[ ]J Street[ ]
Dear Friends,

This year’s Israeli Independence Day – Yom Ha’atzmaut – is unlike any
prior Independence Day.

On Sunday, to mark Israel’s Memorial Day, Israeli and Palestinian peace
advocates came together for a powerful joint memorial service – sharing
each other’s pain and grief from a conflict that has robbed far too many
of their loved ones. J Street was proud to sponsor the event, which,
despite the best efforts of hackers, was streamed to thousands across
Israel and around the world.

Then, last night, in stark contrast to government-sponsored Independence
Day celebration events, hostage family members gathered to extinguish
torches, rather than light torches, in a display of anger towards the
Netanyahu government’s failures on October 7 and its abdication of
responsibility since. “No Hostages, No Independence,” their signs read.

Today at 2pm Eastern, J Street will mark Yom Ha’atzmaut alongside our
Progressive Israel Network partners with an event featuring Israeli
pro-democracy movement leaders and our dear friend and partner,
Representative Jerry Nadler. [ [link removed]- ]I hope you can register to join us here >>

Together, we’ll acknowledge the dark and difficult moment we find
ourselves in and seek to find glimmers of hope as we discuss how our
pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy community in the US can support our
pro-peace, pro-democracy friends and allies in Israel.

[ [link removed]- ]Register for our event!

This year, there has been little transition from the sadness and darkness
of Yom HaZikaron, Memorial Day, to the light of Yom Ha’atzmaut. This year,
we stay in that same darkness as we grapple with the reality that over 100
hostages remain trapped in Gaza, and the war rages on with no end in sight
and no plan for a “day after.”

We recognize that while the future of the hostages remains uncertain, so
too does the future of the State of Israel. The anger and frustration felt
by many of our friends and family in Israel is clear.

Together, we ask ourselves tough questions: Will this government come
together to prioritize the lives and freedom of hostages, or will
right-wing leaders continue to place their own political goals above all
else? Will Israel live up to the liberal democratic values of its
Declaration of Independence, or will it be led down an undemocratic path
by those same ultranationalist-extremists?

Will Israel hold firm to “equality of social and political rights to all
its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex,” or will it be
overtaken by Jewish supremacist voices? Will it choose to live and die by
the sword, or will it pursue a path of making real its founding values of
“freedom, justice, and peace?” Will we continue to prioritize our own
right to self-determination over the same right for Palestinians?

As we reflect on the path we face ahead, and how we can best support those
fighting the good fight in Israel, I hope you can join us at 2pm
Eastern. [ [link removed]- ]Register to join us here >>

Thank you, sincerely, for your support.

Adina Vogel-Ayalon
Vice President and Chief of Staff, J Street


[ [link removed]- ]DONATE
[ [link removed]- ]Threads [ [link removed]- ]Facebook [ [link removed]- ]Instagram [ [link removed]- ]Twitter
© 2024 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]-