Jon Ossoff
“These votes send a message that is concerning to the Jewish community about how our senators think about safety and security for the state of Israel,” Dov Wilker, of the AJC’s Atlanta office, told JNS.
After the shooting, Israel attempted to start a joint investigation into the death with the Palestinian Authority; the offer was rejected.
“Everyone on this list is poised to make history,” says Dan Macsai, editorial director of the 2021 TIME100 NEXT project. “And, in fact, many already have.”
He will serve a full six-year term, while fellow incoming Sen. Raphael Warnock will be up for re-election in 2022.
With his victory, Jon Ossoff becomes the first Jewish person elected to the Senate from Georgia.
Wendy Sherman, the lead negotiator for the United States in reaching the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, is likely to be nominated as U.S. deputy secretary of state.
American Jewish groups from both sides of the aisle have invested heavily in the Jan. 5 runoffs, as they see stark differences on the candidates’ policies on topics such as the U.S.-Israel relationship, the Iran nuclear deal, anti-Semitism and more.
Atlanta’s Jewish community is the largest in the South, with around 120,000 Jews. And right now, it’s the center of attention as the country moves closer to Jan. 5.
As the fate of the U.S. Senate rests on two run-off elections in Georgia, GOP control of the Senate could block nominees to the executive branch, including Cabinet members in a Biden administration, who may be hostile towards Israel.
Another runoff in the state on Jan. 5 will take place between incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock.
With the balance of the Senate in question, here are five contests deemed very close in states with significant Jewish populations.
“This is the oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history. Senator, literally no one believes your excuses,” tweeted Democrat Jon Ossoff of Sen. David Perdue.
