Friends,

I fear what the coming days may bring.

It’s been 300 excruciating days since October 7. Just as we were hoping that negotiations might be nearing fruition to end the war and bring the hostages home, events of recent days seem now to be pushing Israel and the wider Middle East down a path toward catastrophic regional conflict, with millions of civilians caught in the crossfire.

Last week saw horrific scenes in northern Israel, with a dozen children and young adults killed when a Hezbollah rocket slammed into a soccer field. This week, Israel responded with a targeted strike in Beirut which killed Hezbollah’s second-in-command. Yesterday, Hamas’s political leader and key ceasefire negotiator was assassinated in Tehran.

Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas have promised retaliation, and all of us at J Street are anxiously watching news reports, waiting to learn what the coming days will bring for loved ones and friends.

Make no mistake: No one at J Street is shedding a tear because there are a few less terrorist leaders in the world. Those killed fomented wanton violence that brought untold suffering to innocent civilians. Any country attacked as Israel was has the right to go after those who mastermind and execute such horrific acts.

But the painful reality is that every action induces a predictable reaction, and now we face the risk of a region spiraling toward all-out war – a war that could overwhelm Israel’s defense systems, draw in American troops, and trigger a volatile series of calamities.

A critically important and painful consequence is that, for hostage families in Israel and for Palestinians struggling to keep their families safe in Gaza, these latest events push a deal to end the fighting and free the hostages further from reach.

With the risk of miscalculation growing with every strike and counterstrike, J Street is urging the Biden Administration to move at lightning speed to stop the spiral. The US must play a key role in pulling the region back from the brink.

In America, Israel, Iran, Lebanon and the tunnels underneath Gaza, the most hawkish voices didn’t waste a moment this week in dusting off their calls for all-out war.

But as too many have learned the hard way, wars are rarely simple, rarely easy and rarely take the path you expect.

Having only this past April avoided a harrowing escalatory spiral – resulting in hundreds of missiles and drones raining down over Israel – it is deeply distressing to be facing such a moment again.

The surest way to defuse the situation is to hammer out a ceasefire agreement now, before it’s too late.

We support the Biden Administration and all the actions it is taking both publicly and behind the scenes to try to de-escalate the situation and lead us back from the brink.

We cannot allow war-mongers to drive our policy or dominate the debate. In this moment of calm before the storm, J Street is committed to being a clear and forceful voice for reason, sanity and peace.

Thank you, sincerely, for your partnership and support for our work to this end.

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street