[ ]J Street [ ]
Friends,

A little more than five weeks ago, Hamas terrorists committed the most
grotesque, barbaric atrocity in their long-running war against Israel –
the most horrific attack on Jewish people since the end of the Second
World War.

Yesterday, J Street supporters marched in Washington, DC with Americans
from across the country to remember the victims of this atrocity, demand
accountability, stand against antisemitism in all forms, and urge our
leaders to do everything possible to ensure the safe and swift return of
hostages.

As Hamas continues to launch missiles and other attacks from underground
tunnels and secret hideaways throughout Gaza – in densely populated
civilian areas – we continue to support the goal of removing Hamas from
control of Gaza and bringing the perpetrators of October 7 to justice.

Tragically, innocent civilians are bearing the brunt of Israel’s response
to Hamas above ground while terrorists hide in tunnels below.

We are horrified at the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the thousands of
Palestinians killed and the unimaginable percentage of the population that
is now displaced and struggling to find clean water, food, shelter and
sanitation. Disease is spreading and aid agencies fear an even more
cataclysmic humanitarian catastrophe ahead if urgent steps are not taken
now.

Hamas could end this intolerable suffering tomorrow by releasing hostages,
ending its terror campaign, and agreeing that its leaders will leave the
territory. Unsurprisingly, they have indicated they intend to fight to the
last man, and that, if they had the capacity, they would commit yet
further atrocities against Israel as they seek its destruction.

J Street has been clear that we stand with the state and people of Israel
as they defend themselves and respond to Hamas’ unthinkable barbarity in
accordance with international law.

We have also made clear that how Israel conducts its response matters – as
both a moral imperative and a strategic priority.

Israel’s response must accord with the letter and spirit of international
law – frameworks the Jewish people were instrumental in championing after
WWII. The level of violence used must be minimized to that which is
necessary to achieve the war’s objectives; the level of humanitarian
assistance should be maximized. Every conceivable effort must be made to
protect hostages and civilians from harm, to restore water and power, and
to avoid a horrific situation growing orders of magnitude worse on
Israel’s doorstep.

We’ve urged the Biden Administration to press for longer pauses in
hostilities for specific purposes: allowing hostage negotiations and
releases to progress, families to seek shelter, and aid agencies to
operate. We’ve urged using precision strikes and smaller munitions where
possible; facilitating evacuations from hospitals, residential areas and
shelters; committing to the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid surges;
and immediately restoring power and water to critical civilian
infrastructure.

And we’ve called out appalling rhetoric from senior Netanyahu government
officials openly supporting violations of international law – calling for
“Nakba 2023” and “damage not accuracy,” among other alarming and hateful
statements. Such language is unacceptable on its face, further fractures
support for Israel, and calls into serious question the goals of the
military campaign.

The greater the destruction wreaked on innocents, the greater the risk of
spiraling escalation in the West Bank and on Israel’s northern border; and
the greater the long-term risk to the international standing of both
Israel and the United States.

J Street is a pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy organization. We
support the state and people of Israel, and when they are attacked, we
support their right to respond decisively within the bounds of the laws of
war.

We support the effort to remove Hamas because so long as Hamas remains in
control, there will never be a path to achieving our ultimate goal of
Israeli-Palestinian peace.

However, support for Israel’s operation doesn’t require providing a blank
check for the Netanyahu government to operate without a clear exit
strategy – or without any commitment to a political vision beyond his
failed “conflict management” approach.

The US must insist that the ongoing military operation, and plans for what
should come “the day after,” align with US and Israel's strategic national
security interests, and uphold the rights of the Palestinian people. They
cannot be based on personal political motivations, or on the extreme
ideology of the Israeli far-right.

As Thomas Friedman [ [link removed] ]wrote in the New York Times this week,

“Biden needs to make clear that America will not be Netanyahu’s useful
idiot. We are going to lay down the principles of a fair peace plan for
the morning after this war – one that reflects our interests and that will
also enable us to support Israel and moderate Palestinians and win the
support of moderate Arabs for an economic reconstruction of Gaza after the
war.”

“Without such a shared strategy, the Biden administration and the American
people, particularly American Jews who support Israel, will need to make
some fateful decisions.”

As Congress considers the request for $14 billion in additional security
assistance to Israel, Congress should ask the Biden Administration for
assurances in three key areas:

 1. Building a Better Future. First and foremost, a clear commitment that
– when the fighting is over – the administration will insist on an
Israeli pledge to end the occupation of the Palestinian Territory in a
defined and reasonable time period – and that it will jump-start an
ambitious international campaign to build a Palestinian state that
encompasses both Gaza and the West Bank.
 2. Minimizing Force and Protecting Civilians. Clear commitments that the
administration is ensuring that Israeli strategies and tactics are as
narrowly targeted as possible to minimize harm to civilians, that
military aid will be delivered in full compliance with relevant
American laws and international law, and that steps are being taken to
stop extremist settler violence on the West Bank.
 3. Maximizing Humanitarian Assistance. The administration should commit
that humanitarian assistance sufficient to meet the needs of the
civilian population of Gaza will be provided, including deliveries of
sufficient water, food, medicine and fuel; the opening of additional
border crossings to allow aid delivery; and the creation of true safe
zones with the free flow of aid workers and international agencies.

Together, we must commit to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in
a way that ensures the horrors of the October 7 attack and this ongoing
war can never be repeated.

Israel is a sovereign country. Its elected leaders, whether in this
government or the next one, will ultimately decide what path they wish to
go down and what steps they want to take.

It’s America’s choice, however, whether we will enable our close ally and
friend to pursue a dangerous plan of action filled with violence,
bloodshed and pain, or whether we will instead do all we can to guide them
to a better path.

The stakes of this moment could not be higher for all that J Street cares
about – peace, security, human rights, democracy and more – or for Israel,
the Palestinian people and the region.

Congress has a real opportunity, in the weeks leading to the vote on
supplemental assistance, to ensure that out of this horrible nightmare, we
are on a path that leads toward conflict resolution and that provides both
peoples with self-determination, security and freedom in states of their
own.

At this vital juncture, US policy cannot simply stand back and give carte
blanche to the Netanyahu government. We should set out clearly the
destination – two states for two peoples – and a comprehensive and
achievable plan, with clear guardrails, for getting there.

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street


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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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