro-Israel candidates – including scores of progressives and candidates of color – and oppose those who are detractors.”