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For Immediate Release
July, 21 2025, 04:24pm EDT
Contact:
Sonya Meyerson-Knox, sonya@jvp.org
Cuomo Gets One Thing Right: Young New York Jews Support Zohran
“Corrupt and cynical politicians like Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams will continue to fail because they are offering nothing more than hate and division. New York Jews see that Mamdani is putting forward a vision rooted in humanity and dignity. He’s working for a better life for all. And that’s what we are fighting for.”
New York City
In response to former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recent comments that young, Jewish, and pro-Palestinian voters overwhelmingly supported and helped Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani win in June, Jewish Voice for Peace Action issued the following statement:
Beth Miller, Political Director, JVP Action:
“In a shocking turn of events, Andrew Cuomo got one thing right: young Jewish voters overwhelmingly supported Zohran Mamdani for mayor. And they did this not in spite of, but because of, his support for Palestinian rights. Jewish New Yorkers want elected officials with consistent values, whose progressive politics do not stop at our city’s borders.
“Mamdani’s unapologetic support for freedom, justice, and equality for all people — including Palestinians — was a political boon to his campaign, and was one of the primary motivators for many Jews in his historic canvassing operation. Meanwhile, Cuomo decided his path back to political power was through Islamophobic fearmongering about antisemitism, and doubling down on support for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, even going so far as to join Netanyahu’s legal team after the International Court charged him with war crimes. The pro-Cuomo Super PAC spent over $25 million, relying on Islamophobic smears to attack Mamdani. It failed spectacularly.
“Corrupt and cynical politicians like Cuomo and Eric Adams will continue to fail because they are offering nothing more than hate and division. New York Jews see that Mamdani is putting forward a vision rooted in humanity and dignity. He’s working for a better life for all. And that’s what we are fighting for.”
JVP Action endorsed Mamdani on October 23, the day he launched his campaign. The organization mobilized over 2,500 volunteers and led canvasses across Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island that knocked an estimated 80,000 doors.
While Cuomo holds closed-door fundraisers in the Hamptons, JVP Action members will continue knocking doors across the city to elect a mayor who supports humanity for everyone, from NYC to Palestine.
Beth Miller is available to speak with the media.
Jewish Voice for Peace Action (JVP Action) is a multiracial, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies working towards justice and equality for Palestinians and Israelis by transforming U.S. policy.
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Amid Calls for Epstein Files, Trump Admin Releases 230,000 MLK Documents
One critic called the move "a desperate attempt to distract from the Trump administration's decision to block the release of the Epstein files."
Jul 21, 2025
As U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans stonewall efforts to keep the full files on deceased financier and convicted child sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein under wraps, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Monday released a long-anticipated massive trove of documents related to the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from his family.
"Today, after nearly 60 years of questions surrounding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we are releasing 230,000 MLK assassination files, available now at http://archives.gov/mlk," Gabbard said on the social media site X. "The documents include details about the FBI's investigation into the assassination of MLK, discussion of potential leads, internal FBI memos detailing the progress of the case, information about James Earl Ray's former cellmate who stated he discussed with Ray an alleged assassination plot, and more."
"Thanks to President Donald Trump's leadership, Executive Order 14176 resulted in three, unprecedented interagency efforts to identify, digitize, declassify, and release files related to the federal government's investigations into the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. King," Gabbard added.
However, many of the MLK documents remain heavily redacted.
Responding to the MLK files' publication, the King family said in a statement: "As the children of Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, his tragic death has been an intensely personal grief—a devastating loss for his wife, children, and the granddaughter he never met—an absence our family has endured for over 57 years. We ask those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family's continuing grief."
Statement from the King Family on the Release of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination Files:
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— Martin Luther King III (@officialmlk3.bsky.social) July 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
The King family reiterated their belief that "someone other than James Earl Ray was the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame."
"As we review these newly released files, we will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted," their statement said.
As his relatives noted, the FBI infamously surveilled King—America's most hated man, according to a 1968 Harris poll that showed the civil rights icon with a 75% negative approval rating—under the notorious COINTELPRO program, especially after his civil rights activism evolved into staunch critiques of U.S. militarism during the escalating Vietnam War and capitalism-driven economic inequality.
Then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy authorized the wiretapping of King's phone, with the head agent in charge of COINTELPRO, William Sullivan, warning that "we must mark [King]... as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this nation." This, just before King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for helping to lead the struggle against Jim Crow segregation and disenfranchisement.
The FBI systematically bugged King's home and hotel rooms, mailed an anonymous letter urging him to kill himself, and even sent a tape of what it claimed was King having one of his numerous alleged affairs to his wife. When King criticized the FBI for ignoring the heinous and often murderous crimes of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists who were still lynching Black people with alarming regularity and impunity, an infuriated Hoover publicly called him the "most notorious liar" in America.
People from across the political spectrum took to social media to slam the MLK document dump as "a desperate attempt to distract from the Trump administration's decision to block the release of the Epstein files (despite earlier promises)," as the X account Republicans Against Trump portrayed the move.
Prominent attorney and Democratic strategist Aaron Parnas wrote on the social media site Bluesky, "Whether through releasing the MLK files or trying to prosecute President [Barack] Obama, Donald Trump is flooding the zone with information to distract you from the Epstein files."
