Summary

In this episode of The Zekely Podcast, host Zeke interviews Jill Zipin, the founder and chair of Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania (DJOP). They discuss Jill's journey in political activism, the founding of DJOP, and the importance of grassroots organizing. Jill shares personal stories, her upbringing, and how her experiences in civil litigation shaped her views on gender issues. The conversation also touches on the significance of youth engagement, the role of the Democratic Party in supporting Jewish communities, and the upcoming 2026 elections. Jill emphasizes the need for collective action to protect democracy and encourages listeners to get involved in political efforts.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jill Zipin

02:06 Birth of DJOP

04:41 Happy Hannukah

07:19 Why Are You A Democrat?

09:11 Broadway

12:22 Litigating Politics

13:51 The Jewish People

16:51 Howard

19:46 Committee Person

22:22 Children's Perception of Political Engagement

25:29 Historical Non-Fiction

27:51 Swiftie

30:28 Value of Democracy

33:00 Diversity in Judaism

34:32 Focus on Upcoming Elections

37:07 Hope

39:03 The Future

Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania: https://djop.org/

Full Video Episode Available On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheZekelyPodcast

Short Clips Can Be Found On TikTok: @drzeketayler/@thezekelypodcast and Instagram: @thezekelypodcast

www.thezekelypodcast.com

Hello, I'm Zeke and welcome to The Zekely Podcast. Let's talk Pennsylvania. The guest I have today lives in Horsham, Pennsylvania and is a fierce political operative for Democratic candidates, an experienced litigator and fundraiser. She is also the founder and chair of Democratic Jewish Outreach, Pennsylvania. Thank you so much for being here, Jill Zipin.

For years, I’ve knocked thousands of doors all over Pennsylvania and poured my heart and soul into supporting candidates and causes that make a difference—from local school board races to national elections. The personal is political, and I take every election in Pennsylvania personally.

Where the mainstream media has failed you, I will give you truth and independence. You’ll hear from Democratic leaders, candidates, and change-makers who are working to improve the health of the Commonwealth, and it won’t be boring as hell.

No matter where you are, I’ll meet you with hope and a plan to make your community better one day at a time. Welcome to the Zekely Podcast. Let’s talk Pennsylvania.

Thank you for having me.

It's so good to see you. I have to say, Jill, you have really impressed me over the past year. Your online presence and just unapologetic support of Democrats is exactly what we need leaders to be doing right now. And I'm just so grateful that you are meeting this moment.

Thank you, it's really important that we all stand up and speak out. You know, there's an expression, many hands make light work and it works in politics too. So if everybody just does a little bit, it does make a difference. And I try to be very active on social media and I want people to cut and paste my posts or to put, you know, my reel on their Instagram feed.

Mm-hmm.

because

we should be doing this. You don't want people to be afraid.

You walk the walk, you talk the talk, and you're fierce and I love it and I really appreciate it. And we're going to talk all about you, play some games, and have some fun. Are you ready? All

Sure.

So the Jewish Democratic Council of America has a list of Jewish organizations across the country dedicated to supporting Democrats. And Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania is just one of six statewide Jewish organizations in existence. So Jill, what inspired you to start and found DJOP?

So all the way back in 2008, if can remember then, it seems like a million years ago, when Obama was running for president, it was actually in the primaries, he started something that we take for granted today called relational organizing, where you basically would have house parties talk to like-minded people. And there was a house party out in the main line,

we drove out there to this house party but before I went I got my copy of the Jewish Exponent and in the Jewish Exponent there was an ad that was put in by Republican Jewish Coalition that had a picture of Obama wearing a turban dancing on a burning American flag and it made me so angry so angry so I ripped the ad out and I don't even know why I took it with me but I ran out the door with my friend I got to this house where the party was and I saw

the father of a friend of mine named David Breuda, who is one of our founders and is still on the board. And I'm like, David, like, this is terrible. I can't believe how terrible this is. And he said to me, well, what are you going to do about it? I don't know what I'm going to do about it. I young kids. I, I don't, what do you mean? He said, we're going to do something about it. Give me the ad. He's like, I'm going to talk to some friends.

So we raised money from small donors to pay for an ad. And that's how our organization got started, just out of an idea of how to counter another organization. And obviously, we grew from

original name of our organization was Obama Jewish Outreach, because we wanted, there were concerns, if you remember all the way back then, about whether Obama was good for the Jews. There were huge concerns. But then we changed our name to Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania.

