Last year, an array of Jewish community groups and leaders in St. Louis, spanning the political and religious spectrum, came together with one purpose: unseat former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) .

Rallying behind now-Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO), then a congressional candidate, the community leaders, including 36 local rabbis, mounted an aggressive advocacy effort in support of Bell. When that effort succeeded — Bell won the Democratic primary by nearly six points and went on to win the general election handily — the leaders, many of whom had not worked together prior, said they wanted to find ways to continue their partnership.

That vision is now coming to fruition, with the launch of the Missouri Alliance Network last week, a new PAC that aims to advance Jewish community priorities and fight antisemitism in state and local politics, with plans to take on purveyors of antisemitism on both sides of the aisle, including Bush’s allies.

The group is being led by Stacey Newman, a former state representative who led Jewish outreach for Bell’s campaign. It’s modeled after similar groups popping up around the country, most notably the New York Solidarity Network and Solidarity PAC targeting anti-Israel candidates and lawmakers in New York state politics.

Newman said that it became clear during the campaign which local elected officials weren’t supportive of the Jewish community.

“A corps of us who had never really met before kept talking and realized that getting Wesley elected was just the first step for our community, that we also had to root out antisemitism in local and legislative office,” she explained.

Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham, a board member for the Missouri Alliance Network, said that in the weeks after Bush lost the primary race last year, several local officials issued antisemitic statements, and Jewish community leaders realized they needed to remain active and engaged.

“We met and we said we needed to figure out a way to do what we did for Wesley Bell but with local elected officials as well,” Abraham told Jewish Insider . “The bigger realization for us [was] that this wasn’t just about Cori Bush, but this is an underlying issue across the region and something that we needed to address.”

The group announced its first endorsement on Monday, of Alderwoman Cara Spencer for mayor of St. Louis. Incumbent Mayor Tishuara Jones was an ally and supporter of Bush. The election is just a week away.

“Given the rise in antisemitism we have seen nationally, and locally in St. Louis, the Missouri Alliance Network is proud to endorse Cara Spencer for Mayor of St. Louis,” Newman and Abraham said in a statement. “Cara has met with us, and we feel she will stand by the Jewish community should future issues arise. She is a friend of our broad diverse community who has demonstrated she will work with us and be an ally.”

Rabbi Brigette Rosenberg, another board member, told JI that the Bell campaign had helped focus the community.

“There was a lot of learning that came out of the Bell campaign in terms of the community recognizing how much we ought to be just paying attention to politics,” Rosenberg said. “We need to be paying attention to who’s sitting in [the capital] Jeff[erson] City, we need to be paying attention to who’s sitting in St. Louis County, or all of our various municipalities, who’s sitting on our school boards … I think for so long, we focused on Washington, D.C., and we haven’t recognized it actually starts in our own neighborhoods.”

Newman said that the Missouri Alliance Network leaders have spoken with and taken tips from similar groups, like Solidarity PAC, and will soon begin recruitment efforts to target a list of elected officials that the group has already begun developing. She described the group as “nonpartisan” and “single-mission.”

Abraham added that the Missouri Alliance Network will meet with and endorse candidates that support the Jewish community on antisemitism, and raise money to support them.

“The biggest piece of this that I’m hoping for is that we’re able to really make it clear that being antisemitic is not acceptable, particularly amongst elected officials, and that we’re going to work hard to ensure that our elected officials are not saying and doing antisemitic things around Missouri,” Abraham said.

Newman said that the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the subsequent wave of antisemitism had helped to focus and bring together a broad swath of the Jewish community in a way that had not happened prior to then.

The leaders of the new group emphasized that it’s not in competition with the local federation or Jewish Community Relations Council, but instead fills a different role that those organizations cannot because they are not legally permitted to get involved in campaigns. Newman said leaders within the federation are supportive of the Missouri Alliance Network.

Newman said the Missouri Alliance Network will also be involved in advocacy work, including supporting an antisemitism bill currently working its way through the state Legislature. She said advocacy is helping the group identify allies to the community, and those who are not supportive.

Rosenberg added that the group’s focus will not only be on removing unfriendly incumbents, but also on meeting with officials and understanding their views and educating them on how legislation impacts the Jewish community.

Jewish leaders noted to JI during the Bush-Bell race that many of the figures supporting Bell hadn’t worked together before, and otherwise held major differences on political issues. But Abraham said that the group has remained united on the issues of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment even after the election. He also noted that that diversity is represented on the Missouri Alliance Network’s advisory council.

“I think having the Missouri Alliance Network is what is likely to keep us together,” Abraham said, noting that supporters have turned out from a range of backgrounds to support their shared priorities. “Now there’s a sense that we need to stick together … We now have a common cause and purpose.”