Jon Ossoff's 'Letter to the Jewish Community'

I write humbly to ask for the support of Jewish voters in Georgia.

I am descended from Ashkenazi immigrants who fled pogroms at the turn of the 20th century. I was raised among relatives who survived the Shoah.

That Jewish upbringing instilled in me a conviction to fight for the marginalized, the persecuted and the dispossessed.

In the U.S. Senate I will fight for health, jobs and justice for all Georgians.
I will work to make health care affordable and accessible for all. I will support a jobs program with historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy. I will champion a new Civil Rights Act to secure equal justice for all.

I believe no American should lack great health care for lack of wealth. This is not socialism. It’s compassion.

I believe we must invest in infrastructure and clean energy to grow our economy and protect our environment. This is not socialism. It’s vision.

I believe we must advance criminal justice reform to end race and class bias in our justice system. This is not socialism. It’s consistent with the principle of equal protection under the law, enshrined in our Constitution, but not yet real in daily American life.

I am running against a virulent and unrepentant anti-Semite, Sen. David Perdue, who lengthened my nose in attack ads and refused to apologize for it despite the demands of the American Jewish Committee.

A U.S. senator who uses ancient anti-Semitic imagery to inflame hatred against his Jewish opponent must be crushed by Jewish voters on Election Day.

Perdue has supported the growth of right-wing extremism, which is a threat to Jews in America, as it is everywhere and always. He has been one of [President Donald] Trump’s most shameless apologists, and the Trump-Perdue GOP has given rise to violent right-wing groups like the Proud Boys, who would have been at home in the German SA of the early 1930s.

I am a committed supporter of the State of Israel. I have family in Jerusalem, and I am committed to Israel’s security as a homeland for the Jewish people, as I am committed to supporting American diplomatic engagement to negotiate a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

We are living at a moment of crisis: 300,000 Americans have been killed by a virus that Senator Perdue assured us was no deadlier than the flu. We have witnessed staggering malpractice and incompetence by the GOP-led federal government this year.

And for eight months, the Senate has blocked economic relief desperately needed by millions of Americas.

I will vote to rush direct relief to families and small businesses.

I will vote to rush resources to Georgia’s CDC, hospital systems and clinics, and to ensure free COVID-19 testing and vaccination for all Americans so public health experts can lead the effort to defeat this virus.

If [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell and David Perdue maintain a majority in the U.S. Senate, they will engage in a campaign of wanton partisan obstruction, putting the national interest beneath the GOP’s interests, and deliberately sabotaging the efforts of the Biden-Harris administration to implement a strong public health response and economic recovery plan.

I ask you again for your vote, so we can address this crisis head-on and enact legislation to make life better, healthier, more prosperous, and more just in Georgia and across our great country.

Early voting is open now, and election day is on Jan. 5.