Mm-hmm.

We took on some more board members. We developed a logo. We formed a PAC and we, you know, we grew. We were basically Montgomery County in Philadelphia. And then we took on State College, then Bucks County and the Lehigh Valley, then Harrisburg. And then lastly, but not least, Pittsburgh's really, we have lots of board members. So, until we became the organization that we are.

Yeah,

it's wonderful. I hope that it lasts a long time and you've done great work. You've done great work.

I do too, I do too.

Hanukkah. ⁓ Have you gotten any good Hanukkah gifts yet?

Thank you.

I got like a pre-Hanukkah gift from my husband a few months ago. A pair of earrings that I was told covers my birthday and Hanukkah.

⁓ huh.

no other.

mean, let's be

let's be honest, Jill. Our kids get all the good gifts, right? Yeah,

They do. They do.

Well, we're gonna play the dreidel game, okay? So for those who don't know, who don't play the dreidel game, there are four sides to a top, okay, and four Hebrew letters, and depending on where it falls, you either get all of these chocolate coins that we play with gelt in the middle, it's like a betting game, and if you get the gimel, you get all of them, if you get the hay you get half of them, if you get the nun, you get none, and if you get shin, you have to put one in.

Okay.

Alright, so I'm gonna ask you some questions about would you like all of something, half of it, none of it, or put it back? ⁓ you're, alright. So here's the first one. ⁓ Jeffrey Yass' fortune.

Okay.

would I like his fortune? Well, if it didn't come with Jeffrey S., I would take it and spend it on Democratic candidates. So I'll take all of it, but without Jeffrey

Yeah.

I know.

I know.

yes, and for

those who don't know, Jeffrey Yass is the richest man in Pennsylvania. He's a billionaire and he funds all the Republican candidates. He was behind all those false mailers about the Supreme Court justices in Pennsylvania. So I agree.

And he's also

behind the new Trump ballroom.

Yeah, yeah, he's a mega donor to Trump. owns the majority share of TikTok in America, and he wants to defund public education. He's not a very nice guy. Honestly, Jill, I take half. I take half of his worth, and that'd be fine with me. All right, all here's another one. How about the time you spent on social media this

Yeah

it back? You want all that back?

I went all my time back on that. mean, there

are some days where I look at my phone and I say this to my husband, if you're here, he'd laugh. I'm like, I just want to smash it with a hammer. And he's like, please don't because it's too expensive. like,

I know.

for me, social media is like work. It's essentially the way I engage people to be interested in politics. But if I didn't have to

do this for that. I basically would be following cooking and fashion websites on Instagram for recipes and sales. That's about it.

I know. I know.

I know, I think I saw a bumper sticker or there was something on social media that said, you know, if we would have voted for the black lady, we'd all be having brunch right now. You know, pretty much. Yeah, I know. Well, I'm glad that you keep posting, you keep doing it.

Yes, pretty much. Yeah.

right, one more. How about Donald Trump's bronzer?

I think we should take it all away from him. ⁓

Okay fine,

I agree with you,

Well thanks for playing the dreidel game with

Yeah.

Jill, why are you a Democrat? And why do you choose to represent the Democratic Party?

When I

up, my parents, you know, I used to sit with my dad.

and we did not have a lot of money and this was a long time ago and he had a big check register like it was gigantic and he would write this check and I would see him giving to the ACLU I would see him giving to Jewish organizations I would see him giving to candidates and

my dad championed unions he was the union leader for his school which happened to be northeast high school

My family always valued education, helping people who were less than in terms of economics.

I also attended Quaker schools my whole life, K through 12, and those Quaker values

I think, in form, my democratic values, which are

care of the other which involves making sure people have good education, sure people have adequate healthcare, making sure people have food on the table, treating people

equality and kindness whether they're black, brown, trans, straight, gay, know all of

I think all those ideas, I always used to kid people and say, I'm not Jewish, I'm Quake-ish, because I had that Quaker education mixed in with my Judaism. So I think that's a part of it. And using your money for good. Like I would see my father, who we didn't have a lot of money, using it for good. And that sort of infused who I am.

Yeah.

I am extremely grateful that we share those democratic values, those quake-ish values, and that you use that in your everyday life and supporting democratic candidates. So thank you very

Yeah.

