Re: CA-47 Community Town Hall Series

Dear Members of the Boards and Leadership,

We write as concerned members of Orange County’s Jewish community regarding the announced CA-47 Community Town Hall Series featuring Congressman Dave Min on Wednesday, August 26, and Jenny Rae Le Roux on Monday, August 31.

We value the Federation’s commitment to civic engagement. At a time when Israel, antisemitism, Iran, campus extremism, foreign influence and Jewish security are of enormous concern, our community should have the opportunity to hear directly from both candidates seeking to represent us.

But meaningful civic engagement requires fairness, transparency and a genuine opportunity to compare the candidates. Holding separate events for opponents in the same congressional race does not accomplish that. Different nights mean different audiences, different dynamics and potentially different questions. Democrats may naturally attend one evening and Republicans another, further dividing a community that should instead be brought together.

Jewish voters should be able to hear both candidates, before the same audience, answering the same substantive questions, and then make their own informed decisions.

We are equally concerned about how questions from the community will be handled. If these events are presented as opportunities for civic engagement and community questions, that opportunity should be genuine. Questions should not be pre-screened, edited or vetted in a manner that protects either candidate from difficult subjects. There should be an open microphone and sufficient time for meaningful community questioning.

Why This Matters

Congressman Min has taken a number of congressional actions involving Israel, Iran and foreign funding of American universities that raise serious questions for many Jewish constituents and deserve substantive discussion:

ICC — January 2025: Voted against H.R. 23, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, advanced amid ICC actions involving Israeli leaders.

Campus foreign funding — March 2025: Voted against H.R. 1048, the DETERRENT Act, strengthening disclosure requirements concerning foreign funding of American colleges and universities.

Israel military aid — July 2026: Voted for the Massie Amendment that would have eliminated $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel.

Weapons transfers to Israel: Co-sponsored H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs Act, restricting specified weapons transfers to Israel.

Lebanon: Supported measures restricting unauthorized U.S. military involvement in Lebanon amid the continuing Hezbollah threat.

Iran: Supported multiple measures constraining unauthorized U.S. military action against Iran, including H.Con.Res. 89 in July 2026.

We do not presume Congressman Min’s explanations for these positions. We want to hear them.  And we want Jenny Rae Le Roux to answer the same questions. Where do the candidates differ on military assistance to Israel? Iran? Hezbollah? Campus antisemitism? Foreign funding of American universities? What would each actually do in Congress?

These are exactly the questions a Jewish civic engagement event should explore. Let both candidates answer. Let our community compare. Let Jewish voters decide.

An Unnecessary Concern for Our Institutions

There is also an institutional concern. Federation and ADL are 501(c)(3) organizations, and IRS guidance requires an equal opportunity to participate for candidates competing for the same office and considers the facts and circumstances surrounding candidate appearances.

IRS guidance on candidate appearances by 501(c)(3) organizations:  We are not alleging a violation but trying to avoid one from occurring. We simply question why our Jewish institutions should create an unnecessary appearance of unequal treatment or assume an avoidable compliance risk when it can so easily be eliminated.

One candidate has been given a Wednesday evening and the other a Monday. They will necessarily appear before different audiences and potentially face different questions and circumstances. A single event provides a far clearer demonstration of equal treatment.

What We Are Asking

We respectfully ask Federation, ADL and the Rose Project to either cancel the two separate candidate events or replace them with one joint CA-47 civic engagement event.

If a joint event is held, we ask that its terms be clear and transparent in advance:

Both candidates appear on the same evening before the same audience and receive equal time.

Both candidates are asked the same substantive questions.

There is an open microphone for community questions.

Questions are not pre-screened, edited or vetted to protect either candidate from difficult subjects.

Sufficient time is provided for meaningful community questions rather than limiting participation to a predetermined handful of submissions.

The rules and format are disclosed in advance and apply equally to both candidates. This is not a request to endorse Jenny Rae Le Roux or oppose Dave Min. Nor is it an effort to prevent Congressman Min from speaking. We want to hear from him. We want to hear from both of them.

We are asking our Jewish institutions to give our community a fair and transparent opportunity to listen, question, compare and decide for ourselves. 

If that cannot be accomplished openly and equally, we believe the better course is to cancel the candidate programming rather than proceed with two separate events that risk dividing our community and creating questions about unequal treatment.

Our Jewish institutions should bring our politically diverse community together, not separate us into a Democratic evening and a Republican evening. 

One community. Both candidates. Open questions. Equal treatment. Let Jewish voters decide.

We hope Federation, ADL and the Rose Project will reconsider and work with concerned members of the community toward a solution before these events take place.

Respectfully,

Concerned Members of the Orange County Jewish Community