NEW YORK (Press Release) – On the heels of the final primary contests of the 2016 presidential campaign, Bend the Arc Jewish Action announced today a major national expansion of its efforts to defeat Donald Trump.
“Last fall, the media was still treating Trump like a joke. But we weren’t laughing. We called out his rhetoric and threats for what they were: violent reminders of some of the worst moments of the 20th Century,” Bend the Arc Jewish Action CEO Stosh Cotler said in a speech announcing the action Monday at the organization’s Pursuing Justice conference. “At every stage our message was clear: We have seen this before. … We reject Trump’s anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, and violent agenda. We will not stand idly by.”
Bend the Arc’s expanded anti-Trump campaign, online at www.WeveSeenThisBefore.org, will mobilize and engage Jews nationwide to take action together as a community to defeat Trump at the polls and remind voters of the stakes of his violent and hateful agenda, sending an unmistakable and unavoidable message to elected officials across the country that American Jews do not want them to follow Donald Trump, but join us in working for a country built on tolerance, equity and democracy.
This new phase of the campaign will launch with a national day of action on June 21st, when supporters of Bend the Arc will gather in New York, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, Texas – and in small groups and privately throughout the country – for a Vigil Against Violence signaling their commitment to working to defeat Trump in November. The vigil marks the anniversary of the day in 1964 when two white Jewish civil rights activists, Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner, along with Black Christian activist James Chaney, were murdered in Mississippi because of their work to advance voting rights. By mobilizing voters to denounce Donald Trump’s campaign, Bend the Arc will honor the legacy of these civil rights heroes and carry on their fight against violence and oppression in American society.
Last year, Bend the Arc strongly denounced Trump’s plan to start a government registry of Muslims, reaching more than 1.6 million people online, and launched a televised campaign, “Heard it Before”, comparing anti-immigrant rhetoric in the presidential campaign to what Jewish immigrants faced a century ago. The organization has also joined recent efforts calling on major corporations to withhold sponsorship for the 2016 Republican National Convention. Bend the Arc leadership and supporters have consistently and boldly denounced Trump’s politics, including at a #HateFreeNY rally before the New York state primary and throughout the election. The organization is also supporting House and Senate candidates who advance a progressive domestic agenda through its Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC.
Those interested in participating in Bend the Arc’s Vigil Against Violence can sign up at www.WeveSeenThisBefore.org.
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