In his first Senate vote, Kim is against aid to Israel
169 New Jersey rabbis, from all streams, join to condemn his decision
Late last Thursday night — April 3 — the United States Senate voted down two resolutions that would have stopped $8.98 billion in military aid to Israel.
The measures, proposed by Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders, stood no chance of passing. In what was obviously a show vote, 15 senators, all Democrats, supported them. One of those senators was Andy Kim, the Democrat who was voted into office in November. In response, a group of 169 rabbis from across the state sent an open letter to Mr. Kim, detailing their disappointment and sense of betrayal. (We’ve reprinted it below.) “In a critical first vote, Senator Kim failed our ally…and our community,” it begins.
The signatures, gathered in 24 hours, when Shabbat began, are notable for the unity they display. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist rabbis from across the state signed it.
The project was spearheaded by a Conservative rabbi from North Jersey and an Orthodox and a Reform rabbi from MetroWest. To be specific they are Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner of Temple Emanu-El of Closter, who is Conservative; Rabbi Samuel Klibanoff of Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston, who is Orthodox, and Rabbi Daniel Cohen of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange, who is Reform.
When Mr. Sanders introduced the resolution, the rabbis were prepared. “We knew that Bernie was going to do this,” Rabbi Kirshner said. “Something similar happened last year, just after the national election.” Then, too, Mr. Sanders introduced two motions to stop military aid from going to Israel. Like the vote last week, neither had any chance of passing, but still posed a dilemma for senators. “I call votes like this virtue-signaling,” Rabbi Kirshner said.
Nineteen Democrats voted for that resolution last year. They included both of Georgia’s senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. “They were repudiated by the rabbis in Georgia,” he continued. “They had meetings with the rabbis. The rabbis explained why that vote was so hurtful and hateful and dangerous and wrong.
“This time, both Warnock and Ossoff voted against it.” (Rev. Warnock is a pastor; Mr. Ossoff, who is up for reelection in 2026, is Jewish.)
“So we were prepared for this vote, and we wanted to have a rabbinic response to it. One hundred sixty-nine rabbis signed it, telling Senator Kim that we are very disappointed because he failed his first litmus test for the Jewish community.
“And there was something else the letter didn’t even address. We have failed Edan Alexander. He is the lone living American hostage. He is from New Jersey. From Tenafly. We have to use every possible arrow in our quiver to demand his redemption, whether that is through force or through mediation.
“To threaten to take any of it away works against us.”
Rabbi Kirshner was surprised by Mr. Kim’s vote.
“I can’t believe that Senator Kim wants to do that,” he said. “I just think that he’s very misguided on this topic.
“I had the opportunity to meet with candidate Kim twice, and I was captured with his kindness and wisdom. I think he’s a very good person, and I know that my colleagues and I are eager to sit down and discuss this with him in much more detail and nuance, so that he can understand where we’re coming from and the reverberation of his choice.
“So I’m not as angry with Andy as I am disappointed and angry with Bernie,” Rabbi Kirshner continued. “Bernie knows that this had no chance of passing, yet he does this kind of political theater over and over again. To date, he has not introduced any legislation demanding the release of Edan Alexander and the other 59 hostages, or for more funding for protective measures for Israel, including the Iron Dome.
“Ten rockets were fired from Gaza on Monday. One of them landed — that’s on par with the Iron Dome’s interception rate, 90 percent. It hit Askelon and severely injured someone. So where is Bernie’s condemnation? Where is Bernie’s legislation? Why is Jewish blood cheap for Bernie? Palestinian blood is not, but Jewish blood is. It’s a double standard. It shouldn’t be. Bernie’s virtual-signaling and political theater on the Senate floor is a wasted opportunity
“And I’m not saying this only as a Jew and a Zionist. I’m also saying that we don’t do any service to America by forsaking the defense of Israel. Bernie should be ashamed that he has not used his voice or his pulpit or his Senate seat to advocate for the release of Omer Neutra’s body” — Omer Neutra was the young Israeli American from Long Island who died on October 7 but had long been thought to be held hostage — “or for Edan Alexander to be repatriated. But instead, he wants to punish the Israeli government for daring to use force to respond to the brutality of October 7.
