As constituents in Congressional District 3 and as progressive Jews, we demand that House leaders condemn George Santos in the strongest possible terms and remove him from Congress.
The Torah instructs us to “Keep far from falsehood” (Ex. 20:16). Falsehoods include praising yourself for virtues you do not possess (Zechariah 3:13) and misleading neighbors to believe they are friends to cause harm to or to steal something of value from them (Jeremiah 9:8).
George Santos has committed multiple falsehoods and misled voters in an effort to steal power and undermine true democratic representation from the people of CD-3. His actions also uniquely impact us as Jewish constituents. We are appalled by his violation of our Jewish values, which are also human values, and the impact his actions have on the voters in his district on Long Island and in Queens and across the state of New York and the country.
Exploiting the Jewish community for his own benefit, Santos falsely claimed that his Jewish grandparents had fled Ukraine to Belgium, and then to Brazil, because of the Nazi campaign against the Jewish residents of those countries. He characterized himself as “a proud American Jew.” As an investigation by the Jewish Daily Forward confirmed, Mr. Santos’ grandparents were not Jewish and were born in Brazil years prior to the Holocaust. When confronted with his lies, Santos claimed vague Jewish ancestry, and characterized himself as “Jew-ish.” This despicable lie, like Santos’ other lies, has been ignored by the vast majority of the Republican Party, and has not been specifically highlighted and condemned by most of the Democratic Party.
These lies specifically harm our multiracial Jewish community. In a time of rising antisemitism, racism, white nationalism, and hate crimes, this exploitation of the Jewish community — and particularly those whose ancestors were victims of the Nazis — demonstrates both a cynicism and a depraved indifference to human suffering. His fall-back position, that he is “Jew-ish” (which also appears to be a lie) is a minimization of the meaning of Jewish identity.
Additionally, Santos has explicitly linked himself with white nationalists throughout his campaign and brief time in office, from speaking alongside Rep. Matt Gaetz on Steve Bannon's podcast to appearing as a featured guest at the New York Young Republican Club gala, alongside figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene and neo-Nazi conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec.
We are disgusted by the fact that Mr. Santos is treated like any other member of the House of Representatives. As constituents in his district, we are left without a true voice in Congress or access to representation of our needs and priorities.
We ask that George Santos be condemned for his lies and the harm he has caused the Jewish community in his district and across the country. We also call for the House of Representatives to immediately expel him, and allow the people of New York's 3rd Congressional district to elect a member of Congress who will serve their needs with honesty and integrity.