[ ]J Street[ ]
This Week: Majority of House and Senate Democrats Press on Humanitarian
Aid 🏛️ | Netanyahu’s Gaza Re-Occupation Plan ⚠️ | Policy Center Corner 🔍 |
This Week’s Must-Reads (And Watches!) 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️
| And much more.

🏛️ Majority of House and Senate Democrats Press on Humanitarian Aid: This
week – days before Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to the Middle East – a
majority of Democrats in both the House and Senate signed congressional
letters calling for an end to the Netanyahu government’s 68-day unlawful
blockade of all humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

* Almost 100 Democrats Sign J Street-Backed House Letter: A total of 96
Democrats signed a [ [link removed] ]House letter demanding Netanyahu end his
“morally wrong” and “strategically counterproductive” blockade of
humanitarian aid to starving civilians in Gaza. [ [link removed] ]Read more >>

* Majority of Senate Dems Sign Letter Opposing Humanitarian Blockade: 25
senators collaborated on a letter calling for Netanyahu to end the
blockade and opposing recently announced plans by the Israeli
government to fully occupy the Gaza Strip. Senators called on
President Trump “to oppose a permanent reoccupation of Gaza and to
press for the immediate resumption of neutral and impartial
humanitarian assistance.” [ [link removed] ]Read here >> 

* 25 House Members Sign Friday Aid Letter: Following the release of
Wednesday’s letter, today Congressman Brad Schneider led 25 members
calling for the US to press the Netanyahu government to allow more aid
into Gaza. “Israel has the right and obligation to defeat Hamas and
rescue the hostages,” the letter reads. “At the same time, it is
critical that Israel enables entry of lifesaving humanitarian aid into
Gaza.” [ [link removed] ]Read here >>

As Jews and as Americans, this humanitarian blockade is a painful
violation of our values. It’s meaningful not only that so many members
have signed on and are speaking out, but also that the signers include so
many prominent Jewish representatives and rising stars in the House and
Senate in the Democratic Party.

⚠️ Netanyahu’s Gaza Re-Occupation Plan: As the details of Netanyahu’s
“total victory” plan for Gaza come into sharper focus, it’s looking more
and more like a catastrophic plan for permanent occupation – a goal long
championed by the most extreme members of his government.

* Choosing Endless War Over the Hostages: As Israel’s Hostage Family
Forum has said, this plan amounts to “choosing territory over the
hostages.” It’s a recipe for endless war, with no day-after plan for
governance and stability. Netanyahu’s right-wing allies are already
talking about annexation. [ [link removed] ]Read more >>

* Senate Democrats Oppose Reoccupation Plan: Today’s Senate letter urges
President Trump to use his upcoming visit to the region to "oppose a
permanent reoccupation of Gaza." [ [link removed] ]Read more >>

🔍 Policy Center Corner: The latest from the J Street Policy Team.

* [Policy Center Briefing] What to Expect from Trump's Middle East Trip:
Ilan Goldenberg sat down with Middle East experts Ambassador Michael
Ratney and Jen Gavito to discuss President Trump’s trip to the Middle
East on Monday and how Trump might respond to the Israeli government’s
plans to re-seize large swaths of Gaza. 

* [ [link removed] ]Watch on YouTube >> 
* Listen on [ [link removed] ]Spotify or [ [link removed] ]Apple Podcasts >>

* Israel’s Forever War: “Israel is currently stuck in a strategic cul de
sac similar to the ones that the United States faced for years in Iraq
and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, 59 hostages continue to be held in Gaza,”
J Street Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Ilan
Goldenberg writes. [ [link removed] ]Read the full piece on the Dialogue and
Dissonance Substack >>

* Dismantling USAID: Consequences for the West Bank and Gaza: “The
impact on populations, like those in Gaza, is immediate and dramatic:
the absence of food stocks and medicines will result in many
preventable deaths,” J Street Policy Fellow Larry Garber wrote for
[ [link removed] ]Haaretz. For his full Policy Center Analysis, [ [link removed] ]read more here
>>

📖  This Week’s Must-Reads (And Watches!)

* Why I, an Israeli, Work for J Street: “As an Israeli, it’s not obvious
to dedicate your career to influencing American policy. But for me,
joining J Street – a pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy American
organization – has been one of the most deeply patriotic things I’ve
ever done,” J Street Vice President of Engagement Gal Peleg writes.
[ [link removed] ]Read and share >>

* For Israel, Humanitarian Aid to Gaza Should Be an Imperative for Its
Own Security: Former IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner writes,
“Humanitarian strategy is not a distraction; rather, it is an integral
aspect of Israel's national security. Winning the war against Hamas
requires more than missiles: it requires vision.” [ [link removed] ]Read and share
>>

* Israel and Those Who Love It Are Stuck in a Hopeless Present. Can We
Ever Get Back to the Future? "There is only so much loyalty to the
present that can be demanded of people without providing them hope for
the future, and we have passed that threshold. This insistence on
stuckness is then not just a terrible moral and political choice, but
also psychologically corrosive for our people," writes the Shalom
Hartman Institute's Yehuda Kurtzer. [ [link removed] ]Read and share >>

* Watch the People’s Peace Summit: J Streeters across the country are
joining screenings of the Jerusalem People’s Peace Summit today,
showing solidarity with Israelis and Palestinains working together to
end the conflict. In case you missed it, watch it here👇

[ [link removed] ]Watch the People’s Peace Summit here.

🗳️ Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List:

[17][ ] [ [link removed] ]Get ready for the NO KINGS National Day of Action on June 14
>>

[19][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Wear your J Street Swag! >>

[21][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Find Pro-Israel, Pro-Democracy, Pro-Peace candidates at
JStreetPAC.org >>

[23][ ] [ [link removed] ]Sign up for J Street’s 2026 National Convention >>

 ✅ Thank you to everyone who signed our petition and contacted their
Members of Congress to call on Netanyahu to resume humanitarian aid. It's
been heartening to see so many Democrats in Congress taking action.

[ [link removed] ]Check out and share the regularly updated Pro-Democracy To-Do List on
our website >>

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