[ ]J Street[ ]
Friends,

Just like 2017, the weeks feel like months with Trump in the White House. 

The administration has wasted no time sowing chaos and targeting
communities for their own political gain: Refugees, immigrants, LGBT+
Americans, public servants. Cutting off aid to millions of people around
the world. The list goes on.

At the same time, we have reason for some hope in the Middle East. Though
fragile, the ceasefire is holding. So far the administration seems to be
using its leverage with the Netanyahu government to keep the ceasefire and
hostage deal on track. It was incredibly encouraging that Middle East
Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Gaza this week to see the devastation with his
own eyes  – and that he is committed to negotiations necessary to advance
the deal to Phase 2.

More on all this – and how J Street is meeting the moment and advancing
our values – below.

– Jen Abrahamson, Vice President of Communications

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Take Action ➡️

✍️Tell Washington to Make this Ceasefire Work: Scenes of hostage families
reunited and aid reaching Palestinians in Gaza make it abundantly clear:
We cannot restart this war. Every hostage must come home.

* The Trump team claimed credit for making this deal work so far, and we
cannot let them back down. Read Jeremy’s message to a leader who is
styling himself as a “peacemaker” and “dealmaker” president:
[ [link removed] ]President Trump, Don’t Get Played by Netanyahu on Gaza >>
* Sign our petition to Washington calling for continued pressure to
ensure this ceasefire holds and we get to the next stages of the deal.
[ [link removed] ]Read, sign and share our petition today >>

The Latest 👇

🌪️ Reflecting on Trump 2.0: The early days of Trump have been dominated by
chaos: From withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords and the World
Health Organization to pardoning violent insurrectionists and canceling
the flights of refugees to America just as they were ready to depart. All
of this was malicious but not surprising.

* Our Response: J Street is upholding our end of the bargain, fulfilling
the promise we made on November 6 to lock arms with political allies,
build strong coalitions and rally support in our own communities. How
we’re joining the fight at home: J Street is upholding our end of the
bargain, fulfilling the promise we made on November 6 to lock arms
with political allies, build strong coalitions and rally support in
our own communities. How we’re joining the fight at home:

* J Street joined an open [ [link removed] ]letter opposing Trump’s cruel
anti-immigrant plans along with 87 other Jewish groups. “Our
Jewish values make immigration policy deeply personal,” the
letter said.
* We [ [link removed] ]condemned Trump’s apparent interest in “cleaning out”
millions of Palestinians from their homes in Gaza. As we wrote,
“Trump's illegal and immoral plan would only condemn generations
of Israelis and Palestinians to endless violence.”
* J Street also [ [link removed] ]opposed legislation threatening non-citizen
college students with deportation simply because they attended a
campus protest we might disagree with. As we [ [link removed] ]said, “We will be
watching closely to see whether the executive order is enforced
in accordance with American laws and the Constitution.”

* Our Approach: “We’re ready for it all,” Jeremy wrote. “We’ll push back
on all things Project 2025 as Trump implements his extremist
anti-immigrant, anti-choice, anti-democratic, anti-LGBT+ agenda. And
concurrently, we’ll be pressing him and his team to move in the right
direction when it comes to bringing the remaining hostages home,
ending this horrific war and setting in motion a serious ‘day after’
plan.” [ [link removed] ]Read and share here >>

🎗️Welcoming the Hostages Home: We are overjoyed that on three separate
occasions now, Israeli hostages held by Hamas have returned to Israeli
soil. This week, we were particularly moved by the release of Gadi Moses.

* Gadi’s Home: We are overjoyed for Gadi – whose family members J Street
has worked closely with over the past 16 months – and so relieved he's
back in their arms. Gadi, a peacenik from Kibbutz Nir Oz, has spent
much of his life advocating for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. We
owe it to him to not give up the fight. We cannot let the ceasefire
deal fall apart.

What We’re Watching ⚠️

📄 Dangerous Bill Blocked: We were glad to see Senate Democrats block
legislation that would levy broad sanctions against the International
Criminal Court, its staff and a wide range of others. This legislation
would have put us at odds with our Western allies and hampered
US-supported efforts to hold tyrants and warlords to account, including
Vladimir Putin. Under the Trump Administration, we’re expecting a slew of
efforts aimed at scoring political points, including against the Court –
and we’re helping stiffen the spines of those in Congress who need to
stand up to these efforts.

* “Our Take: “We have a deep, communal interest in establishing global
norms and enforcing them, a need more crucial than ever as we witness
the re-emergence of fascism around the world once again.” [ [link removed] ]Read and
share the full thread here >>

🚫 UNRWA Ban Takes Effect: On Thursday, Israeli legislation banning UNRWA
from operating inside of Israel went into effect, jeopardizing aid
delivery to Gaza at a time when families desperately need food, supplies
and medicine. J Street is keeping a close eye on the situation and in
close contact with partners who have critical insight into the ban’s
impact on the ground.

* Where We Stand: UNRWA is far from perfect, and J Street has
consistently [ [link removed] ]called for urgent reforms to address staff links to
Hamas, among other concerns. But it is unacceptable that millions of
civilians in Gaza and the West Bank (and many heroic aid workers) are
paying the price for individual acts.
* Resource: The J Street Policy Center released an explainer breaking
down the real-life implications of this law for UNRWA, Israelis and
Palestinians. As the issue brief unpacks, the effects will be
consequential: Humanitarian operations will almost certainly be
compromised. School resources will likely crumble. And Gaza’s recovery
could be severely restrained. [ [link removed] ]Read and share here >>


[ [link removed] ]DONATE
[ [link removed] ]Threads [ [link removed] ]Facebook [ [link removed] ]Instagram [ [link removed] ]Twitter
© 2025 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]