Cindy Grosz
Cindy GroszCourtesy

On July 8, 1776, the Liberty Bell was rung to celebrate the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. After the British invasion of Philadelphia, the bell was hidden in a church until it could be safely returned to the State House.

The cracked bell is a popular icon of the new nation and its independence, and there are several legends as to how and when it cracked. One fact for sure was that the symbol for freedom wasn’t intended for hate or antisemitism. So why would the state of Pennsylvania vote for at least two elected officials who have the potential to write legislation and vote against the interests of American Jews and Israel?

Who Is Summer Lee?

Summer Lee made history last week when she won her election. Democrat Summer Lee, a state representative from western Pennsylvania, has become the state’s first Black woman to be elected to Congress.

Lee will be representing the heavily Democratic 12th District, which includes all of Pittsburgh and other areas of Allegheny County, along with a portion of Westmoreland County.

Summer Lee
Summer LeeScreenshot from YouTube

Throughout her campaign, Lee won endorsements from progressive members of Congress, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Her win represents a big victory for progressives and, according to The Hill, she could be the latest member of Capitol Hill’s progressive “Squad.”

Lee described herself as “a dedicated organizer, activist and advocate for social justice in her local community.” Pro-Israel groups spends over a million dollars adverting against her campaign - unsuccessfully.

In May 2021, Lee tweeted, “Inhumanities against the Palestinian ppl cannot be tolerated or justified.” She has also tweeted multiple times about Israel defending itself in the ongoing Gaza troubles.

Lee surrounded herself with progressive Jews from Pittsburgh. Elected officials including Pittsburgh City Council Member Erika Strassburger and State Representative Dan Frankel emphasized Lee’s support of environmental regulations, unions, abortion rights, and public benefits in contrast to her conservative opponent Republican Mike Doyle.

Lee has “a proven track record to protect our freedoms,” Strassburger said. “Our freedom to clean air, our freedom to clean water, our freedom to choose if and when we grow our family, our freedom to join collectively as workers to increase wages or benefits through labor unions, and to retire with Medicare and Social Security benefits. All things that Republican Mike Doyle would strip away from us.”

Pittsburgh Jews never mentioned Israel or antisemitism in their endorsements, instead attacking republicans on opinions never proven to be accurate.

It is ironic that Lee represents the members of the Tree of Life synagogue, site of the 2018 shooting in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, which sits in the district.

Meet The Junior Senator

It’s no secret that John Fetterman’s win was a win for the progressives in Washington.

John Fetterman
John FettermanREUTERS

Fetterman’s hometown of Braddock is only a short drive away from Pittsburgh, the site of the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre that was the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Fetterman was the town’s mayor at the time of the shooting, and had been running in a hotly contested battle for the state’s lieutenant governor. Fetterman said he would bring this commitment to combatting antisemitism to the forefront of his service in Washington should he be elected. However, his actions question his ability to keep that campaign promise.

John Fetterman's anti-Israel, pro-BDS, pro-Iran Deal alliances with extreme groups like Peace Action prove that he will put his radical agenda ahead of U.S. interests at every opportunity. His art gallery has a history of promoting anti-Israel artists and exhibits.

Fetterman’s gallery, which is supported by his nonprofit Braddock Redux, commissioned a mural in 2008 entitled "Three Boys Living in the Shadow of the Separation Wall" from an artist, Swoon, who is a prominent anti-Israel activist and has called for a cultural boycott of the Jewish state.

The gallery hosted an anti-Israel art exhibit that demonized Israel as an "apartheid state" and spread slanderous falsehoods about the Jewish State in 2014.

Finally, the close ties between Senator Bernie Sanders and John Fetterman are not a secret nor are Fetterman’s wife’s activism or bizarre remarks.

Pennsylvania’s new first family, the Shapiros, will have a kosher kitchen in Harrisburg. But will it be enough to keep the crack in the Liberty Bell’s representation of freedom and independence stand against the anti-Israel legislation the newly elected representatives going to Washington DC are going to support?

And it’s even more important for Jews in every state and Israel to watch the words and actions of Jew versus radical Islamic sympathizers as a sign of the Democratic Party’s future as well as the fate of American Jews.

Cindy Grosz is The Jewess Patriot, Radio’s Premiere Jewish Activist syndicated through Conservative Television of America, Real Talk Radio and the Black and White Network. The show streams through RokuTV, Amazon FireTV, iHeart, Spotify and Deezer and out of Israel through Jewish Podcasts. She ran as a pro-Trump congressional candidate in 2020. She is the chair of Jewish Vote GOP and a Jewish advisor for many 2022 candidates. Her lawsuit against the NYCDOE exposes scandals and corruption within public schools. She can be reached through [email protected]