[ ]J Street [ ]
Friends,

Tonight, at 8pm, a siren will ring out across Israel.

Drivers will stop driving. Music will stop playing. Doctors pause their
rounds. Streets and highways will come to a standstill. Together, we’ll
stop and stand as one to honor those we’ve lost to terror, violence and
conflict.

Yom HaZikaron is Israel’s Memorial Day. For far too many of us, this is no
theoretical exercise. We grieve the lost laughter of a friend, the warm
embrace of a parent, the unfulfilled ambitions of a child.

For me this is a moment not just of solidarity, but of resolve.

A long time ago, I realized that the best way to honor those we have lost
to the cycle of violence and injustice is to commit ourselves to ending
it.

To work toward a future in which no Israeli family and no Palestinian
family is stung by the pain and trauma of needless loss.

A future in which no Israeli parent has to watch their children sent to
the frontlines of the occupation to guard checkpoints, settlements and
outposts.

A future in which every Israeli and Palestinian child grows up safe,
secure and with equal opportunity to experience all life has to offer.

That’s why, shortly, I’ll be walking through a gauntlet of right-wing
protesters to attend the joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial service. I’ll
be joined by bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families, with the latter
able to attend thanks to a last-minute reprieve from the Supreme Court,
overturning the Netanyahu government’s attempts to ban West Bank residents
from attending.

As I’ve written before, I see this shared memorial event not only as a
demonstration of a shared commitment to peace, but as a profound
expression of Jewish values. Of empathy, compassion, justice and resolve.

Tomorrow evening, we will move from a day of pain and remembrance to one
of celebration, as we mark Israel’s 75th Independence Day, Yom Ha'atzmaut.

That our Independence Day is marked on the day after our Memorial Day is
no accident. It reminds us that freedom and self-determination are hard
won, that the struggle to make true our founding ideals of justice,
equality and democracy is ongoing.

This year -- as we battle on the streets, in the parliament and in the
courts to save our democracy and uphold Israel’s founding values against
an all-out assault from Prime Minister Netanyahu and his far-right allies
-- this moment seems more pertinent than ever.

Just this weekend, we witnessed some of the largest pro-democracy protests
yet in towns and cities across the country, and from our allies in the US
and around the world.

The strength and endurance of this pro-democracy movement is truly
unprecedented. It fills me with inspiration and hope. This is what rising
to the moment looks like.

At the same time, as I recall my experiences serving in occupied
territory, I know that we Israelis cannot truly be at peace -- in either
security or conscience -- until the Palestinian people are also permitted
to realize their fundamental right to freedom, peace and
self-determination.

The founding values enshrined in our Declaration of Independence demand an
end to the injustice of occupation and discrimination, and the realization
of true peace, justice and democracy.

In recommitting to that work, I am truly humbled that we can continue to
count on your support. Fighting for our founding values is what it means
to be pro-Israel, pro-peace and pro-democracy.

I’m thankful, sincerely, to stand beside you in this work.

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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