With rising attacks on Jewish community members, businesses, and places of worship in the United States, now, more than ever, it's important for all Idahoans to state explicitly and unequivocally that antisemitism in all of its forms is a profound betrayal of our principles and has no place in our great state.
Idaho Leaders United members have committed to “disavow leaders and groups who actively support violent political extremism or known extremists, militia members, white nationalists, and those who condone violent lawlessness.” With this pledge in mind, we are calling on the Idaho Freedom Foundation to cease working with known antisemite and white nationalist Dave Reilly.
open letter from Idaho Leaders United to The idaho freedom foundation
The Idaho Freedom Foundation and its associated PAC plays an outsize role in Idaho politics, scoring legislators on their votes and spending thousands of dollars to support their preferred candidates. On December 11, Investigate West published documentation of Dave Reilly’s work for the Idaho Freedom Foundation. For those unfamiliar with Reilly’s reputation, he was a participant and promoter of the violent Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally before moving to Idaho. Since coming to Idaho, he has continued to foment antisemitic discourse online. Investigate West catalogs Reilly’s tweets during the past four years as follows:
His tweets for the past four years have been filled with attacks on "Jewish supremacy," "Jewish subversion," "Jewish privilege" and the supposed "Israeli Industrial Complex." He wrote that Jews "control the media" and "invented terrorism.” He’s claimed that the “Jewish Oligarchy" threatens to make us "economic slaves in our own homeland,” that Jewish behavior was the “number one cause” of antisemitism and that Israel spent “DECADES making White self-determination in the West IMPOSSIBLE." He’s called Jews "our friends in the same way that Cain was friends with Abel,” referring to the first murder in the Bible.
Rhetoric of this kind motivates violence against Jews, such as the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh. Closer to home, our local synagogues have already increased security due to rising antisemitism sparked by the war in Israel and Gaza. They should not also be subjected to antisemitism from one of Idaho’s most prominent political organizations.
More than a century ago, Moses Alexander became the first observant Jew to serve as Governor of an American state, showing that Idahoans were pioneers in deed and spirit. Today, Idahoans must uphold that tradition by loudly proclaiming once again that “Idaho is too great for hate.” We call on the Idaho Freedom Foundation to disavow their association with Dave Reilly and commit to stamping out antisemitism and white nationalism in Idaho.
In the face of rising instances of anti-Semitism, it is our collective responsibility to stand together and unequivocally reject hatred, discrimination, and prejudice. Every act of intolerance threatens the fabric of our society, and it is incumbent upon us to foster an environment of understanding, respect, and acceptance.
Join us in taking a firm stance against anti-Semitism. Let our voices be a resounding echo of unity, echoing across communities and transcending boundaries. Anti-semitism has no place in Idaho.