Friends, 

As you may have seen, today, the conservative publication Jewish Insider published a story about a policy paper I wrote in the early days of this campaign and that I regret. 

Like many candidates–and like a lot of Jewish candidates in particular–I shared a draft policy paper about the Middle East with a number of groups and individuals who asked for it as I was forming my platform. The paper was an early attempt to describe my positions in a way that stayed true to my values while discouraging AIPAC from targeting me. As drafted, it didn’t clearly reflect my views. I didn’t feel comfortable with it, and I abandoned it once the campaign ramped up in earnest.   

It also led to some not so constructive conversations–including with someone who works for AIPAC.

Marty Ritter used to be an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, so he was a person I’d known for more than a decade, and had considered a friend. He now works for AIPAC. I knew that AIPAC was likely to oppose my campaign–especially after I’d protested outside of the Israeli Consulate in November 2023, published an op-ed in the Sun-Times calling for a ceasefire, and spoken at IfNotNow events. Still, I’m the only Jewish candidate in this race, and I had (naively) hoped that if I could just keep an open line of communication going with Marty, and show that I was building a strong campaign, that they might decide it wasn’t worth spending money to try to beat me. Clearly, I was wrong, as AIPAC has now spent millions of dollars opposing my campaign and supporting my opponent, Donna Miller. 

As they have done in other races, AIPAC then sent my draft policy paper to Jewish Insider—apparently to embarrass me and convince my supporters on the left that I can’t be trusted. I knew it was possible, but I should have known definitively that they would do this. 

Again, the paper does not reflect my beliefs, which is why my campaign stopped using it. My public and policy record is clear. I have opposed the Israeli government's apartheid and genocide of Palestinians and spoken out for Palestinian human rights. In the State Senate, I have signed on as a sponsor to the the Illinois Human Rights Advocacy Protection Act to repeal the 2015 anti-boycott law that targets Palestinian rights and anti-genocide advocates for boycotting Israel. In Congress, I will proudly work to end U.S. complicity in all war and genocide abroad, including against Palestinians. This will include supporting Rep. Ramirez’s Block the Bombs Act and Rep. Tlaib’s Resolution Recognizing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. As a Jewish American, the freedom of the Palestinian people is deeply important to me, and I know that our liberations are intertwined.

I hope other progressive candidates will see this and learn from my experience. There’s nothing to be gained by engaging with these bad actors. They have one goal–to guarantee a blank check for Netanyahu’s war machine. You can’t find common ground with them, and you can’t convince them to stay out of your race.

To the many friends I have organized alongside for Palestinian liberation and a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I am here to engage in conversation with you and answer any questions you may have. 

In solidarity,

Robert