Our Weekly Recap: Trump attacks higher education 📚 | Our roadmap for Gaza 🧭 | Stand for your values, vote Hatikvah ✡️ | Jews say no to Project Esther 🛑 | Mark your calendar for Conference 📅 | And more.
📚 Trump Attacks Higher Ed in Our Name: The Jewish people’s history tells us that attacks on education and politically motivated arrests are often the dangerous first steps of authoritarianism.
This week, Trump announced plans to lay off nearly half of the Department of Education – including those working to counter antisemitism – and slashed funding to dozens of colleges while arresting and attempting to deport a student protest leader without due process.
Let’s be clear: While addressing the very real issue of antisemitism and poor university responses may have been the pretext for these actions, this has little to do with protecting Jewish students – many of whom rely on the grants that have been cut – and everything to do with anti-democratic efforts to force the MAGA political ideology on the nation’s education system.
- Sounding the Alarm: “Hedging our bets or remaining silent to curry favor with this regime for short-term gains – as some Jewish organizations may be choosing to do – is unacceptable,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami wrote. “To those waiting for the definitive moment to sound the alarm over the threat to our democracy, now is the time.” Read our full statement here >>
- J Street U Students Respond: “If the administration was serious about fighting antisemitism, it would listen to Jewish students; it would seek to calm campus tensions rather than escalate them; and it might start by throwing out the slew of bigots and conspiracy theorists it has promoted to top positions in its own ranks,” J Street U wrote. Read and share here >>
- Democrats Push Back: In a J Street-endorsed letter led by Reps. Jayapal, Raskin and Scanlon, over 100 Democrats opposed the Trump Administration’s attack on the First Amendment and democracy in its detention of lawful permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil. Read the letter here >>
🚨 Take Action: If you agree that protecting education, civil rights and open dialogue is vital to the ability of Jewish students to thrive, add your name here >>
🧭 Our Roadmap for Gaza: While Netanyahu refuses to negotiate Phase II of the hostage and ceasefire deal to protect his political survival, and Trump floats outrageous proposals for resettling two million Gazan civilians in Africa, our Policy Center has laid out a viable path to free the hostages, surge aid into Gaza and end the cycle of violence for good. Read the Policy Center’s full report here >>
- Playing Politics with People's Lives: The Netanyahu government has blocked all humanitarian aid and cut off all electricity to Gaza. While Netanyahu has claimed that cutting off aid is a negotiating tactic – as though punishing a civilian population can be an acceptable ‘tactic’ – in reality, he is likely seeking to delay negotiating the second phase of the ceasefire, which his extreme coalition would take issue with.
- Israelis Fight for the Deal: Over 50 families of Israeli hostages filed an emergency Supreme Court petition against Netanyahu’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, saying the policy poses “direct consequences for hostages' wellbeing.”
Every week, thousands of Israelis continue to take to the streets, demanding an immediate hostage release. “The evolution and endurance of Israel's pro-hostage deal protests, coming after nearly a year of pro-democracy protests, is a phenomenon in itself,” Dahlia Scheindlin writes. Read here >>
✡️ Stand for Your Values, Vote Hatikvah: Voting is now open for the World Zionist Congress, and we’re rallying our community to vote for the Hatikvah Slate: A progressive slate of candidates – including J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami – who will oppose efforts to direct the billions of dollars the Congress allocates towards anti-democratic, pro-settlement projects.
- Spread the Word: “Those of us in the more liberal and progressive wings of the community are far less organized and engaged – so it will take word-of-mouth from you – yes, YOU – to let five or ten of your friends and family know about these elections and to get them to take the 60 seconds to actually vote,” Jeremy writes in his latest Substack. Read the full piece here >>
Vote Hatikvah: For $5, you can decide the fate of $5 billion.
Vote for the Hativkah slate here >>
🛑 This Purim, We Say No to Project Esther: Chag Purim Sameach! In the interest of making noise in the face of bigotry and hatred, we are calling out the Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project Esther,’ which helped lay the foundation for Trump’s attacks on education and progressive organizations while providing a roadmap for an even darker future.
- Project Esther’s Antisemitism: “Documents from Project Esther reveal a disquieting strategy. It reportedly seeks to identify and pressure individuals it labels as “masterminds,” including Jewish figures such as philanthropist George Soros and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. This language evokes long-standing antisemitic tropes of Jewish control and manipulation,” Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum and J Street’s Deputy Director of Jewish Communal Engagement Emily Kaiman write. Read the piece here >>
🤝 Netanyahu’s Global Far-Right Alliance: Netanyahu has always had a kinship for strongmen, and he’s recently been taking that even further, formalizing relationships with far-right parties in Spain, Sweden and France – parties with antisemitic and fascist roots.
- Our Analysis: “The leader of the Jewish state has emboldened and excused these nefarious actors, due to their shared commitment to right-wing pro-Israelism, including support for Israeli territorial maximalism, opposition to Palestinian statehood, and impunity for the crimes of occupation,” J Street Policy and Research Coordinator Avraham Spraragen writes. Read and share >>
🌱 J Street U’s Seeds of Partnership Tour: J Street U concluded a four-stop tour with Seeds of Partnership, a Jewish-Arab leadership program in collaboration with Standing Together. The tour featured events with J Street U chapters at the University of Arizona, UCLA, UC Davis and UC Berkeley. Two Israeli citizens, one Jewish and one Palestinian, shared stories and experiences from the front lines of peacebuilding work in the region.
📅 Mark Your Calendar: We’re thrilled to announce that J Street’s 2026 National Convention returns February 28-March 3, 2026. Our conventions are an opportunity to rally our movement together in person, meet with the next generation of political leadership and shape the conversation on our issues – and you won’t want to miss out.
- An incredible lineup of high-profile speakers – from the US, Israel, the Palestinian territories and beyond – will join us for keynote addresses, political advocacy training sessions and important, robust discussions about the way forward. Get your early bird ticket pricing today >>