“And it’s a brutality that is relentless and unceasing, as was evidenced in the rocket attack on Sunday.
“This is all political theater, and it’s ridiculous. We have enough political theater in the White House. It doesn’t serve us.”
“I am so disappointed in Andy Kim, based on the times when I’ve heard him give full-throated support to Israel,” Rabbi Cohen said.
“Israel is in the middle of a war. Hamas continues to send missiles and uses psychological warfare, as it does when it released some of the hostages.” Rabbi Cohen described the way that Hamas fighters dressed in uniforms to release the hostages, as they never do when they’re hiding among civilians, “breaking the Geneva convention. Nobody talked about their cruelty. We hear about what’s happening in Gaza — which is horrible — but suddenly they have the electricity, the technology, to produce all these banners?
“And when things are heating up with Iran right now, when Hamas reached out to Iran and said if you give us money, we will destroy Israel, you vote not to give Israel what it needs to defend itself?”
Rabbi Cohen is heartened, though, by the way he, Rabbi Klibanoff, and Rabbi Kirshner have been able to work together, and how quickly other local rabbis joined them. “David-Seth, Sam, and I are friends,” he said. “There is a lot that we don’t agree on — but there is a lot that we agree on. And 169 New Jersey rabbis and cantors from all streams of Judaism, all levels of observance, from across the political spectrum — I know that some of them are very right, some are very left, and then there are the rest of us in between them — all came together to sign that letter.
“That shows that the vast majority of Jewish leadership and the Jewish community in New Jersey stands in support of the U.S.-Israel relationship, stands in support of Israel having the means to defend itself by itself, and is going to speak out together on this.
“Sadly, this does not happen nearly often enough. But I think in a post October 7 world — this is something that David-Seth and Sam and I have talked about a lot — we recognize that what unites us is so much more important than the divisions within our community. “Part of what we want to do is to represent that unity.
“I love Sam and I love David-Seth. We may approach our Jewish lives and communal living differently, but our core values and commitments are shared. Particularly at this time, it’s important to work together in partnership. That made it easy to write the letter.
“I am really proud of my colleagues, and proud to be able to work with them.”
Rabbi Klibinoff also was gratified, not only professionally but personally as well, by his relationship with the other rabbis. “We are close colleagues and good friends,” he said. “Whenever we can find common ground, we pounce on it. We don’t talk religion. But love for Israel is a unifying topic for us.”
Mr. Kim had “met with us before he was elected,” Rabbi Klibinoff said. “We talked about a couple of issues to see what he was planning on doing.
“He was gracious. He pledged to support us. He said all the right things. And then this vote was really a slap in the face.
“We cannot stand idly by.
“So we spent a furious 24 hours where we tried to get as many colleagues as possible to join. We got 169.”
Like his colleagues, Rabbi Klibinoff was angered by the resolutions’ failure to mention the hostages while refusing funding for Israel. He thinks that it is particularly inappropriate for Mr. Kim to have signed them, given that the only living American hostage comes from his state. “When you have Edan Alexander, one of your own constituents, held in Gaza, and when we are praying and working and advocating for his release, we see this, it’s like another gut punch.
“How many more of these punches can we take? We just aren’t going to take it any more.”
There were very few objections to the letter to Mr. Kim from other rabbis, “but one of my colleagues pushed back,” Rabbi Klibinoff said. “He said he didn’t like the tone of the letter. Coming from a rabbi, it should be nicer.
“But as I told him, we don’t have the time to be nice. If we care so much about everybody else’s feelings instead of our own all the time, we don’t get anywhere. We need a strong, unified voice.”
And anyway, “the tone is not disrespectful,” Rabbi Klibinoff said. It’s direct. “And it got the point across.”
