Welcome to Jewish Community & Friends for Democracy

Our Responsibility

"If you see prejudice, if you see antisemitism, you speak out and speak out about it explicitly. Don't talk about hate in general. We're all against hate in general, but call it out for what it is."

— Deborah Lipstadt
Biden Administration Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism

Horseshoe Theory: Right-Wing and Left-Wing Antisemitism

"I talk about a horseshoe. If you think about a horseshoe, the two ends meet together and often are magnetized and attracted to one another. It's a question of extremism. Very few prejudices come from different ends of the political spectrum, virtually none. They're either one side or the other, but they're not coming from both. And here, they come from both, they share the same template, because the antisemitic template is so old and so malleable, and they share that extremism."

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The Warning Sign

"The appearance of antisemitism is always an early warning sign of a dangerous dysfunction within a culture, because the hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews."

— Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Chief Rabbi, United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth (London)
The Power of Ideas, p. 48

Evaluating Candidates for Illinois Congressional District 7

A comprehensive analysis of candidates' positions on issues important to our community

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Who We Are

Our group, Jewish Community and Friends for Democracy (Illinois Congressional District 7), is a grass roots group of traditional Democratic voters in our district who have come together out of concerns regarding dramatically increasing antisemitism on the Left as well as the Right and the implications of burgeoning hate and division in the movement to protect democracy. Our immediate goal is to further inform a broader community in our district regarding the Congressional race candidates' positions on the issues of deepest concern to us, including antisemitism awareness, community safety, Zionism/antizionism and positions regarding Israel.

Antisemitism Awareness

We call on our political leaders to address the rise of antisemitism on the Left as well as the Right. We aim to educate those who seek to lead, protect and strengthen our democracy and build a better world for all people as to the threat antisemitism poses to Jews and non-Jews alike. We also work to educate our own community about leaders who represent our values as well as concerns about Democratic leaders who do not.