Cory Booker starts new coalition of Black and Jewish senators to tackle antisemitism and racism
Sen. Cory Booker at the SiriusXM Studios In Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2020. Photo by Larry French/Getty Images
(JTA) — Sen. Cory Booker is leading a group of U.S. Jewish and Black senators in establishing a coalition to fight antisemitism and racism.
The so-called Black-Jewish coalition will also include Booker’s fellow Democrats Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, as well as Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican from across the aisle.
“There’s been a long history of Black people and Jewish sisters and brothers working together on a whole range of concerns,” Warnock was quoted as saying by NJ.com.
The idea of convening the lawmakers was spurred by reports of rising antisemitism amid a national reckoning around racial injustice.
“We will be fighting both racism and anti-Semitism,” Blumenthal said. “I think we’re in the midst of a racial justice moment and a reckoning now that could draw us together.”
Scott Richman, director of the Anti-Defamation League in New York/New Jersey, praised the initiative.
“This would be an important step towards bringing together two communities with a shared commitment to justice and an end to bias and bigotry,” he told NJ.com.
A similar body, called the Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations, already exists in the House of Representatives.
Booker, who keeps a Hebrew bible on his Senate desk, has a long history of connections with the Jewish community. He often cites Torah passages and recites Hebrew quotes in public appearances.
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