Jewish political groups have rolled out their final pitches to American Jewish voters with exactly two weeks until election day.
The Republican Jewish Council’s final ad depicts three Jewish women sitting at a deli and talking about Israel being under attack and rising antisemitism on college campuses.
The RJC is spending $15m. on advertising across the battleground states this election cycle, the most spent during an election in the organization’s history.
In the ad, one woman says she never cared for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, but “at least he’ll keep us safe.”
Across the table, another woman says she’s never voted Republican in her life, but she’s voting for Trump because Kamala is “busy defending the squad.”
“The RJC’s newest, and last, ad of the 2024 campaign reflects the fear and angst that Jewish Americans across our country are feeling, as we see Israel still under attack and antisemitism skyrocketing to unprecedented levels here at home,” RJC CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement.
“We encourage Jewish voters to listen to their Bubbies [ed. Yiddish for grandmothers],” Brooks continued. “It’s OK to vote for Donald Trump.”
The Jewish Democratic Council of America PAC’s final ad, titled “Our Choice,” interlaced footage of the October 7 attacks with footage from the 2017 neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia, and other neo-Nazi protests in the US.
“This is a difficult time for many Jewish Americans, a time filled with uncertainty,” the ad‘s narrator says. “Our choice will impact our families and our democracy for years to come.”
The screen then fades to a poll showing Trump and Harris locked in a close race.
“Donald Trump is openly scapegoating Jews,” the narrator continues, before cutting to a clip of Harris saying, “That is antisemitism, and that is unacceptable,” though it’s unclear from that clip to what specifically Harris is referring.
“But we do have a champion, a partner, and a defender of our community, our freedom, and our values in Kamala Harris,” the narrator says as the ad ends with images of Harris lighting the menorah and delivering remarks on the anniversary of October 7.
“Trump spreads antisemitism and hate and emboldens the most extreme and bigoted elements of the Republican Party,” JDCA PAC said in a statement with the release of the ad.
Misrepresenting Harris’s positions on Israel?
JDCA PAC accused Trump’s allies of misrepresenting Harris’s positions on Israel.
“He’s not hiding his extremism – he is openly blaming Jewish Americans if he loses and threatening to deploy the US military against his political opponents,” JDCA PAC said. “We are not safe in Donald Trump’s America, where he threatens our democracy, community, and freedoms.”
On Tuesday, Democratic Majority for Israel also launched a digital ad titled “Can’t Trust” aimed at linking the former president with notable antisemitic and conspiracy figures like Kanye West, Nick Fuentes, Charlie Kirk, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Geogia).
“This is a guy with a long history of supporting antisemites, as long as they support him,” the narrator says.
The ad continues by linking Trump to conservative media personality Tucker Carlson who promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories and convinced Trump to select Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate.
“What happens if Trump wins?” the ad asks. “He says he’s going to go much further than he did last time, blow up NATO, abandon Ukraine. He’s questioned defending Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.”
“Should we, as Jews, really believe that this alliance with Israel holds a special place in Trump’s heart?” the ad continues. “What if the Israelis dumped Bibi and elect someone more centrist? What if the Saudis and the Qataris, who are literally funding the Trump family, want something that goes against Israel’s interest? Will Trump stand with Israel then?”