American Jewish Congress

05/29/2026

Senator Chris Murphy's defense of Graham Platner rests on a single claim: that he's polling well.

But a N**i tattoo and posts mocking soldiers and sexual assault victims cannot be redeemed by polling numbers.

Some questions are not put to a vote. Right and wrong do not poll.

05/29/2026

A sincere thank you to H.E. Nguyen Ky Son, Vietnam's Ambassador to Israel, for his warm hospitality and for a thoughtful and substantive conversation.

The American Jewish Congress looks forward to deepening this dialogue and to continued engagement in the months ahead.

05/29/2026

Thank you, Mayor Eric Adams, for continuing to stand strongly with the Jewish community and with Israel. We look forward to seeing you march at the Israel Day Parade.

05/27/2026

Antisemitic intimidation against the Jewish community is escalating, and this grotesque spectacle shatters every moral line. A Jewish effigy hanging from a rope at a Montreal demonstration is not activism. It is hatred, intimidation, and a chilling echo of history's darkest moments. Those responsible must be held accountable.

05/27/2026

There's no context that explains away a N**i tattoo. Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, has one on his chest.

While too many Democrats whisper about it, look away, or worse, embrace him anyway, Rep. Auchincloss has done the one thing leadership actually demands. He told the truth. A N**i tattoo is disqualifying. Not a youthful mistake. Disqualifying.

Thank you, Congressman, for refusing to flinch.

‘I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,’ Auchincloss told CNN

05/26/2026

The American Jewish Congress Mourns the Passing of Dr. Clarence B. Jones

Dr. Jones occupied a singular place in American history. As personal counsel to Dr. King and a trusted member of his inner circle, he helped draft some of the most consequential words ever spoken in the cause of American freedom, including portions of the "I Have a Dream" speech delivered at the 1963 March on Washington.

In 2006, the American Jewish Congress was proud to honor Dr. Jones, recognizing his lifelong commitment to justice, human dignity, and moral courage.

For our community, Dr. Jones held a particular significance. Among the speakers at the 1963 March on Washington was Rabbi Joachim Prinz, then-president of the American Jewish Congress and a refugee from N**i Germany, who warned the nation that the most shameful problem of his time was not bigotry alone, but silence in the face of it. Dr. Jones never forgot those words. He called Rabbi Prinz's address the most important speech of that day other than Dr. King's own, recalling that as the rabbi spoke, "you could hear a pin drop." He carried that warning with him for the rest of his life.

Dr. Jones understood the deepest truth of the civil rights movement: that progress was won not by one community alone, but by Americans of different faiths, races, and backgrounds who chose to stand together. The bond between the Black and Jewish communities, forged in shared struggle, was one he honored throughout his life. He leaves a legacy measured not only in the historic words he helped shape, but in the example he set: that conviction and coalition belong together, and that silence is never an option in the face of injustice.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to Dr. Jones's family and all who knew and loved him. May his memory be a blessing, and may the work to which he devoted his life carry forward in his name.

Photo: Clarence B. Jones, Honoree during American Jewish Congress' 2006 Award Dinner in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic)

05/22/2026

Brad Lander called Israel's war against Hezbollah "potentially a genocide."

Criticizing a war is legitimate.

But Hezbollah is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization that has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians and openly seeks Israel's destruction. A country defending its people from a terror army is not committing genocide, and every representative and candidate must be able to know and recognize the difference.

Jewish New Yorkers are not asking their candidates to be uncritical. They are asking them to be honest.

The congressional frontrunner bashed Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in an address at the Al Khoie Islamic Center in Queens

05/20/2026

Yesterday, Rep. Thomas Massie lost the Republican primary. His defeat in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District ends a fourteen-year run in Congress and marks one of the most consequential primary outcomes of this electoral cycle, politically and for the Jewish community.

Rep. Massie did not lose because of a single issue. But his record on Israel, on antisemitism, and on the company he chose to keep drew a clear and forceful repudiation from his own constituents.

The voters who had returned him to Washington seven times looked at the "Zionism" meme the White House called virulent antisemitism, the solitary vote against condemning antisemitism on the House floor, the rhetoric about "AIPAC babysitters," and the figures with documented antisemitic records he platformed in the closing days of his campaign, and they said no.

The lesson is not partisan. It is informational. When voters have access to a candidate's full record, divisive and corrosive politics lose ground. That is precisely the work our Jewish Political Guide has long been built to do. It is the most comprehensive voters' platform on where candidates and officials actually stand on Israel, combating hate, and the other critical issues concerning Jewish and pro-Israel voters.

Once voters were able to see Thomas Massie's full-spectrum profile, they made clear they did not see him as representative of their interests, their needs, or their positions. This was not a verdict imposed from outside the district. It was delivered from within it.

05/19/2026

Ambassador Rahm Emanuel is right about one thing: the U.S.-Israel relationship is strongest when it is honest. The American Jewish Congress welcomes honest conversation at Tel Aviv University, in Washington, and everywhere serious people are thinking about what comes next.

Honest conversation, though, is not the same as walking away. An alliance built across decades, through thick and thin, is not reassessed on the strength of a single political moment.

05/14/2026

Hate has no place in our democracy. That is why we ask for your voice: Sign our pledge today, and when we reach 50,000 signatures, we'll offer to fund the complete removal of Graham Platner's tattoo.

Hate has no place in our politics, and true accountability requires removal. While we understand that Mr. Patner has taken steps to cover up his N**i tattoo, a cover-up is not a renunciation. It is a concealment that leaves the underlying symbol of hate, and the ideology it represents, intact. That, combined with his past statements about Israel and Hamas, brings us here to this moment.

Join us in this fight; the petition link is below, in the comments.

Graham Platner is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maine.

05/13/2026

Rabbi Joachim Prinz (1902-1988) served as President of the American Jewish Congress from 1958 to 1966. Prinz and AJCongress worked tirelessly for Civil Rights, and he spoke directly before Dr. King at the 1963 March on Washington, shown here.
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Over the past century, the American Jewish Congress has been on the front lines fighting for the civil rights and civil liberties of minorities, in the belief that Jews are more secure in a society that actively protects the rights of all its citizens. Join us.