FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 20, 2020

CONTACT: Logan Smith, [email protected], 202-709-8825

“We Rise As One” campaign will bring together Jews and allies across the country to rise up in solidarity and build a country that is truly for all of us

NEW YORK — Bend the Arc: Jewish Action on Thursday unveiled the organization’s “We Rise As One” campaign, a nationwide effort to hold the right accountable at the ballot box in 2020 for their mainstreaming of white nationalism and weaponization of antisemitism.

“We are working to fulfill the promise of a nation where everyone experiences freedom, fairness, security, and belonging no matter what we look like or where we come from,” said Bend the Arc CEO Stosh Cotler. “We won't let politicians who harm our communities expand their own wealth and power. Together, we will defeat the white nationalist movement that seeks to destroy us all.”

Throughout the 2020 election, the We Rise As One campaign will bring together Jews and allies across the United States to rise up in solidarity and kick white nationalism out of the halls of power by electing a more progressive Congress.

“Trump and his supporters in the Republican Party are using fear, bigotry, and lies to enable violence against immigrants, Jewish people, Muslim people, people of color, LGBTQ people, and other communities,” added Cotler. “We won’t be divided. Our futures in this country are intertwined.”

The We Rise As One campaign launched on Thursday with a powerful video featuring the voices of some of Jewish activists across the country. More than 20 launch parties have already been planned across the country for Jewish activists to join the campaign through local community organizing alongside other communities targeted by white nationalism, training and planning direct actions to hold politicians accountable, and electing diverse progressive candidates who will help build a true multiracial democracy.

Click here to view Bend the Arc’s launch video released on Thursday

In 2016, Bend the Arc mobilized the only nationwide Jewish response to stop Trump. The “We've Seen This Before” campaign (named the most valuable activist campaign of 2016 by The Nation) was a warning of Trump's authoritarianism and danger for our communities — a warning which was sadly proven true.

Newly-released polling data by Bend the Arc found that 90% of American Jewish voters believe antisemitism has increased in the four years since Trump was elected, and 73% say they feel less safe compared to four years ago. However, 46% of Jewish voters say the increase in antisemitism has spurred them to get more involved in political activism.

In 2020, Bend the Arc is building on its reputation as a leader of the Jewish resistance to mobilize an unprecedented movement of Jews and allies to rise up in solidarity together to defeat white nationalism at the ballot box and hold its champions accountable.

“Resistance and survival are our birthright,” said Cotler. “Our people have survived genocide and fascism, deportation, and slavery. Together, we rise up as one to build a country that is truly for all of us.”