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Dear Friend,
This week I sent President Joe Biden an
important letter, asking him to make good on his own
promise to end U.S. support of the siege on Gaza and for the return of
all loved ones to all families by stopping our supply of offensive
munitions to Israel.
In my letter, I addressed the horrors we witnessed exactly
eight months ago today, Israeli and Palestinian captives, and the
siege of Gaza. In doing so, I focused on why ongoing violence
continues to put not only all Palestinians, Israelis, and the region
as a whole in unspeakable danger, but also threatens our safety and
democracy here at home.
Bend The Arc: Jewish Action is used to working with the White
House, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education on
many issues, from countering antisemitism to protecting public
education. What we’re not used to is commenting on foreign policy.
We were founded at a time when those in the halls of power insisted
that American Jews only cared about Israel. But while many of
us do, it never was the only issue on our minds. We were tired of
politicians skipping conversations with us about our well-being, and
the well-being of our friends and neighbors, in order to only speak
about Israel.
So we flipped the script and committed to fighting for the United
States that Jews want to see, focusing on countering antisemitism,
economic justice, transforming criminal justice, public education,
immigration, housing — so that every American is safe and thriving.
These are the issues most Jewish Americans check off as their top
priorities in virtually every community survey and poll.
While other Jewish organizations made Israel and Palestine their
focus, including organizations many of our members belong to, our
approach was to bring in partners, far and wide, and have huge impacts
on domestic policy. It gave us our focus. One we still believe in.
We’ve watched in anguish the violence across the past eight months,
on October 7th, and many times before. Many of us have taken personal
action across other groups. And in March we asked you — our base —
some critical questions about how October 7th, and the events that
have followed, have impacted your perspective at home and abroad. We
learned, among many other things, that fully 85% of survey respondents
supported calling for a bilateral ceasefire and a return of
hostages.
We also saw that the violence began to threaten our entire domestic
agenda. Why? Because the response to this conflict domestically
ushered in calls for less free speech and fewer liberties, when we
know our civil liberties are what keeps democracy strong — and strong
democracies are what keep Jews and everyone safest.
The violence is also a direct threat to defeating Trump in
November, a loss that could potentially usher in the end of democracy
altogether.
Even amidst our grief, and with the cascading impacts of
violence reaching us in the U.S., we are proud and inspired to stand
alongside those who are marshaling moral and spiritual courage to meet
this moment. Since we shared our letter earlier this week,
we’ve already seen families
of Israeli hostages join in calling more Jewish
organizations to support the end of this siege, as well as the
NAACP.
They join some of our most trusted Jewish and non-Jewish partners in
their call for an end to senseless, endless violence.
What I take from this are two clear understandings: we are not
alone, and our safety and futures depend upon one another. I find deep
hope and inspiration in this, and I hope you do as well.
Shabbat Shalom,
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