Mr. Kim’s office chose not to respond to a request for a response to the rabbis’ open letter by saying anything new, pointing instead to a press release that is posted to his official website, www.kim.senate.gov, under the “Newsroom” tab, already three or four press releases down. It was dated April 3, the day that the senator voted for the resolutions, and therefore was not in response to the rabbis’ letter. It is mainly milquetoast, blandly unobjectionable, very on-the-other-hand-y, and it does begin by acknowledging that Edan Alexander is still held prisoner in Gaza. But that is the only time he mentions Mr. Alexander by name.
“The man has a constituent who is a hostage,” Rabbi Cohen said about the press release. “What is he doing? Josh Gottheimer has been doing so much to try to get Edan released.” (Mr. Gottheimer, a Democrat, represents New Jersey’s Fifth District in Congress.) “I would like to know from the senator what he is doing personally to help get him out.
Recalling how Mr. Kim, then a member of Congress representing New Jersey’s Third District, worked alone on the evening of January 6, 2021, trying to clean up some of the debris left behind by insurrectionists as they invaded the building, Rabbi Cohen said that the memory made Mr. Kim’s move on Thursday even sadder.
“That was courageous,” Rabbi Cohen said. “It’s such a big step from that to this, and it makes it even sadder.”
In a critical first vote, Senator Kim failed our ally…and our community.
New Jersey’s elected officials have always been proud to support and strengthen the US-Israeli relationship. They understand the shared values and mutually beneficial relationship. Our Senators have always stood with our ally to ensure it has the resources it needs to defend itself—until today.
For the last 18 months, our ally Israel was forced to fight a war it did not want and did not start. A genocidal terrorist organization launched this war bent on killing Israelis and destroying the Jewish state. Iran and its terrorist proxies surrounding Israel have attacked Israeli families with onslaughts of mortars, drones, rockets, and missiles—their brutality on October 7th and since make clear that their threats are not merely words.
Israel continues to fight to defend its borders and prevent future attacks on its citizens. It has asked the United States to sell it the American-made weapons it needs to protect its people and defeat the forces of evil. The vast majority of our elected officials know how important these arms are to the threat Iran and her proxies pose.
Some of these weapons sales were initiated by President Biden. Others by President Trump. And the majority of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate approved the sales. They know how important the US-Israel relationship is and that Israel is the front line in confronting Iran’s hegemonic aspirations.
Sadly, a small minority in Congress do not understand the importance of the US-Israel relationship and seem to have accepted Hamas’ lies and propaganda. Now, knowingly or not, they are doing Hamas and Iran’s bidding and want America to abandon our ally and block these weapons sales. Bernie Sanders is the ringleader. Once again, while Hamas still holds hostages, including Americans, and Israel once again faces missile attacks on numerous fronts, he forced a vote on anti-Israel resolutions to prevent the sales from going through. It is shameful but sadly not surprising, given his record.
Despite numerous pledges that he would stand by our ally and by his Jewish constituents, in his first vote on an issue critical to Israel’s security, Senator Andy Kim voted with the anti-Israel fringe, against our ally, and our community.
We are shocked. We are dismayed. And we are angry.
As leaders in New Jersey’s Jewish community spanning religious denominations and political affiliations, we join together in our condemnation of Senator Kim’s irresponsible and misguided vote to undermine Israel’s security.
Each one of us wants to see this painful war come to an end, to see every hostage come home, and to see Hamas’ stranglehold on Gaza removed forever. We are grateful to Senator Cory Booker for once again showing true leadership in voting against Sanders’ anti-Israel resolutions and ensuring these weapons sales were approved.
With this vote to block weapons sales to Israel, Senator Kim ignored his pro-Israel constituents and Israeli leaders across the political spectrum – notably those who are most outspoken against the current government. He did so after meeting with numerous New Jersey Jewish community leaders and pledging his support.
Yair Golan, the leader of The Democrats party in Israel, said: “Withholding military support for Israel won’t help bring the hostages home, reach a ceasefire, or move us any closer to security at home and regional stability.”
