[ [link removed] ]View this email as a web page.

[2]Street Talk: J Street's Monthly Newsletter

Friends,

Over the past few weeks, the true scope and power of the pro-Israel,
pro-peace, pro-democracy community here in the US has made itself heard.

It’s something to behold.

Prime Minister Netanyahu may have hoped his visit to America would
distract from his government’s extreme agenda and constant protests
against his judicial coup.

Instead, he was met with overwhelming pro-democracy protests in the
streets of the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City.

Jewish Americans and Israeli-American expats worked hand-in-hand to
champion Israeli democracy and reject the far-right extremism of Netanyahu
and his allies like Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

J Street is proud to be a major part of this growing movement – proud that
we’ve spent over 15 years building an organization to fight for the Jewish
and democratic values of the true majority of our community, and to fight
back against the anti-democratic agenda of the settlement movement, the
Israeli right and the MAGA movement here at home.

You can find key updates on our work and progress in this month’s Street
Talk newsletter below.

Thank you for being a part of our movement. Wishing you a sweet and joyous
new year,

Logan Bayroff
Vice President of Communications

Sustaining, monthly donors fuel our progress and keep the pressure on
leaders in Washington to stand up for our values. They also qualify for
exclusive events and discounts. [ [link removed] ]Please consider hitting ‘make it
monthly’ to set a recurring donation of $18, $36, $54 or any other amount >>

AROUND J STREET

J Street Mobilizes Across the Country

[2]NYC pro-democracy rally

From coast to coast, J Street and our pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
movement turned out by the thousands to protest against Netanyahu’s attack
on democracy. Israeli expats and the American Jewish community sent
Netanyahu and his far-right allies a clear message: Their extremist
efforts to overhaul Israel’s judiciary and undermine the rights of
Israelis and Palestinians are an affront to our values and our shared
vision for Israel.

J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami was among the speakers at a rally
outside Netanyahu’s hotel last week in New York City. Jeremy made clear
that Netanyahu’s judicial coup fractures the relationship between the
American Jewish community and Israel, and threatens the freedoms of
minorities, including women, the LGBTQ+ community and, certainly,
Palestinians.

"We must say to Prime Minister Netanyahu – do not destroy the very basis
of Israel’s security and prosperity. Shame on you for trying. And we must
say as well that there will never be true Israeli democracy until all who
live under the control of the state of Israel have freedom and rights –
because there cannot be democracy with occupation,” Jeremy said at the
protest.
[ [link removed] ]👀 Watch the Speech [ [link removed] ]📖 Read the Speech

Bringing Our Pro-Democracy Movement to the Hill

[5]Israeli pro-democracy leaders with Rep. Anna Eshoo

The same week Netanyahu touched down in the United States, the J
Street-backed [ [link removed] ]Israeli Democracy Resolution reached [ [link removed] ]80 cosponsors in
the House of Representatives. Our Capitol Hill advocacy team has been hard
at work driving support, backed by thousands of J Streeters that
have written to their representatives and called their offices.

Netanyahu wasn’t the only one visiting America. J Street was honored to
support visiting Israeli pro-democracy protest leaders and arrange
meetings with Members of Congress. These leaders briefed Members of
Congress directly on the significance of the judicial overhaul, the
dangers posed by Netanyahu’s coalition, and how a massive, unprecedented
protest movement is fighting back.

Jewish and pro-Israel groups from across the country are calling on
Congress to support the resolution. [ [link removed] ]Join the call by signing our
petition to Congress today >>

You can view the [ [link removed] ]text of the resolution here and an [ [link removed] ]updated list of
the cosponsors here.

Our Israel: Meet The Handmaids Standing Up to Netanyahu

[11]Bonot Alternativa's red handmaids march at pro-democracy protest in
Israel

In our latest Our Israel profile of inspiring Israeli organizations
fighting for a better future, we spoke to Lee Hoffmann Agiv with Bonot
Alternativa – Building an Alternative – a women’s rights group making a
stand against the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.

Bonot Alternativa has become instantly recognizable for its red-cloaked
protesters, a reference to the uniforms forced upon enslaved women in
Margaret Atwood’s patriarchal dystopia The Handmaid's Tale.

Together, they’re speaking out against the threat posed by the coalition
government’s alliance of hardline religious conservatives and
anti-democratic right-wingers who seem intent on increasing gender
segregation, division and discrimination in Israel.

“Women don't feel alone,” Hoffmann Agiv tells us. “We looked like an army
in one of our Tel Aviv marches. When someone sees videos of hundreds of
women walking, organized, like an army all in red, they see themselves as
a part of us.” [ [link removed] ]Read J Street’s full profile on Bonot Alternativa >>

Want to explore more profiles on leading Israeli organizations working
toward democracy and human rights? [ [link removed] ]View our full catalog of Our Israel
profiles >>

New Report: Tracking the Netanyahu Government

[14]Poster at pro-democracy protest with Netanyahu's face over torn
Israeli flag

Since taking office in December 2022, the Netanyahu government has sought
to push through radical, anti-democratic change within Israel and has
supercharged discrimination, demolitions and settlement construction in
the occupied West Bank.

The J Street Policy Center’s [ [link removed] ]latest report hones in on the Netanyahu
government’s extreme anti-democratic agenda and actions on both sides of
the Green Line.

The report provides an account of actions taken related to (1) Occupation,
Annexation and Incitement (2) The Assault on Israel’s Democratic
Institutions (3) Discrimination Against Palestinian Citizens of Israel and
East Jerusalem Residents and (4) Religious Entitlement, Coercion and
Exclusion. [ [link removed] ]Read and share the report here >>

LIGHTING THE WAY: OUR 2024 CONVENTION

[17]2022 J Street Conference stage

J Street is excited to welcome you to the largest pro-Israel, pro-peace,
pro-democracy community gathering in the US this upcoming April.

Our reimagined, energizing convention – 'Lighting the Way' – will feature
top political leaders, experts and activists discussing everything from
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and occupation, to the Israeli democracy
movement, to US politics and the future of the American Jewish community.

Book talks, film screenings, and a wide range of meet-ups and side events
will create more opportunities than ever before to socialize, network,
learn and engage.

Coming in the midst of a pivotal election year and a critical time for the
future of both the US and Israel, this is a can’t miss opportunity to come
together and demonstrate the power of our movement. [ [link removed] ]Use code
‘STREETTALK’ for a 10% disount on the ticket price >>

MUST WATCH

* [ [link removed] ]Jeremy Ben-Ami Addresses the Pro-Israel, Pro-Democracy Rally in New
York

* [ [link removed] ]National Director of Communal Relations Sam Berkman in Conversation
with Rabbi Stanley Davids

* [ [link removed] ]J Street’s Message to Israeli Pro-Democracy Protesters

MUST READ

* [ [link removed] ]Israel's Tensions Spill Onto NY Streets as Pro-democracy and
Pro-Netanyahu Protesters Face-off, Haaretz

* [ [link removed] ]American Jews Take a New Tone with Israel, The Washington Post

* [ [link removed] ]A Saudi-Israel ‘Historic Peace’ Will be Hard to Pull Off, Despite
What Netanyahu and MBS Are Saying, The Messenger


[ [link removed] ]DONATE

[ [link removed] ]Facebook [ [link removed] ]Instagram [ [link removed] ]Twitter
© 2023 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

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.



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]