In this month's Street Talk: A Call for Urgent Diplomacy | Biden Sends A Message to the Settlement Movement | Our ICJ Judgment Response | Warnings over War with Iran | Congressional Advocacy Update | Fighting Trump’s MAGA Movement | Must Read Reporting
Friends,
The pain is intolerable.
In Israel, distraught families of hostages have endured months of agony. Over 200,000 Israelis remain displaced. Daily reports add to the growing list of young Israelis killed in a war with no clear end-point.
In Gaza, more than 27,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of whom are civilians, including an unfathomable 11,500 children. Doctors operate without proper access to anesthetics and antibiotics. The humanitarian situation becomes more dire each day, without enough aid to reach almost 2 million people forced to flee their homes. Hamas continues to resist calls to release hostages, a step which could significantly de-escalate this catastrophe.
In Jerusalem, doubts abound over Netanyahu’s willingness to trade hostage releases for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire, a step which may splinter his far-right coalition. Meanwhile, nearly one-third of his cabinet attended a Gaza settlement conference last weekend and hundreds of protesters continue efforts to block humanitarian aid trucks from entering Gaza through Israel.
In the face of this catastrophe, J Street continues to press the Biden Administration to immediately and effectively use all US leverage to release hostages, protect civilians, end the humanitarian crisis, and bring about a negotiated halt to the fighting.
For more on our work at this moment, see our full Street Talk recap below. As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback as we seek to navigate this impossibly difficult time.
Yours,
Adina Vogel Ayalon
Chief of Staff, J Street
AROUND J STREET
J Street Issues Major Statement Calling for Negotiated Halt to Hostilities
Last Monday, J Street released a major statement calling for an urgent diplomatic solution to free remaining hostages, end the ongoing devastation and allow for a surge of humanitarian assistance to address intolerable levels of pain and suffering.
It’s a call which aligns with statements made by prominent Israelis.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said “I think that this is the time to stop.” Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak has said that if Netanyahu “continues to reject” an exit strategy, Israel risks “sinking into the Gazan mud for years to come.” Former IDF Chief and member of the War Cabinet Gen. Gadi Eisenkot has said it is important to “bravely” say that “it’s not possible to return the hostages, alive, in the near term, without a deal.”
The Biden Administration continues to intensify efforts to push both sides toward a deal to free the hostages and put a stop to the fighting, including deploying CIA Director William J. Burns to push negotiations forward. In our statement welcoming this decision, we said “It’s past time to recognize that this war, as it is being pursued by the Netanyahu government, is not achieving its stated aims. It’s time to lead with diplomacy.”
Read and Share J Street’s Statement
J Street Issues Response and Analysis Following ICJ Genocide Preliminary Ruling
Last Friday, the International Court of Justice issued interim orders in South Africa’s case against Israel for breaches of the Genocide Convention. The court declined South Africa’s request for a unilateral ceasefire, but also held there was a “plausible” risk of breaches to the Convention, ordering the Israeli government to take “immediate and effective” action to reduce casualties, deliver aid, and prevent and punish extremist anti-Palestinian incitement.
In its ruling – delivered by ICJ President and former Obama official Judge Joan Donoghue – the court rightly recognized the horrific scale of the October 7 attack, called on all parties to abide by international law and called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of hostages.
In response, J Street reiterated our rejection of the charge of genocide against Israel alongside our unwavering commitment to the importance of upholding international law.
“Orders from the ICJ are binding under international law,” we wrote. “In light of today’s ruling, we call on the Israeli government to comply in full with the letter and spirit of the ICJ’s ruling. We continue to note Hamas’ blatant, ongoing violations of international law – including hostage taking and indiscriminate rocket fire – and urge the international community to continue efforts to pursue justice and accountability.”
Read and Share Our Full Response
Biden Sends Clear Message to West Bank Extremists: There Will Be Consequences
On Thursday, J Street welcomed a major Executive Order imposing sanctions against those who have engaged in acts of violence, intimidation, property destruction or forced displacement against civilians in the West Bank. The order applies to both Israelis and Palestinians. Notably, sanctions may be applied to government officials – sending a clear message to extremists in the Netanyahu coalition.
As we said in our statement, we agree with President Biden that the “high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region.”
“This significant Executive Order provides American officials with powerful tools to deter further violence and extremism, prevent escalation and better ensure the safety of everyone living in both Israel and the West Bank,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “The situation on the West Bank cries out for justice and accountability, and this is a major step in the right direction.”
Read and Share Our Full Response
Sharing our Thoughts on Holocaust Remembrance Day
Last Saturday, January 27, is designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the United Nations. Around the world, it’s an important day of learning, understanding and recommitting to fighting antisemitism and injustice. For many within our community, it’s a day to reflect on far more personal tales of death, flight and resilience within our own families.
For many J Streeters, the Holocaust is an integral part of what informs our values, our commitment to justice, and indeed our engagement on the very issues J Street is focused on. Frankly, it’s another reason why the invocation of the Genocide Convention in the context of Israel strikes such a sensitive nerve, particularly with a ruling issued the day before.