Jill, you love Broadway, I understand.

I do love Broadway. I'm going to see the show

What's your favorite Broadway play

or show?

So,

all right, I have a few. I like a really old show called Carousel. ⁓ I just, there's, I love that show. was talking about that with someone recently. I love Rent. I love Wicked. I have a soft spot for

Okay.

Okay.

it comes to Broadway

And Hamilton,

Hamilton was great. Yeah, I saw...

Hamilton's great.

Hamilton,

but also South Pacific. That's a show that everyone should be required to watch because of the song in it, You've Gotta Be Taught to Hate. It's a wonderful song about basically you're born loving everyone and you've gotta be taught to hate.

I

no, that was, alright. ⁓ my god, alright.

I should know this, but I don't know. I saw the show.

It'll, it's, you're gonna, you're gonna kick yourself. Lorraine Hansberry. Lorraine Hansberry. It's okay. You have, you have some redemption questions. Don't worry. All right. What is the minimum number of seats that a venue in the theater district must have in order to be considered a Broadway theater rather than off Broadway?

Okay.

my god,

that's like a truck. I like I'm taking the SATs. I don't know.

I thought this

Yeah, I didn't know there was. I'm thinking of all the theaters I've in and how many? I don't know, 350? Oh, interesting. That makes sense. That makes sense because most of them have a mezzanine level. Right.

We'll get the Broadway treatment in an upcoming live stage musical.

don't know.

La La Land.

I love La La Land. Are they're doing it as a Broadway show? That's so interesting. Do you know the choreographer of La La Land was Taylor Swift's choreographer? Yeah, for her. Mandy Moore, not the actress Mandy Moore, but Mandy Moore, who choreographed La La Land, did the entire ERAS tour.

Lalo Land is coming, it's coming to Broadway.

I did not know that. I did not. And we are going to have a little segment on that, so just stay tuned.

Okay.

All here's the last one. Rob, who is a puppet, angrily denies that he is gay by singing the song My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada at what Broadway musical?

⁓ that's the one with the Sesame Street

but it's very R-rated. Yeah, Avenue Q. Actually, the funniest story about Avenue Q was...

Avenue Q. Avenue Q.

my god, all right. So thank god my kids are grown up because it would be like social services here but

Hahaha

my daughter older daughter was in high school, but my younger daughter was in middle school

that we were going to go to New York and to see what we could get tickets to see and it ended up being Avenue Q but someone's like how old's your younger daughter? like 12. They're like leave. Right, right,

huh.

No, you can't go to this. No, that was the end of that?

I have never seen it, but I'll remember not to bring my kids to see it at least. Give me a good warning.

Yeah, no, no, no, no, no, no. Okay, yeah.

Jill, you practiced civil litigation for over 13 years in Philadelphia. How did that experience shape your worldview and political ideologies?

Correct. Correct.

I was already pretty much a strong Democrat at that point.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, it did make me think definitely about women in the workplace. There were many times people thought I was the court reporter and not the lawyer. There were many times people said really sexist and insensitive things to me. So it made me think about it in that way.

would like to hope that that has changed to a degree in many different fields. The sexism will go away, but I don't know. I'm sure you still hear about it.

think it's getting worse again.

There was a whole article that's, I think it was yesterday, that said the gains that women have made are eroding and are

it's really unfortunate when all these large companies who stop their DEI initiatives impacts women because women will now not get promoted. I think...

There's literal fear of promoting women and of the black community, Hispanic community, the gay community. They're afraid they'll be accused of DEI. So they're not hiring or not promoting. You

Yeah.

I think that and that's a problem because of who we have an office

It's terrible. And the damage is going to have effects for decades to come.

It is terrible.

Jill, what would you say to someone who doesn't believe that the Democratic Party is the safest party for the Jewish people?

Well, first I would tell them they're wrong. But beyond that is, you know, the Republican Party is full of hardcore anti-Semites. And the vast majority of political violence,

I agree. I agree with you.

has come from the right.

