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Dear Friend, Right now, our nation is undergoing a moment of painful and desperately-needed reckoning. With the COVID-19 crisis inflicting a devastating and disproportionate toll on communities of color, and with the horrors of systemic racism and police violence fully exposed for all to see, this is a moment when we must recognize -- and work to rectify -- our personal, communal and societal complicity in the persistence of racism, injustice and inequality in our country. J Street’s commitment to the democratic values of equality, tolerance and justice compels us to stand firmly in solidarity with all those working for real, lasting change to an unacceptable status quo. This month, we have asked the members of our movement to donate to our allies in organizations leading the charge against racism and in defense of black and brown lives. And as fundamental pillars of our democracy -- including the right to protest -- come under attack, we are dedicated to doing all in our power to defeat Trump and his allies at the polls this November. We know that a single election cannot undo centuries of inequity or significantly alter America’s deeply entrenched system of structural racism. At the same time, we know that our democracy and our hope for progress depend on removing this demagogue from office. For Israelis and Palestinians as well, the struggle for peace, justice and equality continues. This month, the shooting of a Palestinian man with special needs by Israeli police again reminded us of the all-too-frequent instances of violence, arbitrary detention and harassment of Palestinians by security forces and police in Israel and the occupied territory. For the sake of Israeli democracy and Palestinian freedom, we must work to end the occupation -- and to prevent Prime Minister Netanyahu from carrying out disastrous annexation that seeks to make it permanent. Over the past few months, J Street has been leading the mobilization of lawmakers, security experts, and communal leaders to help speak out and stop annexation from moving forward on or after July 1st -- and to make clear that if it moves forward, it would have serious and damaging consequences not only for the future and security of Israel and the rights and aspirations of Palestinians, but for the US-Israel relationship. We must continue to rally opposition to annexation. We must continue to build support for an alternative vision of an American foreign policy that will act to help end the occupation, secure Israel’s future and usher in statehood and self-determination for the Palestinians. The challenges in front of us can feel daunting and overwhelming. But standing together, confident in the righteousness of our values and the urgency of our mission, we at J Street can help play a vital part in creating the change that we need to see for the US, for Israelis and Palestinians, and for our world. Logan Bayroff Director of Communications |
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Around J Street |
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J Street stands in solidarity with protesters, against systemic racism |
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Following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police and the outbreak of a widespread protest movement in cities across the country, J Street issued a statement making clear that we view it as our sacred obligation to stand in partnership with communities of color demanding strong action to end systematic racism and police violence. We shared our anguish for Floyd and the many other victims of this violent system, as well as our collective commitment to challenging and helping to bring an end to these injustices. Anti-racist organizations including Color of Change, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and the Southern Poverty Law Center are doing strong and urgent work to challenge racism in our country, and we encourage all our supporters to take this moment to support them. On Friday, we were honored to be joined by Color of Change’s President Rashad Robinson for a vital conversation about building political power to fight for racial justice. You can watch that discussion here. Last week, we also spoke out against the killing of Iyad el-Hallak by Israeli police and expressed our solidarity with peaceful Israeli and Palestinian protestors demanding justice, equality and an end to occupation. “We express our solidarity with non-violent protesters in Israel and the Palestinian territory who took to the streets to demand justice for el-Hallak, many carrying 'Palestinian Lives Matter' signs and drawing parallels to the killing of George Floyd. While the two incidents are distinct, the connections cannot be ignored.” |
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Lawmakers’ opposition to annexation grows louder |
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With less than one month until Israel’s coalition agreement allows Netanyahu to proceed with annexation on July 1, J Street and our pro-Israel, pro-peace allies have been rallying opposition from across the US and around the world -- including Congress. Last month, 19 Democratic senators signed onto a J Street-supported letter strongly denouncing annexation, led by J Street champions Senators Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen and Tim Kaine. “As friends and supporters of Israel, we caution you against taking unilateral steps that would fray our unique bonds, imperil Israel’s future and place out of reach the prospect of a lasting peace. If you move forward with unilateral annexation, we would not support that action,” the letter reads (full text here). In addition to this crucial letter, a number of other senators, have issued their own statements and letters calling on the Israeli government not to carry out annexation. They’ve echoed the message of Vice President Joe Biden, who said last month that “Israel needs to stop the threat of annexation and stop settlement activity, because it will choke off any hope for peace….[the US] cannot fully safeguard Israelis without peace.” They’ve also been joined by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who said this week that “unilateral annexation undermines US national security interests, our interests.” Thanks to everyone who has taken action over the past month to encourage their senators to oppose annexation. You can continue to take action here. We’ll deliver your signatures to senators who’ve not yet released statements. |
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Visit our Stop Annexation resource page → |
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Letter From Foreign Policy Leaders Reinforces J Street’s Campaign to Update Democratic Platform |
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A new public letter from leading foreign policy professionals was released last week, urging Democratic leaders to ensure that the party’s 2020 platform includes an explicit commitment to Palestinian rights alongside Israeli security, as well as explicit opposition to ongoing Israeli occupation and potential unilateral annexation in the West Bank. The letter echoes the call of J Street and J Street U’s own campaign to change the platform, which has garnered widespread support from College Democrat chapters, local Democratic parties, and over 230 Jewish clergy and communal leaders. It was signed by 32 distinguished experts, including former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake, former Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, former Deputy National Security Advisers Avril Haines and Ben Rhodes, and former US Ambassadors to Israel Martin Indyk and Daniel Kurtzer. As HuffPost reported in their exclusive story, “The group wants the party and its presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden to loudly oppose unilateral Israeli annexation of land in the West Bank, the area that would be integral to a full-fledged Palestinian state, as well as Israel’s military occupation of that region and its policy of building Israeli settlements there….The right strategy is to be clear about what Democrats stand for, the former officials say.” In J Street’s statement welcoming the letter, Jeremy Ben-Ami observed that “demonstrating strong support for the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians is both smart policy and politically popular -- that’s why it’s rapidly becoming a consensus position in the Democratic party.” |
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You can endorse the campaign here → |
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Our Israel: J Street marks LGBT+ Pride Month with Profile of Jerusalem Open House |
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While this year’s LGBT+ Pride Month won’t be marked by exuberant parades or powerful rallies, it remains an important moment to celebrate the progress the LGBT+ community has made toward equality, and to focus on the distance we all have yet to travel. In our latest ‘Our Israel’ profile -- released on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia -- we focused on the important and ongoing struggle for LGBT+ equality in Jerusalem. “Many people still see LGBT+ issues as a contradiction to the holiness of Jerusalem, something that stains the status of the city,” says Alon Shachar, Executive Director of Jerusalem Open House. “In Jerusalem the parade is more of a protest than a party,” says Micha, a young trans volunteer at the LGBT+ community center. Read and share our profile of Jerusalem Open House and the important work they do to ensure Jerusalem is a safe and secure home for all its LGBT+ residents, including both Israelis and Palestinians. J Street has also added merch celebrating LGBT+ pride to our online store -- you can check it out here. |
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