All of our work is personal, but in this context, our response to the ICJ decision, the horrific October 7 attack, and the devastation wrought by the war in Gaza is perhaps even more so. All of us at J Street recognize that our values and our history call us to think carefully and speak courageously, even as we may feel the tug of history pull us in different directions.
Together, we have worked carefully to calibrate a response that honors our shared history and our commitment to a better future – and which represents the community of proud, resilient, compassionate and thoughtful Jewish Americans we bring together.
Capitol Hill Priorities: Accountability, Diplomacy and Aid
J Street’s Government Affairs team continues to work closely with Members of Congress to provide policy advice and clear information, and to press for urgent action.
The team is currently supporting a range of letters, amendments and legislative efforts designed to support diplomatic efforts to release hostages and halt the conflict; protect civilians by bolstering oversight of military aid; address deep concerns of growing antisemitism; and to increase access to urgently needed humanitarian aid.
J Street is closely engaged with J Street champion Senator Chris Van Hollen in building support for the Arms Accountability Amendment, now backed by 18 senators, which would significantly increase transparency of military aid delivered to US allies. We’re also working to build support for an amendment by Senator Tim Kaine, which would remove a provision from the latest supplemental funding request that waives congressional review requirements for Foreign Military Financing to Israel, aligning oversight mechanisms with those for other nations.
For a full list of the dozens of letters, resolutions and congressional actions J Street is engaged on, visit our continuously updated crisis response page here.
Sign our Petition Supporting the Arms Accountability Amendment
J Street Urges Biden Administration to Move Swiftly in UNRWA Review
J Street is deeply alarmed by allegations that approximately twelve of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza may have been involved in the October 7 attacks. Given the serious nature of the allegations – and UNRWA’s essential role in addressing the catastrophe engulfing Gaza – we welcome the agency’s immediate termination of employment contracts and the launch of a high-level investigation.
As the Biden Administration temporarily pauses UNRWA funding to review the situation, it is clear they understand the important role the agency plays. “UNRWA has provided essential humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people and UNRWA is the only organization on the ground that has the capacity to continue to provide that assistance,” said UN Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield. “We shouldn’t let this information, these facts undermine the efforts that UNRWA is making to provide lifesaving assistance.”
With UNRWA’s network of over 150 shelters across Gaza currently hosting over 1 million displaced civilians, we urge the administration to secure necessary guarantees and reforms urgently – and to resist calls from extremist voices to defund UNRWA permanently.
While Prime Minister Netanyahu has waged a long-running campaign against the organization, including successfully pushing President Trump to withdraw funding entirely, Israeli officials have made clear that defunding UNRWA would significantly worsen the humanitarian catastrophe on Israel’s doorstep. “Israel is not pushing to shut down UNRWA," a senior Israeli official told the Times of Israel, “this would not be in Israel’s interest and it would not be in the interest of Israel’s allies either.”
Read and Share J Street’s Statement
J Street Warns Against Unilateral Strikes on Iran, Notes Risk of Catastrophic Escalation
On Monday, President Biden announced the tragic news confirming the deaths of three US soldiers, and injury to dozens of others, following a drone strike on an American base in Jordan from militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq. “We will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing,” the president said.
Following this devastating attack, some have called for the Biden Administration to launch a direct military strike on Iran – including many of the same hawkish, right-wing voices who have long pressed the United States to reject diplomacy in favor of war with Iran.
“President Biden must reject calls for a military strike and pursue a diplomacy-first policy of de-escalation and deterrence, rather than risk embroiling the United States in yet another catastrophic, unnecessary war of choice in the Middle East,” we said in a statement this week. “Such a military confrontation would have disastrous, unpredictable consequences for the United States and our allies – including Israel – and would invariably put American soldiers and civilians at even greater risk.”
Read and Share J Street’s Statement
J Street Committed to Defeating Trump and the MAGA Movement in 2024
Following results in Iowa and New Hampshire, endorsements from former rivals, and a series of clear polls in South Carolina, it seems all but certain the Donald Trump – the twice-impeached, four-times indicted and endlessly disgraced former president – will head to the Republican National Convention with the overwhelming majority of delegates.
J Street and our political arm, JStreetPAC, are determined to once again defeat Donald Trump and his extremist, anti-democratic, conspiracy-ridden MAGA movement at the ballot box this November. With every rally, town hall or ‘Truth Social’ post it, becomes clearer and clearer that, as intensely painful and challenging the last few months have been, the situation would be immeasurably worse with President Trump in the White House.
With polls showing an extremely tight race in key battleground states, J Street is proud to endorse Joe Biden for re-election and to commit to defeating MAGA extremists up and down the ballot. Together, we’re helping propel pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy candidates to victory across the country. We couldn’t do it without your support.
Learn more about how JStreetPAC can amplify your political impact and help you support your priority candidates – all with lower fees and overhead charges than ActBlue.
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