The Jews will not replace us in Trump's first term. Trump has talked about his Jewish accountants. He's made multiple anti-Semitic remarks. He talks about

Bibi Netanyahu,

with the presumptions of dual loyalty. If you look at the voting record of those in the House of Representatives and Senate,

But the exception of a few, I would say about three, all of them have supported the memorandum of understanding, which is the aid that goes to Israel. They support Israel. And I would also say there's a difference between supporting the nation state of Israel and supporting its leaders. What I say to people is I love the United States of America. I cannot stand Donald Trump.

even harsh criticism of Israel doesn't make you anti-Semitic, and it doesn't make you anti-Israel.

You know, if you say Jews are to blame for all the problems in the world or Jews are to blame for what Israel does, that's anti-Semitism.

Yeah, I 100 % agree with you. mean, you know, Trump invites and sups with Nazis and white nationalists. mean, he...

Look at the young

Republicans. The news comes so fast and furious that we forget. But literally just a month ago, it was in the news, the young Republicans' text messages talked about loving Nazis. And there were Jewish slurs as well as other racist comments.

I know, and the gas chambers, yeah.

Yeah,

I agree with you. It's not difficult for me, but certainly we hear that more often than we would like to, that the Republican Party is a party for the Jewish people.

I always like to say when Jews came to this country as immigrants at the turn of the last century, they certainly came here for religious freedom. They came here for economic freedom. The streets paved the way for them.

But really, they came here almost for political freedom because Jews have not done well in non-democratic nations. They didn't do well under kings or czars. And the one period, you the largest period of time in which Jews have flourished anywhere has been in the United States of America under a democracy. And I think the Democratic Party...

As we sit here today and look at the two parties, you have a party that supports democracy and a party that does not.

100%. I couldn't agree with you more, Jill.

Jill, how did you meet your lovely husband Howard? Because I mean, I love, every time I see you, you're together. I love that you run as a block. You're very supportive of each other. No, it's great. I think it's adorable.

So I

have really the best how you met story ever and it was funny I was telling somebody today they're like, oh my god, your story could be a rom-com. I'm like, yeah.

Let's hear it.

So

It was a rainy Monday night. My parents had set me up on a blind date. I had just bought a condo and I told my parents that I was going to be alone forever with two cats. I did not have two cats, and I remember I came home from work and I'm like, my God, I really don't want to go on this blind date. And I called my mom. like, I'm going to cancel. She's like, don't cancel. All you ever do is complain. Just go on a stupid date. So I went on the date. It was at a Bennegan's if you remember Bennegan's back in the day.

and I was sitting in the lobby and I'm looking at the bar and there's this cute guy with dark hair and I'm like, why can't that be my blind date? I knew my blind date had blonde hair. So I kept kind of obnoxiously looking. The guy comes over and says, you look like you're waiting for a blind date. Me too, they're late, can I buy you a drink? I'm like, sure, cute guy. So we're at the bar, it's me and my blind date.

And we're talking and then we see our blind dates walk in and I'm like, my God, what should we do? And we're like, we should go on the blind dates because it would be really mean to ditch them. And my blind date says, can I have your number? Sure. So like I gave him what we exchanged numbers. ⁓ our blind dates come in and

Okay.

Yeah.

Meanwhile, Howard's like waving to me. My blind date says to me, ⁓ how do you know that guy? I'm like, we're old family friends. And he's like, what's his name? I couldn't remember his name. ⁓ And then I'm like, then it came to me. I'm like, his name's Howard. It was kind of funny. And then, so I get home,

I called a friend, she's like, how was your blind date? I said bad, but I met the person I'm going to marry. She's like, Jill, you're getting a little ahead of your skin. I'm like, okay, bye. Then the phone rings and it's Howard. And Howard's like, how was your blind date? I'm like, not that good. He's like, me neither. He's like, where do you live? I'm like, I live in Elkins Park. He's like, where in Elkins Park? I'm like, Valley Glen. He's like, well, after the date, I went home to my parents' house. He said, I can see your apartment from my...

childhood bedroom. His parents house backed my condo development. Isn't that weird? And then lo and behold, we did get married. He proposed 11 months later and we were married 11 months after that. Isn't that a good story.

Wow, that's crazy.

Uh-huh.

That's bananas.

That's so great. That's

a great story. Now this was before social media was big. I mean, so I mean, like, technically you could have ghosted those people. I didn't really know what you looked like, did they? Like before they walked into the bar? Yeah, I guess it would be me. Yeah, you did that. You did the right thing. Yeah, I guess you're right. That's that's a great story. I love

way before social media.

