RJC boasts of Massie defeat in post-parade celebration

By Mike Wagenheim, JNS
Monday, June 1, 2026

The Republican Jewish Coalition is known in Jewish circles for its annual summit in Las Vegas, which draws headliners and contenders. On Sunday, the RJC held a more intimate gala in the evening after the Israel Day on Fifth parade in Manhattan.

"Tonight is about gratitude. It's about patriotism, and it is about recognizing the extraordinary people in this room who understand something fundamental about America and the Jewish community," said Matt Brooks, CEO of the coalition, at the event, which also marked America's 250th anniversary.

"They understand that freedom is never guaranteed, that leadership matters and that, if you care about the future, you have to show up and fight for it," Brooks said.

The RJC head revealed that its political action arm spent more than $5 million to defeat Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in his Republican primary, helping to oust the party's most vocal anti-Israel official.

"Let me say very clearly tonight, 'That was a fight worth having and a victory worth celebrating,'" Brooks told attendees. "Someone who repeatedly undermines support for Israel, trafficks in isolationism at a moment of global danger and refuses to stand with the Jewish state when it matters most-there has to be consequences."

"The RJC proves something important," he added. "Being anti-Israel in today's Republican Party is not, unlike in the Democratic Party, a path to success."

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