16 March 21 • 2019
jn

Political 
Powerhouse

Meet Halie Soifer, executive director of the 
Jewish Democratic Council of America.

O

n Dec. 6, 1987, a father took 
his 9-year-old daughter to 
Washington, D.C., to march on 
Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews. 
“I can’
t say that at 9 I really under-
stood it, but I have this 
picture of me marching 
with my father and I keep 
it close,
” Halie Soifer said.
This march, along 
with an upbringing 
in Jewish culture by 
democratic parents 
and multiple stints in 
Israel, contributed to a career in foreign 
policy for Soifer, the first executive 
director of the Washington D.C.-based 
Jewish Democratic Council of America 
(JDCA). Launched in 2017, it defines 
itself as “the voice for Jewish Democrats 
and socially liberal, pro-Israel values.
” 
“I grew up in East Lansing,
” Soifer 
said. “
At a young age, my parents wanted 
to instill in me connections to the Jewish 
community and Israel … This connec-
tion turned into the foundation for my 
career.
” 
Her parents are Sandy Kirsch 
Soifer, retired executive director of 
the Michigan Women’
s Hall of Fame, 
and the late Howard Soifer, who was 
president of Shaarey Zedek in East 
Lansing. Soifer spent her summers at 
Camp Tamarack, studied abroad at Tel 
Aviv University and completed her first 
internship at the U.S. Embassy there. 
After spending an election year in 
Tel Aviv, she decided to pursue a career 
in foreign relations in Washington, 
D.C. Her goals were to highlight values 
important to the Jewish community and 
support U.S. military assistance in Israel. 
Promoting equality, human rights, 
anti-discrimination, protecting the envi-
ronment, anti-Semitism, common sense 
gun reform and access to health care are 
all part of Soifer’
s agenda. 
Among her first roles was heading 
Jewish outreach in Florida for the 
Obama campaign in 2008. 
“That opportunity allowed me to use 
my ties to the Jewish community and my 
understanding of its values to explain 

why President Obama’
s policies aligned 
with those values,
” Soifer said. 

MOBILIZING IN MICHIGAN
More recently, she helped the cause 
during the 2018 midterms, by endors-
ing Haley Stevens and Elissa Slotkin, 
both Democrats elected to the House of 
Representatives for Michigan’
s 11th and 
8th districts, respectively. 
Soifer’
s vision and leadership are mak-
ing a difference and inspiring the next 
generation, according to Stevens. 
“Halie Soifer’
s incredible vision 
brought together commu-
nity leaders and inspired 
action through smart 
power, policy and drive,
” 
Stevens said.
“In particular, I 
remember meeting the 
young people driven to 

get involved in politics for the first time 
because of Halie and the JDCA. I look 
forward to working with them for years 
to come, and I’
m excited to watch the 
continued growth and success of the 
JDCA.
”
Soifer and the JDCA went door-to-
door for Stevens. She recalled one spe-
cific outing in Birmingham, the day after 
the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. 
“To see the response from both the 
Jewish and non-Jewish communities 
was really remarkable,
” she said. “Non-
Jewish residents were giving us hugs of 
sympathy.
”
This was a turning point for some vot-
ers. “
A Holocaust survivor told us he was 
not going to support Republicans, that 
Trump fueled the shooting,
” Stevens said. 
Slotkin grew up in a small Jewish 
community like Soifer, an important 
factor in their connection and similar 

values. 
“Halie Soifer has been a fantastic 
leader. The JDCA does critical advoca-
cy work on values we share as Jewish 
Democrats, like a commitment to 
environmental stewardship and social 
progress. Halie’
s passion for JDCA
’
s work 
is clear — she’
s a leader in the Jewish 
Democratic community, and it’
s been 
great to work with her,
” Slotkin said.
Additionally, the JDCA endorsed 
Michigan’
s Andy Levin in the 9th 
District, another Jewish politician, and 
55 other candidates; 80 percent won. 

A NATIONAL REACH
Also on Soifer’
s resume — she was 
national security adviser to Sen. 
Kamala Harris of California, foreign 
policy adviser for Sen. Ted Kaufman 
and Sen. Chris Coons, both of 
Delaware, and Rep. Robert Wexler of 
Florida as well as a speechwriter for an 
Israeli ambassador. 
Soifer transitioned to the JDCA 
because she believed she could have a 
bigger impact serving multiple politi-
cians. 
As far as the 2020 election goes, 
Soifer says, “There’
s a long field of 
2020 contenders. We are not seeking a 
position of support for any one candi-
date at this stage, but we are watching 
them closely.” 
She lives with her husband and three 
children in Maryland. They are mem-
bers of Adas Israel in Washington, 
D.C. ■

jews d
in 
the

KARLEIGH STONE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Halie Soifer

Stevens

Halie Soifer and Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin 

March for 

Soviet Jews 

in 1987

