Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

People often complain that they have no voice in government legislation, thinking erroneously that they are just “one person whose voice doesn’t matter.” But this isn’t true. There is a grassroots political action group in the area that works with locally elected congressional representatives who support pro-Israeli legislation. Called the Central Florida Pro Israel Friends Political Action Group, it’s been in operation for more than nine years quietly meeting with local representatives to discuss and share their views on all pro-Israel issues discussed in Congress. And our local representatives listen to this group.

On Dec. 22, 2022, Congress passed the new Omnibus Legislation in which $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel and $500 million for U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation was approved. The bill also includes more than $70 million in cooperative programs to counter the threat of attack drones and terrorist tunnels.

“This funding is the central pillar of our Friends legislative agenda each year and makes a major difference for Israel’s security amid increasingly dangerous threats,” said Gene Josephs, co-chair of the Friends Group. “Legislation for Israel passes every year, but it gets more and more difficult,” he stated.

Co-chairing with Josephs is Marc Smith with the support of Miriam Josephs, Laurie Smith and approximately 50 families who personally meet during each 2-year election cycle with the four local representatives to ask for their vote on pro-Israeli legislation.

How does this work? Josephs explained that he would meet with a congressperson and tell him or her what the Friends Group is all about and he would then request that they meet. “And they always did!” he said. The casual meetings are held in offered meeting rooms or homes. Josephs would start off by talking about the background of the group. The congressperson would give an overview of his or her thoughts about what is going on in Congress about key legislation and issues pertaining to Israel. Then the floor would open up to Q&A. “It’s a great opportunity to be one-on-one with our congressmen and ask questions that relate to Israel,” Josephs stated.

The Friends Group was an independent group until last year when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee decided to form several PACs to do similar work nationally. As a result, the Pro Israel Friends Group now works closely with AIPAC locally and in some situations, across the country.

Josephs shared that the Friends Group is open to new membership to work with them on a bipartisan basis. “Each year, we tend to get younger with new participants,” Josephs said.

This group isn’t just about sharing their pro-Israel views, Friends backs the representatives financially.

“If our Congressional Reps have supported pro-Israel legislation in the past, then our members will financially help support their reelection campaigns,” Josephs explained, adding, “All our work is accomplished on a bipartisan basis and individuals write their own checks. There are no up-front written commitments and all campaign contributions are voluntary.”

The Friends Group is bipartisan and meets with all the representatives, regardless of party affiliation. Local representatives whom Friends has met with include Stephanie Murphy (now retired), Dan Webster, Darren Soto and Maxwell Frost (newly elected). To keep a bipartisan balance, Friends has also met with other elected officials outside Central Florida, including Gwen Graham when she was a representative from Tallahassee and Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee where much of the annual funding for Israel is initiated.

When appropriate, the group asks for Congressional bipartisan voting support of other important joint U.S./Israel programs such as Iranian restrictions on their nuclear program, anti-Terrorist Tunnel Technology, Drone Detection and Counter Deterrence and, in the 2023 budget, $70 million approved for joint Health, Energy, Water & Cyber programs.

The Group generally has 100 percent local Congressional support for the requested programs and they expect the same with the two newly elected local Representatives. Such is the case with Maxwell Frost, who replaced Val Demings. Friends had a townhall meeting with him and he mentioned that he is very close to fellow congressman Ricky Torres of the Bronx. Although Torres is progressive, he knows the difference in how gays are treated in Israel versus Arab countries, and he supports Israel because of the LGBT aspect of it.

Friends also asks the new representatives to go with AIPAC to visit Israel under their Education Program. Frost is planning to go this coming summer.

Has the Friends Group ever encountered opposition from a representative? There was one representative who didn’t believe much in foreign aid and as a result he really didn’t want to meet with anyone who requested foreign aid. This representative was very conservative and believed dollars should only be spent in the U.S. Josephs brought a non-Jewish friend with him to set up a meeting. The representative was very knowledgeable about Israel and over time became a serious supporter of all the legislation concerning Israel.

“Through discussions and knowledge, people’s minds can be changed,” Josephs said.

“There is no doubt that our group has had influence with our local politicians as most, before meeting with us, had no idea about the importance of the U.S. - Israel relationship,” Smith stated.

A special part of the Friends Group is to have UCF and Rollins Hillel students join the meetings where they have a chance to meet the local congressional representatives and ask important questions.

“Marc Smith and I look forward to continuing this bipartisan work on behalf of Israel and to importantly growing our group in numbers and therefore in financial capabilities,” Josephs said.

If you are interested in being a voice in support of Israel, contact Marc Smith at ms@personalministorage.com or Gene Josephs at gjosephs@gs-s.com or calling 407-619-8547.