In the face of rising antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the United States, most elected leaders, politicians, and policy makers have done very little, even the Jewish ones. To combat this fecklessness, concerned Jewish Americans have launched TruthTells, a nonpartisan organization that will evaluate and rate every sitting Jewish politician, alerting their constituents to their records and holding them to account.
“There are some politicians who are promoting a socialist ideology that is an overt threat to our freedom and the American Dream itself,” said founder and CEO Jeffrey Berk. “And those who hate American greatness unfailingly also hate Jews. Yet even Jewish congresspeople don’t stand up to their hate-filled colleagues. They are actually—secretly—elevating these antisemites to leadership positions. That incensed me so much, I decided to put my money where my outrage is.”
Berk had contemplated running for Congress in 2022 for the FL-23 seat vacated by Ted Deutsch who had fashioned himself a champion of Israel and Jewish issues. However, seeing how little was actually being done to take on the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), the largest ideological caucus in the Democratic Party, and its socialist leaders like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, Berk conceived of TruthTells in June 2022 to take the fight to a national level.
Having spent decades in the luxury and finance industries, Jeff, together with his wife, built a successful luxury fashion business, Privé Porter, reselling the famed Hermès Birkin and Kelly handbags to celebrities and ultra-high-end consumers. In March 2022, they sold a one-of-a-kind Birkin handbag to Kanye West, now known as Ye. That bag sold for $275,000.
“When Ye revealed his racism against Jews, we didn’t want his money, so we added that to what we’d already invested in TruthTells,” Berk continued. “Sadly, there are other Jew haters, including the Squad in Congress. Shockingly, they are supported by some of their Jewish colleagues. We’re going to identify those Jewish leaders who fail to stand up to the bigots and we’ll organize so they are either forced to act or forced out.”
TruthTells has already attracted some significant supporters. One of the founding board members is Josh Mandel, a Marine veteran and former State Treasurer of Ohio. “There are Jewish members of Congress who shamefully enable and empower anti-Israel and anti-America bigots like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.” explained Mandel. “These politicians must be exposed, held to account, and banished from the halls of power.”
Political guru George Birnbaum is another TruthTells founding board member. Birnbaum has worked on dozens of congressional and senatorial campaigns, as well as consulted for over 30 presidential and prime minister candidates in countries around the world. “As the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, I know the misery and destruction poisonous leaders can cause,” Birnbaum declared. “We’re going to do everything in our power to protect America, Israel, and Jews from the haters whether they be in Congress, governors’ mansions, or the White House situation room.”
A major TruthTells initiative will be to evaluate Jewish politicians according to their voting records and their support or denouncement of antisemitic colleagues in the CPC. Members will receive a letter grade and their constituents will be informed via substantial traditional and social media ad campaigns. Similar actions will be undertaken regarding executive branch policymakers and other officials at the federal and state level. The TruthTells 2023 Q2 media budget to educate the constituents of the 13 Jewish CPC members exceeds $1,000,000.
In late March 2023, TruthTells will send questionnaires to each sitting CPC member, including legacy politicians like Steve Cohen, Jerrold Nadler, and Jamie Raskin. In the meantime, they received a preliminary grade of “F,” having allowed Ilhan Omar to become second in command at the CPC and Rashida Tlaib to keep her position as a Vice Chair.
“Squad members are pouring millions of dollars into identifying and running more socialist, Jew-hating candidates. Why aren’t Jewish sitting politicians doing the same on the other side of the fence?” wondered Berk. “Leadership matters. As Jews, we have many examples of outstanding leadership to emulate. One of our sages, Rabbi Hillel, once said, ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me?’ It was true 2,000 years ago and it’s true today. If Jewish leaders won’t stand up for Jewish Americans and Israel, who will?”