Barbra Streisand launched a virtual fundraiser under the motto “Jewish Women for Kamala.” Courtesy of Jewish Women for Kamala/Screenshot via YouTube

By Beth Harpaz
15 August 2024

The inimitable Barbra Streisand opened a virtual fundraiser “Jewish Women for Kamala” On Thursday evening, thousands of supporters watched Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

“It is said that Jewish women are known for speaking their minds and saying what they think, and I am one of them,” Streisand said, before attacking Harris’ Republican opponent Donald Trump as a “convicted felon” who is “nakedly grasping for power, a textbook example of a dictatorship.”

Streisand suggested sending Trump “back where he belongs – in his golf cart, lying about his results.” She added that her Passover Seder always includes stories of “rebellious women like Esther and Miriam” and urged listeners to find their “own rebellious spirit” to vote for Harris.

Referring to Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, she added: “Let’s not forget, she married a nice Jewish man!”

The latest in a series of fundraising campaigns

More than 30,000 people watched the 90-minute event via Zoom and YouTube, organizers said. The online rally was co-sponsored by Jewish Democratic Council of America and the Facebook group “Jewish Women for Kamala Harris”.

Harris did not attend the gathering, which followed similar online events for black women, black men and white women, as well as an event for “white guys” attended by actors Jeff Bridges and Mark Ruffalo.

Each fundraiser drew tens of thousands of participants and raised millions of dollars for Harris’ campaign. Organizers of the Jewish women’s event could not immediately say how much money was raised, but asked for donations throughout the evening.

Israel, anti-Semitism – and Yiddish sayings

In addition to Streisand, speakers at the event for Jewish women included U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, comedian Judy Gold, and actresses Shaina Taub and Emmy Rossum.

The speakers made extensive use of references to Jewish holidays – Streisand mentioned Passover, for example – and Yiddish expressions.

“Honesty, hope, nachasLaughter – these two bring so much of it,” said Wasserman Schulz, describing the cheerful and optimistic natures of Harris and Walz.

Many of them spoke about Harris’ support for abortion, IVF, gay rights and other issues on which Democrats and Republicans disagree, while also making a point to highlight Harris’ commitment to Israel and her fight against anti-Semitism.

Rosen noted that when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Harris and the Biden administration supported “an aid package for Israel’s self-defense.” And in choosing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, the senator said Harris chose “a man who literally wrote his master’s thesis on Holocaust education.” Together, Rosen said, they would “build a safer country for the world and for the Jewish people.”

Deny Trump’s claim about Jews for Harris

Several speakers addressed Trump’s claim that Jews who vote for Harris hate Israel. “I am a Jewish voter, an American Jewish voter, and contrary to what Donald Trump has claimed, I don’t hate Israel or my religion just because I’m voting for Kamala and Tim,” said Julie Zebrak, a political consultant and activist.

Alana Zeitchik, an Israeli American, said six of her family members – including her cousin Danielle Aloni and Aloni’s three young children – were kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, and she attributed the release of all but one to a deal brokered by the Biden administration. Zeitchik said she was confident that Harris’ “commitment to pushing Netanyahu and Hamas to a deal” would release the remaining hostages, including Aloni’s husband, and “alleviate the unimaginable suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.”

Taub spoke in a recorded segment from the Broadway theater where she performs crap, the musical she created about women’s suffrage. She recalled a Rosh Hashanah reception at Harris’ home where Harris quoted from the Jewish text: Pirkei Avot: Ethics of our Fathers, The Taub was used as an epigraph in the script.

“You are not obligated to finish the work,” she said. “And you don’t have the freedom to give it up.”