Yair Lapid, Israel’s Opposition Leader, called Sanders’ resolutions “a call to abandon the people of Israel in the face of Iranian-sponsored Islamic terrorism…Whatever you think of the Israeli government, calling to abandon the people of Israel is irresponsible and dangerous.”
Yet that is exactly what Senator Kim has done with this vote.
The overwhelming majority of senators rejected this anti-Israel campaign. But Senator Kim’s deliberate choice to side with Israel’s loudest opponents is an affront to our values, our strategic interests, and our community.
Senator Kim: You are on the wrong side of this issue. Your constituents are outraged. Listen to them. Stop siding with anti-Israel extremists. Stand with Israel.
Signed,
1. Rabbi Daniel M. Cohen, South Orange, New Jersey
2. Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner, Closter, New Jersey
3. Rabbi E. Samuel Klibanoff, Livingston, New Jersey
4. Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz, Short Hills, New Jersey
5. Rabbi Elliot Schrier, Teaneck, New Jersey
6. Rabbi Inna Serebro-Litvak, Succasunna, New Jersey
7. Rabbi William Gershon, Toms River, New Jersey
8. Rabbi Shalom Baum, New Milford, New Jersey
9. Rabbi Karen Glazer Perolman, West Orange, New Jersey
10. Rabbi Chaim Poupko, Englewood, New Jersey
11. Rabbi David Vaisberg, Livingston, New Jersey
12. Rabbi Leana Moritt, Jersey City, New Jersey
13. Rabbi Joshua Hess, East Brunswick, New Jersey
14. Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, Teaneck, New Jersey
15. Rabbi Dr. David J. Fine, Ridgewood, New Jersey
16. Rabbi Ellie Miller, Morristown, New Jersey
17. Rabbi James Proops, Livingston, New Jersey
18. Rabbi Andrew Markowitz, Fair lawn, New Jersey
19. Rabbi Loren Monosov, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey
20. Rabbi Aryeh Stechler, Teaneck, New Jersey
21. Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler, West Orange, New Jersey
22. Rabbi Ian Silverman, Margate, New Jersey
23. Rabbi Sharon Litwin, Teaneck, New Jersey
24. Rabbi Eliezer E. Rubin, Livingston, New Jersey
25. Rabbi Zev Goldberg, Bergenfield, New Jersey
26. Rabbi Ned Soltz, Teaneck, New Jersey
27. Cantor Israel Singer, Closter, New Jersey
28. Rabbi Willie Balk, Englewood, New Jersey
29. Rabbi Howard Jachter, Teaneck, New Jersey
30. Rabbi Marc Spivak, West Orange, New Jersey
31. Rabbi Steven Kushner, Jersey City, New Jersey
32. Cantor Alan Sokoloff, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey
33. Rabbi Michael Davies, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
34. Rabbi Jay M. Kornsgold, East Windsor, New Jersey
35. Rabbi Dr. Robert Wolkoff, North Brunswick, New Jersey
36. Rabbi Robert Rubin, Brick, New Jersey
37. Rabbi Rebecca Pomerantz, Closter, New Jersey
38. Rabbi Howard Tilman, Scotch Plains, New Jersey
39. Rabbi Ethan Prosnit, Westfield, New Jersey
40. Rabbi Dr. Cantor Sam Josephson, Fair Lawn, New Jersey
41. Rabbi Eli Garfinkel, Somerset, New Jersey
42. Rabbi Jonathan Knapp, Bergenfield, New Jersey
43. Rabbi Stephen Wylen, Bound Brook, New Jersey
44. Rabbi Robert Tobin, West Orange, New Jersey
45. Rabbi Robert Mark, Clifton, New Jersey
46. Rabbi Nasanayl Braun, Long Branch, New Jersey
