Liberal Jewish group launches political lobbying arm

Liberal Jewish group launches political lobbying arm

WASHINGTON (RNS) Bend the Arc, a liberal Jewish group that has advocated for social justice causes for more than 30 years, last week (July 18) launched a lobbying arm and political action committee to give it more weight on Capitol Hill and across the nation.

The move is unusual, if not unique. There seem to be no other Jewish groups with a broad agenda that have such lobbying tools at their disposal, said Rabbi David Saperstein, who heads the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. . . .

At a Capitol Hill event last week, Bend the Arc introduced Bend the Arc Jewish Action and Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC. “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter of activism, rooted in Jewish values, where we will aggressively fight for the nation’s most vulnerable with all available political advocacy tools,” said Alan van Capelle, CEO of Bend the Arc. . . .