Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) touted his history with local Jewish organizations and vowed to make combating antisemitism a priority in Congress while speaking to members of Northern Virginia’s Jewish community on Wednesday.

Walkinshaw appeared at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington’s “Lox and Legislators” breakfast in Falls Church, Va., where he lauded attendees for helping to “build communities in ways that make our communities better and stronger for all of us,” recounted his visits to the Fairfax community’s eruv and highlighted his relationships with Congregation Olam Tikvah and the JCRC.

Walkinshaw, who won a special election in August to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), his longtime boss, cited Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America while noting that the recent celebration of the fourth anniversary of the eruv’s opening highlighted “the quintessential Americanness of that eruv project.” An eruv is a boundary that allows observant Jews to carry items outside their homes on Shabbat, a foundational feature that makes communities accessible to religious Jews.

“The United States of America, a nation founded on the principle of religious liberty and freedom, where everyone is free to express their faith,” Walkinshaw said. “A lot of folks who remember their [de] Tocqueville, Democracy in America, from high school or college history courses. … He traveled across the country in the 1830s and was impressed by our institutions and our founding documents.”

“He [de Tocqueville] wrote that what actually made — to borrow a phrase — what made America great was our spirit of association and our ability to come together in all kinds of different ways, as faith communities, as neighborhoods, as communities,” he continued. “To solve problems together and work together to make our communities, our states, our nation even better and stronger.”

Walkinshaw expressed concern about the rise in antisemitism nationally and in Virginia, vowing to fight for an increase in Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding for the next fiscal year and to urge the House Education and Workforce Committee to “take a holistic look at antisemitic incidents in school districts across the country,” something he penned a letter to Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) about last month.

“We have to be united. We have to be firm in our opposition to hatred in any form or opposition to antisemitism,” Walkinshaw said. “We can’t allow antisemitism to be a partisan issue. We have to stand against it, Democrats and Republicans, no matter where it takes place.”

The Virginia lawmaker went on to say that “so much of what the Jewish community does in Northern Virginia, what the JCRC does across our region, is build communities in ways that make our communities better and stronger for all of us.” 

“The Fairfax eruv is an affirmation of Jewish belonging here in Northern Virginia, and in Fairfax an affirmation that Jewish people and Jewish families are welcome here and should feel safe here in Fairfax and in Northern Virginia,” he told the crowd. “We know that’s not a feeling that we can take for granted.”

Reached for comment by Jewish Insider on his outreach to Northern Virginia’s Jewish community since taking office, Walkinshaw said in a statement, “Throughout my career in Northern Virginia, I’ve worked closely with our region’s diverse communities, including the Jewish community, to advance safety, dignity, and opportunity for all.”

“As a Member of Congress, I’m proud to continue that work — advancing progressive policies, confronting all forms of hate including antisemitism, and advocating for democratic values and human rights,” his statement added.

Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, gave Walkinshaw a glowing assessment based on his job performance since taking office in September.

“I really have a very, very strong and positive feeling about Rep. Walkinshaw,” Halber told JI. “He’s incredibly thoughtful. I think he has spent a great deal of his career on Capitol Hill, and that he’s just ready for this job.”

“He’s got deep relationships in the Jewish community. I think the Jewish community overall is very, very positively disposed to him. He had a tremendous reaction, a tremendously positive reaction in that room, including from myself,” Halber continued. “I think he’s a great guy, and I think he’s going to do great things. … He’s done a lot of outreach to the Jewish community, makes himself accessible. I think we’re going to have a champion for the Jewish community with him.”

Halber went on to predict that Walkinshaw, who he described as “an excellent speaker,” could become a rising political star. “He’s young, and I think he’s going to become a leader in Congress very quickly. I think he’s very, very smart about a lot of issues,” Halber said.