47. Rabbi Abigail Treu, South Orange, New Jersey
48. Rabbi Barry Schwartz, Leonia, New Jersey
49. Rabbi Arthur Weiner, Paramus, New Jersey
50. Rabbi Laurence Groffman, Montclair, New Jersey
51. Rabbi Chaim Marcus, Springfield, New Jersey
52. Rabbi Ronald Roth, Fair Lawn, New Jersey
53. Rabbi Neal Borovitz, River Edge/Oradell, New Jersey
54. Rabbi Andrea Merow, Princeton, New Jersey
55. Rabbi Jeremy Ruberg, Closter, New Jersey
56. Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, North Brunswick, New Jersey
57. Rabbi Rachel Steiner, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
58. Rabbi Bryan Wexler, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
59. Rabbi Yishai Abrams, Livingston, New Jersey
60. Rabbi David Englander, Voorhees, New Jersey
61. Rabbi Zev Reichman, Englewood, New Jersey
62. Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot, Teaneck, New Jersey
63. Rabbi-Cantor Colman Reaboi, Cinnaminson, New Jersey
64. Cantor Jana Schachter, Voorhees, New Jersey
65. Rabbi Ari Lucas, Caldwell, New Jersey
66. Rabbi Aaron Krupnick, Voorhees, New Jersey
67. Rabbi Dr. Robert Scheinberg, Hoboken, New Jersey
68. Rabbi Richard Kirsch, Livingston, New Jersey
69. Rabbi Avraham Wein, Bergenfield, New Jersey
70. Rabbi Micah Peltz, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
71. Rabbi Gabe Cohen, Closter, New Jersey
72. Rabbi Netanel Reed, Jersey City, New Jersey
73. Rabbi Randi Musnitsky, Warren, New Jersey
74. Rabbi Eliza Scheffler, Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
75. Rabbi David Weis, Northfield, New Jersey
76. Rabbi Ari Zahtz, Teaneck, New Jersey
77. Rabbi Jesse Olitzky, South Orange, New Jersey
78. Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky, Bergenfield, New Jersey
79. Rabbi Marc Katz, Montclair, New Jersey
80. Rabbi Laurence Malinger, Aberdeen, New Jersey
81. Rabbi Joshua Greenbaum, Warren, New Jersey
82. Rabbi Leah Sternberg, Summit, New Jersey
83. Rabbi Erin Glazer, Summit, New Jersey
84. Rabbi Simeon Cohen, Livingston, New Jersey
85. Rabbi Joel Seltzer, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
86. Rabbi Steven Burg, Bergenfield, New Jersey
87. Rabbi Adena Blum, Robbinsville, New Jersey
88. Rabbi Yitzchok Bogomilsky, Maplewood, New Jersey
89. Rabbi Justin Pines, Englewood, New Jersey
90. Rabbi Elliot Mathias, Livingston, New Jersey
91. Rabbi Mendy Carlebach, South Brunswick, New Jersey
92. Rabbi Beni Krohn, Teaneck, New Jersey
93. Rabbi Victor Appell, Westfield, New Jersey
94. Rabbi David Tawil, West Long Branch, New Jersey
95. Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Passaic, New Jersey
96. Rabbi Ike Hanon, Oakhurst, New Jersey
97. Rabbi Daniel Goldberg, Englewood, New Jersey
98. Rabbi Dan Selsberg, Bridgewater, New Jersey
99. Rabbi Stephen Gold, Lakewood, New Jersey
100. Rabbi Randall Mark, Wayne, New Jersey
101. Rabbi Elliot Shestack, Fair Lawn/Glen Rock, New Jersey
102. Rabbi Akiva Block, Englewood, New Jersey
103. Rabbi Joshua Finkelstein, Springfield, New Jersey
104. Rabbi Joshua Waxman, Wyckoff, New Jersey
105. Rabbi Daniel Fridman, Teaneck, New Jersey
106. Rabbi Joshua Lobel, New Brunswick, New Jersey
107. Rabbi Esther Reed, Highland Park, New Jersey
108. Rabbi Cecelia Beyer, Bridgewater, New Jersey
