Friends,
It’s been an unrelenting year, with a range of emotions continuing to course through the J Street community, especially in recent days.
People are, to say the least, overwhelmed, anxious and exhausted by the endless avalanche of news – culminating in yesterday’s massive ballistic missile attack by Iran.
History is unfolding at lightning speed, and it feels like the world is careening downhill without brakes.
At J Street, we continue to believe that stronger US leadership is needed to find diplomatic offramps, pull the region back from the brink and stop a terrible situation from becoming even worse.
As we continue to hope for the safety of Israelis and all civilians in the region, it is precisely now – as we head into the most significant days of reflection, atonement and renewal in the Jewish calendar – that it also feels appropriate for all of us to take a moment to reflect on these intense events and where we go from here.
Monday marks one year since Hamas’ horrific October 7 attacks. The aftershocks continue to reverberate not just through Israeli society but through the region and around the world.
Pain and loss are everywhere. Families of hostages held by Hamas are still haunted by the suffering of their loved ones. More than a million people in Gaza are homeless, desperate and in danger. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese are displaced.
And now, following Iran’s unprecedented attack, the chance of a broader regional war has only increased, with no clear commitment to a diplomatic pathway to end it.
The violence in the south and north shouldn’t obscure the chaos on the West Bank either, where extremists continue to throw fuel on a smoldering fire.
Sadly, another characteristic of the past year has been the failure of regional and world leaders to find the path, the courage and the strength to resolve these conflicts through diplomacy and negotiation.
While you won’t find J Street disagreeing that the world is a better place without terrorists like Haniyeh and Nasrallah, it remains as true today as it was a year ago that long-term safety and a better future for our children won’t be secured solely through lethal force.
Ultimately, the political conflicts embroiling the region and challenging Israel’s long-term security must be resolved through diplomacy.
Endless war serves only extremists. Vengeance unleashes more pain and new enemies – deepening the cycle of violence.
I head into these days of reflection determined that we will find a way to advance a comprehensive, regional security agreement that enables both Israel’s integration into its region as well as Palestinian self-determination.
The path toward what I’m calling a 23-state solution has to start with ending the fighting in Gaza in a way that brings the hostages home and lays out a viable post-war plan.
It also requires grappling with the Iranian threat while reducing the risk of further escalation. Only political agreements will restore calm, return focus to hostage release negotiations, and allow thousands to return to their homes.
Finding that path toward lasting security and peace will require doubling down on the values on which J Street was founded.
Our focus must remain on solutions, empathy and bridge-building, an approach more important than ever in this deeply polarized world.
Our commitment to equality, justice, democracy, the rule of law and diplomacy cannot be allowed to falter - precisely because of the global threats to these core values.
In recent years, our approach has come to be recognized as the mainstream and thoughtful voice of our community from the White House to Capitol Hill to college campuses.
I’m immensely proud of that and of this whole community.
Our reflection must then turn to action. The future of our own country is at stake in 34 days in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes.
That’s why, when these holidays end, J Street will continue doing all we can to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (and by the way, I hope you share my pride that we’re the largest institutional fundraiser for the Harris-Walz ticket in the Jewish community).
On behalf of all our staff, I wish you a safe, peaceful and meaningful week ahead and join you in praying that Iranian threats and new levels of violence in southern Lebanon can be swiftly contained.
Thank you, sincerely, for your ongoing support.
Jeremy Ben-Ami,
President, J Street
