Missouri Jews demand the Missouri GOP condemn Senator Hawley for the antisemitic speech he gave at the National Conservatism Conference in July 2019 in which you accused a “cosmopolitan elite" of seeking to control the economy and weaken the country.​ The phrase “cosmopolitan elite” is not a new term: Hitler and Stalin used it to describe Jews. By using it in reference to a conspiracy to weaken the nation and control the economy, Sen. Hawley promoted antisemitic tropes that have been used for centuries to incite violence against Jews.

On August 30th, four of Sen. Hawley's Jewish constituents — all members of Progressive Jews of St. Louis — met with his staffer, Samuel J. Saffa, to ask that the Senator apologize for his antisemitic speech. Saffa promised these constituents that they would be able to meet with the Senator and bring their concerns directly to him. After more than one month of refusing to respond to calls, emails, and requests for the meeting that was promised, Sen. Hawley's office finally wrote back to say the Senator was too busy to meet with his Jewish constituents.

The type of antisemitism Hawley has exhibited is nothing new in today’s national GOP, which has embraced, empowered, and incited white nationalist violence against Jews, immigrants, Brown and Black people, Muslims, Sikhs, and Jews.

Jews across the world just observed Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, and over Yom Kippur, a synagogue in Germany was attacked by a white nationalist holding some of the same antisemitic conspiracy theories Hawley has trafficked in. This attack is not the first deadly antisemitic shooting to devastate our community, and it will not be the last. Until you condemn Sen. Hawley for promoting antisemitism and take active steps to condemn your party’s embrace of it, Missouri Jews will not be not safe.