109. Rabbi Ron Isaacs, Wildwood, New Jersey
110. Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, Teaneck, New Jersey
111. Rabbi Shelley Kniaz, Teaneck, New Jersey
112. Rabbi Gerald Zelizer, Metuchen, New Jersey
113. Rabbi Ari Zucker, Livingston, New Jersey
114. Rabbi Joshua Kahn, Teaneck, New Jersey
115. Rabbi Shmuel Bergman, Fort Lee, New Jersey
116. Hazzan Alisa Pomerantz-Boro, Voorhees, New Jersey
117. Rabbi Eliot Malomet, Highland Park, New Jersey
118. Rabbi Azriel C. Fellner, Livingston, New Jersey
119. Rabbi Larry Rothwachs, Teaneck, New Jersey
120. Rabbi Avi Schwartz, New Brunswick, New Jersey
121. Rabbi Menashe East, Randolph, New Jersey
122. Rabbi Michael Taubes, Teaneck, New Jersey
123. Rabbi Laibel Schapiro, Long Branch, New Jersey
124. Rabbi Aaron Schonbrun, Oakhurst, New Jersey
125. Rabbi David Nesson, Morris Plains, New Jersey
126. Rabbi Ilan Acoca, Fort Lee, New Jersey
127. Rabbi Matthew Nover, East Windsor, New Jersey
128. Rabbi Charles Popky, Rockaway, New Jersey
129. Rabbi Sam Hollander, Voorhees, New Jersey
130. Rabbi Stephanie Dickstein, Highland Park, New Jersey
131. Rabbi-Cantor Jessica Fox, Glen Ridge, New Jersey
132. Rabbi Menachem Genack, Englewood, New Jersey
133. Rabbi Keven Tzvi Friedman, Highland Park, New Jersey
134. Rabbi-Cantor Larry Brandspiegel, East Brunswick, New Jersey
135. Rabbi Jonathan Falco, Manalapan, New Jersey
136. Rabbi Moshe Rudin, Parsippany, New Jersey
137. Rabbi Chaim-Eliezer Edelstein, Aberdeen, New Jersey
138. Rabbi Yehuda Halpert, Teaneck, New Jersey
139. Rabbi Ilana Schwartzman, Mahwah, New Jersey
140. Rabbi Daniel Feldman, Teaneck, New Jersey
141. Rabbi Daniel Nevins, West Orange, New Jersey
142. Rabbi Avi Friedman, Summit, New Jersey
143. Rabbi Alan Silverstein, Caldwell, New Jersey
144. Rabbi Dr. Ronald William Kaplan, Warren, New Jersey
145. Rabbi Moshe Jordan Yasgur, Teaneck, New Jersey
146. Cantor Rebecca Moses, South Orange, New Jersey
147. Rabbi Efrem Reis, Teaneck, New Jersey
148. Rabbi Jennifer Schlosberg, Glen Rock, New Jersey
149. Rabbi Paula Mack Drill, Caldwell, New Jersey
150. Rabbi Aryeh Wielgus, Bergenfield, New Jersey
151. Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, Ocean Township, New Jersey
152. Rabbi Mark Finkel, Pine Brook, New Jersey
153. Rabbi Dr. Joel Roth, Englewood, New Jersey
154. Rabbi Sammy Beckerman, Livingston, New Jersey
155. Rabbi Benjamin Adler, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
156. Rabbi Andrew Warmflash,West Orange, New Jersey
157. Rabbi Paul Resnick, Teaneck, New Jersey
158. Rabbi Amy Small, Morristown, New Jersey
159. Rabbi Joseph Beyda, Allenhurst, New Jersey
160. Rabbi Joseph Soffer, Allenhurst, New Jersey
161. Rabbi Ronald Barry, Elberon, New Jersey
162. Rabbi Dr. Richard Hidary, Allenhurst, New Jersey
163. Rabbi Joseph Mizrachi, Allenhurst, New Jersey
164. Rabbi Avi Harari, Allenhurst, New Jersey
165. Rabbi Alexandra Klein, South Orange, New Jersey
166. Cantor Jacob Greenberg, Scotch Plains, New Jersey
167. Rabbi Norman Patz, Cedar Grove, New Jersey
168. Rabbi Michael Jay, Spray Beach, New Jersey
169. Rabbi Yosef Sharbat, West Orange, New Jersey
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