I’m a St. Louis Jew. Here’s Why I’m Backing Cori Bush. | The Nation

If AIPAC and its donors defeat her, we won’t just be losing one of Palestine’s staunchest allies but also one of the climate movement’s most effective champions.

Cori Bush attends a news conference outside the US Capitol on May 8, 2024.

In recent weeks, I have read endless takes on social media and in newspapers saying that Jews in St. Louis will be voting against Cori Bush in her congressional primary election on Tuesday. But I am a St. Louis Jew and I could not be more proud to support her.

Some of this is due, of course, to Cori’s brave commitment to the people of Gaza—a commitment that has made her a target of right-wing donors eager to remove anyone who stands for Palestinian rights from office. But I want to talk about her approach to an issue that, though it hasn’t received nearly as much attention, is an equally vivid demonstration of Cori’s values, character, and courage. That issue is climate change.

Poll after poll ranks climate as a top issue for American Jews, and I wholeheartedly agree. I spent the last several years as political director of Sierra Club Missouri, and I can’t imagine a better climate champion than Cori Bush.

As we experience the hottest summer on record, it is more vital than ever that our government invest in renewable energy. Representative Bush has been out front, introducing and passing legislation that has delivered over $1 billion in climate investments to protect our future. In 2022, the House passed Cori’s Energy Security and Independence Act, which allocated over $100 million under the Defense Production Act to invest in and deploy clean energy technology. These historic investments have enabled federal agencies to move faster to meet their climate goals. This is a huge step toward converting the country to green energy.

She also recognized that climate change and pollution have not impacted everyone equally. That’s why she introduced the Environmental Justice and Mapping Act, which was passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation provides $60 million for the federal government to collect data on how climate change and environmental pollution impact different communities. This is vital information that will enable the federal government to direct resources to the communities that have faced environmental racism and injustice. Bush—more than any other politician I have encountered—is committed to ensuring that the legislation she pushes forward corrects historical injustices, including the toll that pollution and climate change have taken on Black, brown, and working-class communities.

Representative Bush has recognized that climate change is not a far-off problem but something that is impacting us right now. In the wake of devastating flooding in St. Louis, she secured over $200 million for public transit systems impacted by natural disasters across the country, including $27 million for the St. Louis area.

We cannot wait to invest in building resilient communities that can withstand the destruction being wreaked by climate change. We need to ensure that Bush can stay in office to keep fighting for the frontline communities who are facing the brunt of climate disaster.

Bush has consistently taken a stand to clean up dangerous pollution and to oppose new projects that would fuel further climate change. She has fought hard to clean up radioactive waste at Westlake Landfill, which has contaminated Coldwater Creek and put nearby residents in danger. She also worked to hold the local gas company, Spire Energy, accountable after it warned St. Louis residents that there could be power outages unless its unlawfully built pipeline was approved by the federal government. Representative Bush directly called out Spire’s misinformation, condemned its action, and then encouraged the federal regulator that oversees pipelines to investigate Spire. Cori is not afraid to go up against fossil fuel companies and polluters to keep our communities safe.

Some have criticized Representative Bush for voting against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, saying that she undermined historic investments in green jobs and infrastructure. In reality, she voted together with other progressives seeking to ensure that President Biden’s broader Build Back Better Act wouldn’t be discarded as soon as the smaller, more moderate Infrastructure Bill was passed. Unfortunately, Representative Bush was proven right when moderate Democrats joined Republicans to block the Build Back Better Act. She has voted with the AFL-CIO every other time, and although the infrastructure bill vote took place in 2021, it was not even an issue in her 2022 reelection race.

Most of the attack ads and mailers criticizing this one principled vote are coming from the United Democracy Project, the GOP megadonor-funded super PAC affiliated with the right-wing American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). AIPAC is attacking Representative Bush because of her principled stance in opposing the Israeli military’s brutal assault on Gaza, which has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, forced most residents of Gaza out of their homes and onto the brink of starvation, and wreaked ecological disaster. Her commitment to the fundamental right to life, safety, and freedom for Palestinians and Israelis is a reason to support her, not spend millions of dollars attacking her.

Climate change is the biggest threat facing our community, as every year brings new “once-in-a-lifetime” natural disasters and ever-soaring record temperatures. If we want to tackle this existential threat, we cannot elect a moderate with close ties to extremist Republicans. We must send Cori Bush back to Congress to keep fighting for us, for all of us.

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Michael Berg is the former political director of the Missouri chapter of the Sierra Club.