By Rabbi Ellen Bernhardt, JCRC Director
The Jewish Community Relations Committee (JCRC) reached out to Senator Chris Coons many weeks before the election to brief the Jewish Community in person about issues important to our community. As it happened, the Senator spoke at the JCC only days after the election in which Donald Trump became the President-Elect, and the Republican party took control of the House and Senate. Our Jewish community is not homogenous; we are Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, etc.
Senator Coons was warm and engaging, as always, easily connecting to an audience that is proud of their Senator and eager to learn from him. He began by reiterating his and the Biden administration’s unwavering support of Israel and her right to defend herself. Hamas provoked the current war by brutally attacking Israel—killing, raping, and kidnapping—on October 7, 2023. Since that time, the Israeli government and the United States have been tirelessly working to get the hostages released and to find a way towards a peaceful resolution. However, now Israel is fighting on several fronts: in the North against Hezbollah and in the East against the Houthis, in addition to against Hamas and directly against Iran. President Biden just sent another shipment of weapons to Israel and has garnered multinational support for Israel. He traveled to Israel immediately after the initial attack to support the Israelis and their cause. Senator Coons has been there several times since October 7. As of this writing, there is a bill on the Senate floor to block offensive arms shipments to Israel. (Senator Coons indicated that he would vote against it.)
The rise of antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world is alarming; the Senator supports the Administration’s efforts legislatively to protect minorities against hate crimes, to punish those who perpetrate hate acts, and to ban hate speech. Here, in Delaware, laws prohibiting hate crimes are in force and police are alerted. Most Jewish institutions, however, have resorted to hiring private security guards to protect their houses of worship and public gatherings. There were two privately funded security guards at the JCC the evening that Senator Coons spoke.
Since the election, President-Elect Trump has made swift choices for his cabinet. Senator Coons said that he and his colleagues take seriously the confirmation process. They plan to evaluate each nomination and see if he or she is qualified for the position for which they were chosen. He doubts that some of the nominees will be confirmed by the Senate.
He publicly thanked President Biden, whom he described as a decent and caring man, for his many decades in public service and assured the audience that “Delaware will be fine.”
The author thanks Dr. Mark Wagman for his assistance with this article.