Yeah, but we just thought it would be mean, like, for the interviewer. That was, like, That would have been, like, bad karma. Yeah.

Jill, you served as a committee person for the Horsham Democratic Committee from 2005 to 2014, and I love talking to people who have or are serving as a committee person because it's such an important role, part of politics. That's awesome. Well, how did you find your way to that position?

I was actually the vice chair of the Horsham Downs for a while. Yeah.

I know, well, that's why I asked.

Mm-hmm.

So a guy who he's since passed away, a guy named John Foster,

knocked on my door

And I ended up talking to this guy for a while and he said, we're having a Democratic committee meeting at my house. Will you come? I'm like, sure. So.

I had really little kids at the time. think my one daughter was not even two and my other daughter was like five. But I'm like, all right, I'll go to the stranger's house. But it was across the street. And he's like, ⁓ we're

Yeah.

Allison Schwartz come. And she was the congresswoman at the time. I'm like, okay, great. So I go to this guy's house. There's like two cars there. I'm like, I'm possibly going to be murdered, but okay. He's like,

Hahaha

you have to come down to the basement. So I go into the basement and he had a teenage son who had like, if you remember in college, people did like tie dye and batik, like hanging. So they were all over the walls. I'm like, I'm definitely gonna be murdered.

⁓ no...

So he comes, there's an older guy who comes down and two other people. And I'm like, this is it. I'm like, this is the democratic committee of Horsham. And the one older guy, he's like, I'm not really a Democrat, I'm a Libertarian.

⁓ no.

I'm like,

so

I come home and I said, my God, what a sorry lot of people. So I said, I don't know why I took it upon myself, but I'm like, we're going to have to do something.

Yeah.

We met at his house a few times. And at some point in that year, we finished our

So I said, why don't we start meeting at my house? And it got over the years, we ended up

having like 50 people in the basement of my house.

I just think it's great. I like that you're showcasing that democracy at any level, local level, state level, national level, it's just about people waking up every day and getting organized and getting other people to help and move the ball forward. didn't do, that's all it is. That's literally, that's all it is. Yeah.

It is. That's all it is. mean, that's DJOP, that's the Horsham

Dams,

Well, you've heard it here first. If you happen to find your way into someone's basement and survive, don't be discouraged. Keep organizing, and eventually you could have 50 people in your basement and getting more Democrats elected. So thank you, Jill

Well you're later.

Jill, what do your daughters think of your political involvement?

So I think for a long time they thought it was really annoying and somewhat embarrassing. You have to remember this is through their elementary through high school years, a lot of it. And the funniest thing is they're both very good Democrats. And actually my younger daughter's getting her master's in public health and has become much more interested, I think, and engaged in politics. And my older daughter's interested

Yeah, yeah.

But it's not their life's work, like it is for me.

Mm-hmm.

Well, let's play political parenting. where now my kids a little bit younger. So I'm kind of in that younger stage and your kids are older, but I want you to reach back when they were maybe my kids age. I have a 16 year old, a 14 year old and almost 12 year old. So.

That will do it you.

Okay.

We're going to compare what our kids thought about certain events that we did. What was their reaction? Okay. So first one is door knocking. Did you ever drag your kids door knocking with you?

I don't think I did. I did not drag the kids door knocking.

No, I

have, I definitely dragged my kids door knocking, not as much anymore. I did a lot of door knocking the past couple of years and I don't think they ever liked it. They were just like.

I took

them to political rallies. And I remember Obama,

And I think it was his first election. He gave a talk at like where

There's like a train station there. He was talking about the train or something.

Remember it was the summer, it was 10,000 degrees out. My older daughter was like, I cannot believe we're here, like who cares? And then my younger daughter like started to lay down and she's like, it's hot. Cause it was like the hot tar you know?

Ugh.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

yeah, my kids, I don't think would enjoy that either. Well, maybe they would.

It's not super enjoyable, I have to tell

No, I have to bribe my kids with boba to go door knocking with me. So I don't take them as much as I used to anymore.

All what about ⁓ your fund? You've done tons of fundraisers. What have your kids thought of all your fundraisers over the years?

Right.

I mean, you know, it depends. Some of them they would attend. Some of them they'd be like, I have homework. I'm staying in my room. Like, you do you.

Mm-hmm.

I know my kids will just run downstairs, grab some food and then go back up to the rooms and yeah, grab some food.

