[ ]J Street [ ]
Friends,

They’re some of the bravest Israelis and Palestinians I’ve ever met, and
that makes them a target for the far-right.

They are the bereaved family members of Israelis and Palestinians killed
by violence, terror and conflict. Every year, their group -- Parents
Circle – Families Forum -- organizes one of the largest and most profound
Memorial Day ceremonies in Israel, broadcast around the world. J Street is
a co-sponsor, as we have been many times in the past.

I’m a former IDF Officer myself, and the joint ceremony is one of the most
moving events I’ve ever experienced. Thousands join to share anguish,
mourn our losses, and lay the foundation for a future of respect, dignity
and equality for all.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not theoretical for us. We remember
lost children, siblings, parents and friends. We commit to doing all we
can to end a deadly cycle that has stolen far too many loved ones far too
soon.

But for the Israeli far-right -- driven by an eye-for-an-eye worldview --
such solidarity, equality and respect is an intolerable abomination.
Extremists yell abuse over the fence, calling participants “traitors” and
“kapos” and intimidating them at the gates.

Now -- ahead of Monday’s ceremony -- the Netanyahu government has issued a
blanket ban denying entry permits to Palestinian families seeking to enter
Israel to join the event. They claim it’s due to security, yet the Supreme
Court has twice overturned previous attempts by Netanyahu to enforce a
similar ban.

[ [link removed] ]Friends -- Will you support the ceremony by adding your name to
our petition?

[ [link removed] ]Click to read and sign the petition

It’s difficult to fathom what might drive political leaders to inflict
such cynical cruelty on Palestinian and Israeli families who have already
suffered so much. Families who seek to honor those they have lost to a
cycle of violence and injustice by committing themselves to ending it.

In a Supreme Court ruling from 2019 -- which the Israeli government now
seems determined to ignore -- Justices held that the ban on Palestinian
attendance by Netanyahu (then both Prime Minister and Defense Minister)
was “unreasonable” and “disproportionate.”

“Here lies the core of freedom of expression, of personal autonomy, which
gives every person the opportunity to write and shape his life story in
his own way,” Justice Yitzhak Amit wrote.

“In the life story of every bereaved family there is sorrow, pain and
longing. The Minister of Defense must not interfere in the way in which a
family wishes to express its own bereavement and sorrow for the untimely
passing of a loved one,” his decision read.

While not everyone might choose to attend a joint memorial service, I
strongly believe that such acts of solidarity, empathy and peace-building
should be encouraged, not deterred. For me, there is no more profound
expression of our Jewish values and our belief that a better future for
both Israelis and Palestinians is possible.

If you agree, please join me and add your name to our petition. [ [link removed] ]Read,
sign and share the petition here >>

Thank you, sincerely, for your support.

Nadav Tamir
Executive Director, J Street Israel


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J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the
Jewish people. Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we
advocate policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish
and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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