Dear Friend,

It finally happened. Last month, President Trump released his long-delayed
“peace plan.”

For months we have been clearly and consistently highlighting the red
flags surrounding the development of this so-called plan: the exclusion of
Palestinians from the process, the destructive steps taken by the Trump
administration to put their thumb on the scales for Netanyahu, and the
close ties between the plan’s authors and the Israeli settlement movement.

The plan proved to be as reckless and dangerous as we expected. Rather
than a genuine attempt to lay the groundwork for peace, the Trump team
delivered a smokescreen of disingenuous talking points and details
designed to distract from their true intention: to hand a political
victory to Prime Minister Netanyahu and help pave the way for illegal,
unilateral annexation of significant parts of the West Bank.

With stakes this high, J Street was ready to respond. In the media, in our
policy analysis and through our outreach to political leaders, we’ve
played a decisive role in shaping the national conversation around this
disastrous plan. We helped encourage presidential candidates to denounce
Trump’s reckless moves and took action to ensure that members of Congress
condemned the plan and warned against annexation.

We’re going to continue to build a powerful drumbeat against Trump and
Netanyahu’s “peace sham” -- while doing all we can to ensure that we can
defeat the president and his agenda this November. In January, JStreetPAC
announced a commitment to endorse the eventual Democratic nominee, raise
over $1 million for their campaign and help organize American Jews across
the country to get involved in the most important election of our
lifetimes. Together, we’re going to transform American politics and lay
the groundwork for a new, diplomacy-first era of US leadership in the
Middle East.

With your support, we can win this fight.

Logan Bayroff
Communications Director

Around J Street

Leading the response to Trump’s ‘Peace Sham’

[1]Trump & Netanyahu
In [ [link removed] ]a video released shortly after the release of Trump’s peace sham, J
Street Director of Government Affairs Debra Shushan exposed it for what it
was: a smokescreen for annexation. That same day, J Street hosted a
private briefing call with journalists and a public call featuring
Brookings experts, breaking down the elements of the plan, its
implications for Palestinians and Israelis and how we can take action to
oppose it.

In the Washington Post, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami made clear the
plan was “a blatant political stunt” meant to distract from Trump and
Netanyahu’s political and legal problems. “This is not the day, if you are
a serious policymaker, to resolve the world’s most difficult conflict,” he
said in an interview from Israel. “The fact that they chose this day tells
you everything you need to know.”

Our supporters took action and helped rally 107 members of Congress to
sign a letter to the White House condemning the plan for undermining peace
and stability, damaging the foundations of the US-Israel relationship and
paving the way for unilateral annexation. The letter makes clear that
Congress will not allow Trump and Netanyahu to succeed in their efforts to
set a new baseline for US foreign policy and to destroy the prospects for
a negotiated peace.

On our “peace sham” resource page, we’ve gathered J Street’s fundamental
breakdown of the plan along with reactions from political leaders and
allied organizations in both the United States and Israel. Please check it
out and share the link with others who may be interested.
[ [link removed] ]Visit the resource page →

JStreetPAC launches 2020 Presidential Nominee Fund to defeat Donald Trump

With the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination heating up,
it's important to remember what unites us as pro-Israel, pro-peace
Americans: our shared determination to defeat Donald Trump at the ballot
box this November. That’s why, for the first time ever, JStreetPAC has
announced our commitment to support whichever candidate ultimately becomes
the Democratic nominee for president.

To help make an imprint on this massive electoral battle, we’ve announced
[ [link removed] ]the creation of a 2020 Presidential Nominee Fund, and will ultimately
raise over $1 million for the Democratic nominee. Although donors and
candidates are continuing to focus on the primary campaign, President
Trump is already making significant ad buys on TV and digital media and
posting strong fundraising numbers. Giving the eventual nominee a strong
boost out of the gate to ensure they can compete must be a top priority.

Visit the JStreetPAC website (and become a member if you aren't already)
to learn more about the 2020 Presidential Nominee Fund.

[ [link removed] ]Learn more →

J Street-backed resolution to prevent unauthorized Iran war passes House

[6]No war
In early January -- shortly after President Trump once again brought
America to the brink of a catastrophic war with Iran -- J Street welcomed
the passage of a historic war powers resolution in the House of
Representatives. The resolution makes clear that President Trump does not
have congressional authority to launch a conflict with Iran and reasserts
Congress’ constitutional responsibility to decide whether, when and where
our country goes to war.

The war powers resolution was introduced by J Street endorsee Rep. Elissa
Slotkin (D-MI) and could never have passed without the pro-diplomacy House
majority that J Street supporters helped elect in 2018. As the [ [link removed] ]Times of
Israel noted, J Street was among the only American Jewish groups to back
the resolution and play a major role in fighting back against Trump’s
drift toward war.

Now, we are urging the Senate to pass its own war powers resolution -- and
send a clear message to the president that bipartisan majorities in both
houses will not stand for another disastrous war of choice in the Middle
East.
[ [link removed] ]Call your senators →

J Street U gears up for #ChangeThePlatform campaign

[9]change the platform
In January, more than 70 students and organizers from across the country
joined the annual J Street U Winter Leadership Institute in Los Angeles to
train and plan for the year ahead. The retreat included strategic
discussions, chapter-building work and important political and
communications training sessions.

This year, J Street U has an ambitious, important goal: ensuring that the
next Democratic party platform adopts language explicitly opposing
occupation, annexation and settlement expansion. With the new
Trump-Netanyahu peace sham, this has become more urgent than ever. J
Street U is committed to ensuring that elected leaders hold the line,
stand up for our values and prevent Trump and Netanyahu from creating a
dangerous new normal for Israelis and Palestinians.

If you haven’t yet, please sign and circulate the J Street U platform
petition. The team is especially eager to build the number of students
across the country who are signing on.
[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition →

We need your vote: J Street joins slate for World Zionist Congress elections

[11]Hatikvah
J Street is thrilled to be joining 11 fellow progressive groups to field
an amazing slate of candidates in the World Zionist Congress elections.
Together, we are running as ‘HATIVKAH: Progressive Israel Slate’ on a
platform of social justice, democratic rights for all Israeli citizens and
a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

We know many of our supporters are backing slates affiliated with their
congregations, including ARZA and MERCAZ. What’s most important is that
Jewish progressives make sure their values are represented at the WZO by
voting in this election.

The results of these elections directly affect the distribution of
$1,000,000,000 in annual funding, which has a huge impact on the lives of
Israelis of all religions and backgrounds, as well as Palestinians in the
occupied territory.
[ [link removed] ]Learn more and vote →

Must Reads
Vox
[13]Kushner Trump’s Israel-Palestine “peace plan” is a con
[ [link removed] ]Read more →
[15]Trump and Haaretz
Kushner Trump’s peace plan is ludicrous, dangerous and one-sided
[ [link removed] ]Read more →
New Yorker
[17]Trump Donald Trump’s Iran problem
[ [link removed] ]Read more →
[ [link removed] ]Donate →

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[2]Street Talk Logo
© 2020 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace 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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