Yeah, that's exactly. They would go to the table, see what there was, go back and say,

it depended on who the elected official was. Sometimes I would sort of make them say hello, but yeah, and then they would just go up and yeah. They're not impressed by it.

Yeah.

Yeah, here's,

no they're not. What about this last one here, postcard writing? You ever do postcard writing with your kids?

I didn't do it with the kids. I've done that with like, you know, DJOP, I've sent out 1.5 thousand postcards through DJOP and we did it for Osoff and Warnock I mean, not so much with the kids.

Mm-hmm.

think it'll be really cool maybe, it seems like some of your kids are getting to like an inflection point where they're getting more politically active, but I'll be interested to know when my kids get older and they reflect back on these days like, I can't believe you dragged me through that sweltering weather to knock doors and all that stuff, or they're gonna, or they'll say like, you know, you were right, you were right, dad, and thank you very much.

great like

Yeah, they never

Jill, you are a fan of reading historical fiction and nonfiction, correct? I have been devouring historical nonfiction for the past couple of years. I've been reading the president's biographies from the beginning and in between I'll read some civil rights movements. I wanted to ask you, what's been the most astounding discovery you've made while reading historical nonfiction?

Correct.

There was a book, I often like reading about women in history because we're often ignored and there was a book about the relationship between John Adams and his wife Abigail and about their love story essentially. And it was told through the letters and I learned so much

About her through their letters

I also read the biography of Benjamin Franklin, which I highly recommend. He was quite interesting guy.

Oh yeah, I that's good.

For me, I didn't realize, how bad things were for the black community in America until I started reading historical nonfiction. I mean, I think as Jews, we're bathed in historical trauma at a very young age. You know, learn about the pogroms, we learn about the Holocaust, we learn about ad nauseum, right? And even our Jewish holidays remind us how many times over the millennia we've been persecuted.

But I did have no idea really how much trauma was in the Black community by reading about it. And I think that really, to me, helps me align with the Democratic Party even more and the values that we have as Jews and to help other marginalized communities because

Right, well.

I just think it's so important to look for allies. The Republican Party and parties that hold onto these authoritarian ideologies are always looking to fracture people and create wedge issues and have marginalized communities fighting against each other.

interestingly the reason abortion is a wedge issue is they couldn't use busing as a wedge issue anymore so they figured we'll switch to this issue you know and i feel like the republican party for a really long time i mean for 50 or more even more than that

Right, yeah. Right, yeah.

going back to the 70s you know if you can't win on your ideas win on division and they've really not tried to win

on their ideas. That's the problem.

Yeah, I totally agree.

Jill, as we discussed before, you are a big Swiftie fan. OK, how many concerts have you been to?

I am, I love Taylor Swift.

I've only been to one, I went to the ERAS Tour. And wait, I can thank Governor Shapiro for that because, do you remember the website crashed? I don't know if you remember. So when people were trying to get tickets to the ERAS Tour, like I was on hold from like eight in the morning to two in the afternoon. My younger daughter who wanted to go was on hold. And then when I finally got on, there was like one ticket for like $500 or something. It was like crazy.

Okay.

really?

Okay.

And then the website crashed. Well, I don't know. They did something illegal or wrong. And all I know is Josh said, you have to let these tickets go on sale. Like you have to give them a link for it was like maybe a week later or something. And we got on and we got seats in the 100 level for face value. And the funniest thing, it was like a week before the concert. My husband's like, you know, we paid whatever it was, like 190 a ticket or something. He's like,

Okay, got it.

You can sell these tickets for like $3,000 a ticket. Are you sure you want to go? I'm like, yeah.

You probably could.

Josh Shapiro saves the day once again. I love it. Well, we're going to play ⁓ Get Thrifty with Swiftie. All right. I want to know, would you purchase these items? I want to know how big of a Swiftie fan you are. OK. How about some used confetti from a concert? Would you buy that?

Yes he does. Yes he does.

it.

Okay.

No, I don't need that. They have?

You wouldn't? Okay. Because people have sold that online.

yep, fanatics have purchased used confetti from a concert.

Alright, that's just weird, I'm sorry.

Well, you were just getting started, Jill, so here we come. All what about some concert air? Air collected...

No,

no, was in the concert and breathed the air, so I'm good.

