In March, many local rabbis and Jewish leaders endorsed Wesley Bell for Congress, claiming he is an ally of the Jewish community. We as Progressive Jews of St. Louis (ProJoSTL) find this sentiment fallacious.

To start, Bell dropped his run for the U.S. Senate against far-right extremist and documented antisemite Josh Hawley and instead challenged Congresswoman Cori Bush after Oct. 7, a decision we see as politically expedient to exploit Jewish fear and garner Jewish votes and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) dollars. In fact, HuffPost reported Bell has received more than $360,000 in individual contributions earmarked to his campaign through AIPAC. AIPAC’s super PAC has already begun spending $20 million from far-right megadonors against Bush.

Additionally, HuffPost highlighted Bell accepted more than $65,000 from donors who also gave to Missouri’s GOP senators, Hawley and Eric Schmitt, in their most recent campaigns, or Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, the leading Republican candidate for governor.

How can Wesley Bell call himself a Democrat as he aligns with an organization that has endorsed election-denying insurrectionists and anti-abortion Republican extremists? How can he claim to care for Jews when AIPAC collaborates with antisemitic donors and candidates like Hawley?

Pro-Israel does not equate to pro-Jewish — Christian Zionists and AIPAC, both holding antisemitic roots and ties, demonstrate this. Bell attempts to win over Jewish voters through his opportunistic, superficial and performative support for Israel, and his actions show Jewish safety is not his priority.

Jeni Hollander and Hannah Rosenthal on behalf of Progressive Jews of St. Louis (ProJo STL)