Jewish Voters League of America Meets With US Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis
Introduction
On Thursday, February 11, 2021, the Jewish Voters League of America (JVLA) met with U.S. Congresswomen Nicole Malliotakis (Republican; NY-11) to discuss her recent election, the uptick in antisemitism in New York, and how politicians and everyday Americans alike can do their part to combat hatred.
About the Congresswoman
Born to immigrant parents from Greece and Cuba and growing up in Staten Island, Malliotakis serves as a conservative voice for the dense Republican population of Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn, collectively known as New York’s 11th congressional district. She won her seat by defeating former Democratic Congressman Max Rose in November 2020. Prior to then, she represented New York’s 60th District in the New York State Assembly.
Our Meeting
Pictured is an image from the Jewish Voters League of America’s Zoom call with Congresswoman Malliotakis. Over fifty people joined the call!
Preventing Antisemitic Hate Crimes Act
To begin our meeting, the congresswoman highlighted the unfortunate reality that over 60% of religious hate crimes committed in the United States have been committed against the Jewish-American community (and during the May escalation of the Israeli-Hamas conflict, that number has increased by 63%). To combat these numbers, Malliotakis cosponsored the Preventing Antisemitic Hate Crimes Act on May 25, 2021. The bill, introduced by representative David Kustoff (TN-08) aims involves the use of the Deprartment of Justice (DOJ) to resist the recent uptake in antisemitic hate crimes happening accross the US. It requires the DOJ to appoint a staffer to facilitate investigations and reviews on antisemitic reports in the United States, while also requiring the Attorney General to generate and provide insight on how to bolster our current law-enforcement system to better respond to and prevent antisemitic attacks.
With regard to future bills combatting antisemitism, Malliotakis noted that she “aims to stand behind future bills aiding the Jewish people in their battle against antisemitism, particularly those centered around strengthening our law enforcement department to stop terrorist attacks.”
Zero Tolerance Policy for Anti-Jewish Sentiments
Throughout our conversation with her, Malliotakis stressed the importance of putting violent criminals behind bars to demonstrate a zero-tolerance policy towards hate crimes and violence. In addition, she promised that the Department of Homeland Security, which issues non-profit security grants to educational and religious institutions deemed at high-risk of terrorist attacks, would give Jewish facilities the attention and aid they deserve by doubling the funds issued to all security deposits to protect them. In order to get these policies implemented, she urged the Jewish community to come together and speak out against hate. At the same time, Malliotakis said that she will do all she can on Captiol Hill furthering that point.
The UN Human Rights Council’s Bias Against Jews
Malliotakis also addressed many JVLA members’ concerns about President Biden’s decision to rejoin the United Nations Human Rights Council, despite the council’s clear anti-Israel bias. The UN’s prejudice against Israel and the Jewish people has led them to condemn Israel 90 times, Russia 0 times, China 0 times, North Korea 13 times, and Syria 35 times and serves as the quintessence of the prevalence of mainstream anti-semitism, even among our elite institutions who stand for justice and equality. Malliotakis thus exhibited opposition to President Biden’s potential rejoining of the Iran Nuclear Deal. She thinks removing Iran’s sanctions, thus practically giving them billions of dollars, will pose a great danger to the State of Israel, and by default Jews around the world.
The Capitol Riots
This image portrays a wearing a “Camp Aushwitz” shirt during the January 6 riots at the Capitol Building.
Malliotakis also expressed horror over the alt-right, neo-nazi form of anti-semtism going on in her own party, as expressed by the rioters storming the Capitol on Januray 6, with some of them donning t-shirts with bearing statements like “Camp Auschwitz” and “Six Million Weren’t Enough.” She recommended that individuals can get involved and work with their government to combat this type of hatred by raising awareness and instilling a sense of urgency to politicians through lobbying, calling local representatives, voting, and holding civic councils with their communities, such as the ones hosted by the JVLA. She emphasized the importance of spreading acknowledgement in order to get politicians’ support.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that there were many other topics included in our conversation with US Congresswoman Malliotakis. However, to her, it’s “most important that our politicians are fair and just representatives of American values, which stand against bigotry, hatred, religious stereotyping, and discrimination.” When our elected leaders mention antisemetic tropes, it displays their failure to cater to the people they are supposed to serve. It also speaks volumes about the state of our nation today, in which antisemitism is far from being extignuighed. Taking action and holding our leaders responsible for their words and actions is the first step toward a safer America for Jews.
And the Jewish Voters League of America (JVLA) is committed to this goal. We are dedicated toward ensuring that our children live in America filled with love and without bigotry.
Through other JVLA events in tandem with our biweekly newsletters, we are committed to keeping the conversation surrounding racism and antisemitism brewing. We are dedicated toward ensuring that our members are educated about these topics so they can easily vote when election time comes. After all, all change begins at the ballot box.
