Holliswein's blog

 

Next month will mark the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, a massive civil rights protest that, among other things, called for greater voting rights. Today that goal seems as elusive as ever. 

 

Over the last few years, once-ruby red Texas has become increasingly purple as support for the Democratic Party has resurged throughout Texas’s vast metropolitan areas. In 2020, Donald Trump won the Lone Star state by 4.5 percent, and in 2018, far-right Senator Ted Cruz was nearly ousted from office by former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, holding onto his seat by just 2 percentage points. 

 

Next year, Senator Cruz is up for re-election again, and this time, it looks like he is in real danger of losing his seat.

 

Since the Highland Park shooting, which happened just steps from JAC’s office, we have experienced nearly 365 more days of gun violence. These shootings do not stop, despite our nation’s pleas for help.

 

Gun violence has forced us to reexamine — and even alter — our everyday lives. Events that were carefree have taken on a new level of apprehension. In the past, an emergency exit was to be used in the rare case of fire. Today we search it out so we have an escape path from gunfire. 

 

Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade. We knew it was coming and many states across the country were already imposing abortion restrictions. But nothing could prepare us for the true impact of that decision, the ensuing nightmare, and the horrific near-death situations for women who could not receive an abortion.

 

JAC was honored and privileged to have Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) join us at JAC’s 2023 Power of Women Luncheon this week in the Chicago area. Thanks to our co-chairs, Jessica B. Cohen, Marisa Chez, and Marcy Zoller, more than 440 attended making this JAC’s largest event to date.

 

It’s surreal to write this, my final farewell, as I depart JACPAC after my time as the Senior Fellow. It’s easy to want to change the world. It’s a whole lot harder to find the tools to do it. JAC gave me the tools and then some.

 

Political violence, encouraged by hateful rhetoric, was thought to have reached a crescendo with the January 6th insurrection at the capitol. Yet that horrific day was not the end. Threats against Members of Congress are more than ten times as high as just five years ago. 

 

Current Members of Congress are contributing to this climate of violence. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) tweeted a video that included altered animation showing him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) with a sword.

 

More than 3,600 children have died this year in gun-related incidents. In just five months, we have seen 19 school shootings, claiming the lives of numerous children and teens. Firearms are the leading cause of death for U.S. children and teens.

 

We are now living in a country where it is not unusual for mothers to jump on top of their children to shield them from gun fire at anytime or anywhere. In the recent Texas mall shooting, a child survived after being pulled out from under his dead mother’s body.

 

Bookended by a day of remembrance for our departed ancestors and a day of celebration for the Jewish homeland, this week is considered by some the 'High Holidays of Israel.' This past Tuesday, we observed Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. We commemorated the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on Wednesday. This coming Tuesday, we will remember Israel’s fallen military personnel on Yom Hazikaron. The following day, we will celebrate Israel’s independence on Yom Ha’atzmaut.