Clergy Call To Action- Let’s seize the moment and get Wesley Bell to Washington

Published July 8, 2024

With a month to go until the MO-01 primary, we, rabbis and cantors from across the Jewish spectrum, write once again, in our personal, private capacities, with a clear and unified message: Let’s get Wesley Bell to Washington.

It’s time for our community to seize the moment. To utilize the power of the ballot box.

For nearly four years, Cori Bush has not been shy about her desire to isolate, demonize, and discredit Israel. She does not speak for us, nor does her voting record in Congress represent us.

It’s time to make a change.

This August, MO-01 can elect a new leader – progressive Democrat Wesley Bell. He is a strong, progressive challenger, and this race will come down to our willingness to mobilize and do the work necessary to win. Luckily, we have a tested roadmap to follow.

Last week, voters in Westchester County, New York made their voices heard by electing pro-Israel candidate George Latimer over anti-Israel incumbent Jamaal Bowman, one of the most hostile critics of Israel in Congress.

Latimer won decisively by a 17-point margin. While many point to the role of outside spending in this race, the election was ultimately decided by those who showed up at the ballot box. Fueled by a passionate, mobilized, and engaged pro-Israel community in New York-16 more than doubled the average voter turnout across the rest of the state prioritizing early voting and getting out the vote on election day.

Now it’s Wesley Bell’s turn.

Polling shows the Bell-Bush race at a dead heat, with Bell leading by just one percentage point and eleven percent still undecided.

The national pro-Israel community is engaged in this race, but they aren’t casting ballots on August 6. Only our community can do that.

We know what’s at stake.

Cori Bush has continually alienated our community and fueled divisiveness.

Her track record of fanning the flames of antisemitism and anti-Israel votes in Congress is well-documented and growing by the day.

Bush voted against condemning the Hamas terrorists after they perpetrated the bloodiest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. She voted against emergency aid to Israel in a time of need. She co-led a resolution with Rashida Tlaib calling Israel’s founding a “catastrophe.” She backs the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel. And she voted against the lifesaving Iron Dome defense shield that has saved countless Israeli lives – both Jewish and Arab alike. Cori Bush does not represent her community.

Wesley Bell is the leader we need in Congress who will represent our community and stand by our ally Israel. But he can’t win if we sit idly by. Every vote matters, and we must mobilize.

If you live in the first congressional district, make sure you, your friends, and family members are registered to vote by the July 10 deadline. You can register to vote here. You can see what district you live in here.

Make a plan to vote and know that early voting begins on July 23.

If you can’t vote in Missouri-01, you can help! Volunteer for the campaign by phone banking, door knocking, hosting a meet-and-greet, and writing to voters in the district.

It’s time for our community to have a leader in Congress who listens to us, cares about our concerns, and represents our values.

We call on our community and all supporters of Israel to help defeat one of Israel’s most unashamed enemies, and bring a leader who represents us to Washington.

We can help Wesley Bell win this race, but the outcome is squarely on our shoulders.

Let’s get to work.

Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham

Rabbi Yosef David

Rabbi Josef Davidson

Rabbi Seth Gordon

Rabbi Shmuel Greenwald

Rabbi Howard Kaplansky

Rabbi Shmuel Miller

Cantor Sharon Nathanson

Rabbi David A. Reinhart

Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg