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
AROUND J STREET
J Street Mobilizes Across the Country
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.
👀 Watch the Speech 📖 Read the Speech
Bringing Our Pro-Democracy Movement to the Hill
The same week Netanyahu touched down in the United States, the J Street-backed Israeli Democracy Resolution reached 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.
You can view the text of the resolution here and an updated list of the cosponsors here.
Our Israel: Meet The Handmaids Standing Up to Netanyahu
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.” Read J Street’s full profile on Bonot Alternativa >>
New Report: Tracking the Netanyahu Government
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 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. Read and share the report here >>
LIGHTING THE WAY: OUR 2024 CONVENTION
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.
MUST WATCH
MUST READ