Okay,

fine. Well, people, not even if it like a front row air, like right, like, you know, maybe Taylor Swift was breathing in that direction and collected in a bag. You wouldn't purchase that in a jar. Okay. Well, some people actually did that. How about a rain poncho used at a concert? Would you buy that? You wouldn't buy that either? Okay. No, no, it's just they were at the concert and rain fell down through the airwaves that Taylor was singing and

⁓ No, I would not buy Taylor Swift air.

Okay.

No, I would not buy a rain poncho. I mean, was it worn by Taylor Swift? Maybe if it was...

Yeah, no, no. If it was like

signed by Taylor, all right, no.

No, just a used poncho.

Okay, here's the last one, the grand finale. Okay, used contact lenses that were worn while viewing the concert. ⁓ People sold this. They sold this stuff. I'm telling you. I know. Well, Taylor Swift.

again.

All right, that's weird. Now.

People are crazy. Look, we got Donald

Trump. People are crazy.

I know Taylor Swift has a choke hold on people, what can I say?

Yeah.

Jill, what do you say to people who are disaffected with democracy?

So there is no perfect form of government. There isn't. It's run by people and people are flawed. But of all the forms of government you could possibly have democracies the best and most fair

70 % of the world right now is no longer a democracy. 70%.

That's a huge percentage. If the US falls, you're going to see a lot more nations and probably even some European nations ultimately fall. So we have to, I think we have to work hard to protect American

Maybe we should move to rank choice voting. But when you're talking a larger picture of how a land mass with millions and millions of people should run,

Democracy and voting is the best way to achieve those goals.

I agree. mean, the power of the vote is just so precious. I think these days it's so easy to fall into apathy. And I know that's kind of part of what the Republican Party tries to do, is to convince people that their vote doesn't matter. And in a democracy, your vote is the thing that can move the needle forward. And so I just hope that people understand that if things aren't going well in your town, in your state,

your vote is the most powerful thing that you can do to make things better in a democracy.

Well

look at, so my state representative, who's amazing, shout out Missy Serato. Missy Serato flipped our state house. She won her district, I believe it was by 65 votes. 65. So if you think your vote does not matter, well it does matter. And actually I'll go back to my own daughter. So we just had election day for the super.

Supreme Court justices. And I kept saying to my daughter, have to do your mail-in ballot. She's in school in New York. So she's still, I don't know where she's going end up. She's still a resident in Pennsylvania. And I said, you need to get your mail-in ballot. And you know, like all the 24 year olds, she forgot. So I said, Rachel, oh my God, you have to vote.

do you know she got on a train, came home, voted, got on a train and went back.

That's crazy.

Yeah, that's great. mean, that is how precious the vote

I hope she learned a lesson. Just get your absentee ballot, okay?

Jill, Judaism, as you know, is a very diverse religion. It's composed of straight, gay, trans, cisgender, white, black, able, and disabled communities. How does your work at DJOP help to expand diversity and inclusion within the Jewish community?

You know, our goal is to reach the Jewish voter, whoever you are. You could be Jewish and black, you could be Jewish and gay, you could be Jewish and trans. It doesn't really...

Right.

Right.

Yeah. No, I always, I'm grateful that you're doing that because when people try to say that the Republican Party is the party that is better for the Jewish people, I always like to say, what kind of Jew? What kind of Jew is protected by the Republican Party? And certainly not Jewish women because the Republican Party wants to ban reproductive healthcare, not Jews who are gay because they want to get rid of gay marriage.

Matter.

They're not good for trans Jews because they're attacking trans Jews all over the country. They're not good for people of color who are Jewish because they're eroding diversity, equity, inclusion all over the country. So, or disabled Jews, right.

Or disabled Jews. Most

recently, Trump that was in the news wants to get rid of sign language interpreters because he thinks it makes him look weak. It doesn't even make sense.

Right.

I

know, but that's the key, right? The key is when people say, well, which party is better for the Jewish people, it's a no brainer for me because I know the Democratic Party has the value system that Judaism holds for me, but also just, you know, in black and white in their platform, they protect the most amount of people. So I'm grateful that DJOP does that.

And the Jewish community

What are you and DJOP focusing on most going into 2026?

Well, that's easy because you're going to know the answer to that winning back the House of Representatives. So in Pennsylvania, we have four seats that we can flip. So it's the Bucks County seat. It's the Lehigh Valley seat. It's the Scranton seat and the Harrisburg seat. Those four seats can make the difference in whether we take back the House of Representatives. You know, all elections go right through Pennsylvania. ⁓

Yes.

