[ ]J Street[ ]
Friends,

I’ve just returned from one of the most challenging, heartbreaking weeks
I’ve ever spent in Israel and the West Bank, traveling with a delegation
including Members of Congress and J Street’s Board.

Our visit was painful; our emotional response deep. We encountered immense
sadness, anger and hopelessness.

We visited the burnt out ruins of kibbutzim and the haunting site of the
Nova music festival massacre in southern Israel. We spent meaningful time
with families of hostages and victims of the attacks. We rallied for the
hostages’ immediate release.

Aid agencies, human rights advocates and diplomats briefed our group on
the unfathomable scale of human pain and devastation in Gaza, and we
visited the ruins of a Palestinian village in the West Bank destroyed by
settler violence in late October.

[1]A rotating carousel of images from our Congressional Delegation to
Israel and the West Bank, including pictures at a rally for hostages,
Members of Congress embracing families of the Israeli hostages, moments of
solemn reflection at the site of the Nova music festival massacre, and
more.

Amid all the tragedy, so many we met – Israelis, Palestinians and
Americans – still insisted they see a window of hope in the darkness.

In describing that opportunity, nearly everyone shared the view that the
United States is the “indispensable player.” US leadership is essential if
this crisis is to lead to a livable, secure future for Israelis and
Palestinians.

The contours of that future are clear.

Hamas and the leaders who planned and perpetrated October 7 can have no
role. Gaza must be demilitarized and secured with the assistance of
credible partners – some of whom will have to be convinced to contribute
boots on the ground to enforce a ceasefire.

Israeli security must be front and center for any path to have the hope of
success. The trauma and pain of October 7 runs deep. The fear and sense of
danger is palpable throughout the country.

Palestinians, too, must be offered a real and better future – free from
occupation and endless wars, free to chart their own destiny. A vision of
self-determination and safety in a state of their own.

Arab states will only sign onto this vision with an Israeli government
committed to Palestinian self-determination, and a Palestinian government
committed to reform and effective governance.

Pulling those pieces together will require meaningful political and
defense guarantees from the United States that address the serious
challenges in the region.

The world will need to invest in rebuilding Gaza and developing a
Palestinian state in a manner that harks back to the post-World War II
Marshall Plan. There must be new Palestinian leadership in place,
committed to security and peace with its neighbor Israel, and we welcome
today’s news that the Palestinian government is taking steps toward that
goal.

At the same time, these plans will only work with an Israeli government
that no longer endeavors to undercut democracy or pursue the settlement
movement’s vision of a Greater Israel – an Israeli government that is no
longer led by a Prime Minister motivated by personal interest.

I have said for years that Israel was coming to a fork in the road – a
moment of truth with a profound choice to be made. Down one path, where
Benjamin Netanyahu and his messianic extremist allies Bezalel Smotrich and
Itamar Ben Gvir hope to lead, Israel maintains full control of the entire
“Land of Israel,” jettisons democracy and opts to live and die by the
sword.

Down the other, where the sensible center of Israel must lead, the country
builds a safe and democratic future on a two-state foundation and regional
security agreements. A safe, democratic homeland for the Jewish people
that lives up to Israel’s founding values of justice, equality and peace.

The time has come for President Biden to pose that choice directly to the
Israeli people, understanding which path the present government would
choose.

Similarly, he must put to Palestinians the choices they must make –
renouncing violence and terror, recognizing Israel and settling all
claims.

The moment is so dire, the stakes so high that President Biden – one of
the best friends Israel has ever had in the Oval Office – must put forth a
bold, clear vision and make the case to all in the region to take the road
that leads to peace, safety and freedom for all.

In doing so, he will have an ally in J Street as we rally together to seek
a better future.

Yours sincerely,

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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