What Kelly Loeffler Should Have Written To the Jewish Community

Senator Loeffler wrote an actual open letter, which can be read here.

Below is what she should have written.

Kelly Loeffler offers a more authentic connection than she did the Jewish community, via Wikimedia Commons

An Open Letter to the Jewish Community

by: A Candidate Who Has Actually Talked To Actual Jews

My name is [NAME], and I’m running for Senate in the great state of Georgia. I’m writing to the Jewish community about how I hope to partner with you on this journey.

These are difficult times: times of vast and increasing inequality, a raging covid pandemic, and right-wing authoritarians grasping power in many nations. Extremist rallies in Charlottesville and beyond have put a modern face on ancient hatreds, that particularly threaten the safety of our brothers and sisters in the Jewish community.

I recently had the good fortune to spend the — safely socially distanced! — final night of Chanukah with my friends [NAMES OF ACTUAL LOCAL JEWISH LEADERS WITH PHOTO OF ACTUAL EVENT], where we discussed the Chanukah story; a tale that reminds us, no matter how dark things get, hope is possible. I truly believe that if we stand together, this is as true today as it was in the time of the Maccabees.

Here in Georgia, home to many of the struggles of the Civil Rights movement, we have come face to face with the same evil that fueled events in Charlottesville and beyond, and we have defeated it repeatedly. As you all know, many American Jews stood — and stand — strong in this fight. Just as many Georgians went to war to fight back the evils of fascism in Europe, Jewish Americans marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King and future Congressman John Lewis; raised funds to defend the Scottsboro Boys; and lost their lives at the hands of segregationists in Mississippi. It is my honor to run for election to the United States Senate as a candidate who lives in awe of this legacy.

Beyond the chaos in the wider world, we face a great many difficulties here in Georgia, from income inequality to lack of healthcare; decades of under-investment in education and infrastructure; and worsening hurricanes and flooding due to climate change. In my conversations with Jewish Georgians, I have been introduced to the inspiring concept of “tikkun…