Friend --
For all of us fighting for our Jewish and democratic values both at home and in Israel, this next week will be incredibly important.
On Monday, Israelis will go to the polls for an unprecedented third time in under a year, aiming to resolve the stalemate that has kept the country locked in a period of political uncertainty and instability. Once again, Prime Minister Netanyahu will pull out all the stops in an attempt to form a right-wing coalition and remain in power, while rival political parties from the center-right to the left will try to finally bring the Netanyahu era to a close.
Also on Monday and over the weekend, senior members of the Trump administration -- including VP Pence, Secretary Pompeo and Ambassador Friedman -- will head to AIPAC to tout the president’s pro-annexation sham of a “peace plan.” They will be lauded as they promote the shared ultra-nationalist, illiberal agenda that unites Trump, Netanyahu and far-right leaders around the world.
And on Super Tuesday, millions of Americans will vote in the Democratic primary, moving us one big step forward toward the Democratic National Convention -- and the general election.
For J Street, all these events help highlight the importance of our key priorities for 2020:
- Doing everything we can to help the eventual Democratic nominee defeat Donald Trump.
- Making sure that our next president enters office with a clear mandate to oppose occupation, undo the damage of the Trump administration’s disastrous policies and firmly lead the way toward a just, viable and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
We’re working to demonstrate to presidential candidates, members of Congress and media commentators that support for pro-Israel, pro-peace, diplomacy-first policies is now a mainstream consensus in the Democratic Party and beyond. And we’re succeeding.
Just look at how The Times of Israel described us in their recent in-depth interview with our president: “No other Israel-related gathering over the last year and a half has garnered as much attention from the 2020 Democrats [as the J Street conference]. J Street, it appears, is playing an outsized role in setting the agenda on Middle East policy in this year’s Democratic primary.”
We’re proud of that success, but we need to keep pushing. That’s why we’re asking for your support for our national campaign urging the Democratic Party to officially update its platform to include support for Palestinian rights alongside strong support for Israel, and to explicitly oppose occupation, annexation and settlement expansion.
Will you click here to add your name to our petition calling for the Democratic platform to demonstrate a commitment to both Israeli security and Palestinian rights?
Led in large part by the amazing student activists of J Street U, we’ve already built some great momentum in the lead-up to the Democratic National Convention in July, when the final platform will be decided. College Democrats chapters across the country have enthusiastically endorsed the campaign, while Jewish communal leaders, rabbis and foreign policy experts continue to sign on to letters in support.
We know that the large majority of American Jews and the large majority of Democrats want to see a US foreign policy that secures Israel’s future as a democratic state and a Jewish homeland by bringing an end to the occupation and helping Palestinians achieve self-determination in a state of their own. But we also know that AIPAC and other right-leaning groups will look to block any effort to even acknowledge the existence of occupation and the threat of annexation in the party platform.
That’s why it’s so important that our movement makes our voices heard in this pivotal political moment and in the months ahead.
It’s why we need to make sure that, whatever happens in the Israeli election, at AIPAC or on Super Tuesday, we stay focused on transforming US politics on Israel, defeating Donald Trump and laying the groundwork for the next president to lead the way toward a brighter future grounded in our Jewish and democratic values and our aspirations for peace.
Thanks for all that you do,
Ben Shnider
Vice President for Political Affairs and Strategy
