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Jewish Dems Launch Super PAC to Counter RJC Campaign

Jewish Democrats are set to launch a super PAC to fight the Republican Jewish Coalition’s multi-million dollar campaign among Jewish voters in battleground states across the nation, Jewish Insider has learned.

In remarks to Pennsylvania Democrats at a Monday morning delegation breakfast in Philadelphia, Marc Stanley, the immediate past chair of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC), announced the formation of a super PAC named ‘Jews for Progress’ aimed to fight back against the RJC’s campaign.

“Sheldon Adelson and the Republican Jewish Coalition, and their allies, have pledged to spend $25 million to fight a war in eight swing states,” said Stanley. “You are going to see horrible signs like, ‘We can’t trust Hillary; she sold out American and Israel.’ It’s the only thing they can talk about. So Jews, we’ve got a super PAC called ‘Jews for Progress.’ We are going to fight that $25 million.”

“I am here just to tell you that help is on the way,” he said.

Jews for Progress was filed with the FEC on July 14, 2016. Former Congressman Ron Klein will serve as chairman, and Michael Adler, a Florida developer and a member of the NJDC’s Executive Committee, will serve as treasurer, according to a source familiar with the matter. Stanley, Wasserman Schultz’s top fundraiser Steve Paikowsky, and veteran fundraiser Fran Katz Watson will all have major roles in the organization as Bluelight Strategies, headed by Steve Rabinowitz and Aaron Keyak, handle the day to day operations, according to the source.

The effort is similar to the NJDC’s 2012 model called “The Hub,” which was launched to respond rapidly to claims that the Obama administration was not pro-Israel enough. In an interview with Jewish Insider last year, NJDC’s Chairman Greg Rosenbaum boasted that Florida ended up in the Obama column in 2012 due to a concentrated effort to mobilize Jewish voters in the Sunshine State in the last weeks leading to Election Day.

The goal, this time, is to target Jewish voters in eight swing states, especially undecided voters and soft supporters of Donald Trump, with direct mail, TV ads, and social media interactions, to shift 10 percent in favor of Hillary Clinton, the source said.

The formal announcement is expected during an NJDC event honoring outgoing DNC chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, on Thursday, an NJDC spokesperson said.

Transcript:

“There’s a little war that is going to break out in Pennsylvania. Sheldon Adelson and the Republican Jewish Coalition, and their allies, have pledged to spend $25 million to fight a war in eight swing states. Pennsylvania, unfortunately, is a swing state. Their goal is to get ten percent of the Jewish vote alienated against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and swing 10 percent of the Jewish vote. The results of that micro-war in Pennsylvania – if they are successful – would be 22,680 votes. I hope Pennsylvania is a blowout. I hope every state is a blowout. But the polls this morning, and the polls in September, are not going going to show that. We are going to have to work for every vote. So they are going to spend $25 million to try to swing that. You are going to see horrible signs like, ‘We can’t trust Hillary; she sold out American and Israel.’ It’s the only thing they can talk about. They can’t talk about domestic issues; they can’t talk about social justice; they can’t talk about choice, education, poverty and health care. They can’t talk about that, and they are wrong on Israel. Hillary and Tim Kaine are very supportive of Israel. But that’s the only thing they are going to talk about. So Jews, we’ve got a super PAC called ‘Jews for Progress,’ it’s in formation. We are going to fight that $25 million. I am here just to tell you that help is on the way.”

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