Bernice King—MLK's granddaughter and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change—wrote on X: "Now, do the Epstein files."
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CBO: Trump Law Will Add $3.4 Trillion to Deficit, Boot 10 Million Off Health Insurance
"The 'Big Beautiful Bill' will cost more than it saves, and working families stand to lose the most," said one union.
Jul 21, 2025
A nonpartisan federal agency estimated Monday that the Republican megabill signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 4 will add $3.4 trillion to the national deficit and cause at least 10 million people to lose health insurance over the next decade.
Warnings about the law's impact on the national debt and the healthcare of millions—particularly Americans on Medicaid—were prominent during the GOP effort to pass the budget reconciliation package by Trump's Independence Day deadline, but they did not stop Republicans in Congress from sending the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act to the president's desk.
When asked about the new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the package was "a great bill for the American people," and "a fiscally responsible bill."
Meanwhile, critics of the law used the CBO release as an opportunity to call out the GOP. In a Monday floor speech, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) highlighted that "the number of people who will lose health insurance could be higher—as many as 15 million," when accounting for other attacks, including on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare.
"It betrays every family worried about paying for groceries, the mortgage, the rent, prescription drugs—all going up because of Donald Trump and his administration."
"This finalized independent analysis from the CBO confirms it: Republicans' signature bill is the ultimate betrayal of the American people," Schumer declared. "It betrays every single family who will lose health insurance. It betrays our financial future. It betrays our children and grandchildren who will pay for these billionaire tax breaks, as the debt rises and rises."
"It betrays every family worried about paying for groceries, the mortgage, the rent, prescription drugs—all going up because of Donald Trump and his administration. And it betrays every rural community that benefits from good-paying energy jobs," he continued. "Republicans' supposed signature bill betrays everyone outside of the billionaire class and the special interests."
Sarah Lueck, vice president for health policy at the progressive think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said on social media that "the latest CBO estimates make clear that the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' is anything but—it would cause widespread harm with more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and ACA marketplaces and higher costs for families trying to afford healthcare and groceries."
Lueck explained that the 15 million estimate factors in the 10 million due to health cuts in the package, 4.2 million because the legislation didn't extend expiring ACA tax credits, and more marketplace losses under Trump administration rule changes.
"The new law will take Medicaid away from people enrolled via the expansion if they don't meet a work requirement, harming parents, people with disabilities, and those with chronic illnesses. Protected groups and working people will lose coverage due to red tape," she warned. Due to the ACA expirations, Lueck added, "self-employed people, gig workers, early retirees, and low-wage workers are among those who will face steep hikes; some will end up uninsured."
The GOP package contains the biggest-ever cuts to not only Medicaid but also the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), noted Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at another think tank, the Center for American Progress. He stressed that it will lead to "untold amounts of human suffering among the poorest people in the country."
U.S. House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) said in a statement that "President Trump and his Republican lapdogs can't hide from the truth. This final nonpartisan CBO estimate confirms their Big Ugly Law adds $3.4 trillion to the deficit to fund tax breaks for billionaires."
"It's one of the most expensive bills ever passed," he said. It's also one of the cruelest. More than 15 million Americans will lose their healthcare because of the law's assault on Medicaid and Republican plans to dismantle the ACA. I was proud to lead the fight against this disastrous law and will continue working to remind the American people who sold them out, and who's still fighting for them."
Unrig Our Economy campaign director Leor Tal responded to the CBO's findings by pointing to recent CNN polling that shows roughly 6 in 10 Americans oppose the new Republican law.
"It's easy to see why the vast majority of Americans oppose this pro-billionaire agenda," said Tal. "Republicans in Congress just jeopardized health coverage for millions of Americans, SNAP benefits for millions of children and families, and the existence of hundreds of rural hospitals across the country—all so they could give another tax break to the richest of the rich. We will continue to hold Republicans' feet to the fire for voting for this massive betrayal of American families."
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White House Ousts Wall Street Journal From Scotland Press Pool Over Epstein Report
"Due to The Wall Street Journal's fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the 13 outlets on board," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Jul 21, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's White House on Monday once again retaliated againstThe Wall Street Journal days after it published a story about a sexually explicit birthday card that Trump reportedly gave to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to celebrate his 50th birthday back in 2003.
Politico reports that the Journal has been removed from the pool of reporters who are tagging along with the president during his upcoming trip to Scotland. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Politico that the move was a direct response to the Rupert Murdoch-owned paper's decision to publish a story about the card Trump allegedly sent to Epstein, whom authorities have concluded died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.
"Due to The Wall Street Journal's fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the 13 outlets on board," Leavitt said. "Every news organization in the entire world wishes to cover President Trump, and the White House has taken significant steps to include as many voices as possible."
A spokesperson for the Journal declined to comment when contacted by Politico.
According to the Journal's reporting, the card Trump sent to Epstein "contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker" and features "the future president's signature" as "a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking pubic hair."
Trump quickly filed a libel lawsuit against the paper that sought at least $20 billion in damages for what it described as "glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting." WSJ parent company Dow Jones stood by the paper's reporting in the wake of the Trump lawsuit and said that "we have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting."
The Trump administration earlier this year revoked The Associated Press' access because it refused to refer to the body of water known as the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America."
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