That's right.

are running.

I'm looking forward

to it and I am extremely grateful that Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania will be supporting these Democratic candidates because we have to take back the House of Representatives.

And we, I mean, I would say that is so important. And obviously

we have to reelect Josh and Austin Davis. And this election, you know, Josh is extremely well-liked. His poll numbers are very good as they should be. But I would say he still needs, you know, significant support because he's not running against a Mastriano this time. He's running.

Yes.

Well, Stacy

Garrity is a close second. Let's be honest.

Yeah, yeah, but but

people's perceptions of Stacey, you know, Mastriano was out there in his like civil war costume and really was on like neo Nazi websites. I mean, I think she is a MAGA and a Trump supporter, but we still can just get complacent and say, well, Josh is going to win. I think, you know, we need to support him. However, we

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Election denier.

no.

can do so, whether it's phone

Yes.

banking, door knocking, or writing a check, he still needs our support. think, and the other reason, like some people say to me, well, does he really need our support? And I'll say, because he's going to win. I would say yes, because the bigger margin by which he wins helps all these congressional candidates. So if Josh wins by big numbers, it's going to push these congressional candidates over the top.

100%. Yep. Yep.

Right, right.

So we should support Josh because he's an excellent governor and he needs our support. the higher his percentage of win, the better these congressional candidates will do.

Mm-hmm.

Right, and also down ballot races as well. Yeah.

And all the, right, and we need to

take back the state

It will make a difference at every level. ⁓ He should get our support no matter what, but he needs extra support because we need all these other races to do well.

Mm-hmm.

That's what we, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jill, what gives you hope?

What gives me hope are first of all, our kids. Cause I think a lot of the, I think the youth does not support this president by and large with the young Republicans accepted. And they're not really young. were like in their 30s. Yeah. I don't know how they get to be young Republicans, but I think I see our kids and they want a future in which they live, you know, in a democracy. And when I talk.

I know they're not, they're in their 30s. They're in their 30s, yeah.

to individual voters, you know, they're not giving up. you, like we have gone to several of the no-kings protests and the last one we went to was in Mount Airy

it was like being in the middle of like a commercial for the

And that gave me hope because you see other people who may come from a different background than you, a different religion than you, a different race than you, but they understand that Donald Trump is a corrosive, corrupting force and that we need to protect and defend our democracy. And this last election gave me hope. We saved the Supreme Court and the three justices who won

won overwhelmingly in like a super duper landslide. So, and what happened in Bucks and in Erie and in Lehigh

yeah.

I needed that.

you know, the Harrisburg area, you know, Pittsburgh, Democrats won everywhere. So looking at how people are voting across the country gives me hope. And looking at these polls gives me hope.

Yeah.

you know, I wish the presidential election were tomorrow. The problem is, we had a whole, I'm going to survive. I feel like I'm aging, like exponentially. Somehow I feel like I'm getting like more wrinkles just talking.

I know. I know.

you give me hope, Jill, with all the work that you do. I really appreciate it.

Okay.

Thank you.

Jill, my last question for you is, what plans do you have to get yourself through these next few years?

you know, it's, it is a slog. I will tell you it is a slog. There are a couple things. Sometimes I do take a break from social media because I think that is really important. That's one thing and everybody should do that. I also think taking space, you know, taking like a week away from DJOP again, just to go on vacation with my family.

Yeah. Yeah.

We always do a family vacation. My kids call it a state sponsored trip because they're their 20s. So we're going somewhere warm in January. And that sort of helps clear your mind.

You

huh. Yeah.

but.

Let's

just hope that we'll unplug a little bit and come back and keep doing the work together.

Yeah.

Well,

If you want

to help with DJOP efforts, it's all hands on deck. You don't have to be Jewish to support us. ⁓ It's djop.org. You can check out our website and we're on all the social media platforms. Check us out, support our work. As I said at the beginning, many hands make light work. The more people we have doing this,

the easier the work is.

thank you. You are very welcome.

Thank you so much for coming on, I appreciate it.

And a happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to everyone.

Well, thank you for joining me here on The Zekely Podcast. Stay hopeful and get involved and until next time, let's keep building a stronger Pennsylvania