Contribute to J Street to fight the dangerous bigotry of Donald Trump

Friend,

It’s hard to be shocked these days. But yesterday, I briefly found myself speechless.

From the Oval Office, the President of the United States said that American Jewish Democrats -- the vast majority of our community -- are ignorant and disloyal.

Make no mistake, these were the words of a resentful, destructive president lashing out against Jewish Americans who refuse to support his far-right agenda, and refuse to validate his bigoted, disingenuous attacks against progressive women of color in Congress.

They were the words of a president making clear that in his eyes, there is a right way to be a Jew and a wrong way to be a Jew. For Trump, the “right way” is to support the extreme, ethnonationalist, pro-settlement movement policies of Donald Trump, his GOP allies and their good friend Prime Minister Netanyahu.

At J Street, we’re loyal to our Jewish and liberal democratic values -- not to Donald Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu. We’re an outspoken voice and a political home for the large majority of our community who wants to fight back against the far-right’s agenda -- not cheer for it or quietly tolerate it.

<< Can you donate today to help us proudly “disloyal” Jews fight for democracy, tolerance and peace in the US and in Israel? >>

The President of the United States asserting that American Jews owe a debt of loyalty -- to him, to his party, to the Israeli government or all three -- is an outrageous new low.

This moment demands a powerful response. I’m proud that J Street has been an unequivocal voice on the frontlines defending our community in the media -- from The New York Times and the Washington Post to MSNBC, CNN, NPR and many other outlets across the country.

Time and again, J Street has consistently made clear that Donald Trump’s “support” for Israel was never rooted in our community’s true interests or values. Even when Trump was still a presidential candidate, we said that he was unfit for office -- and we’ve kept up our fight at every step along the way.

We’ve shown that Trump’s pro-settlement, anti-diplomacy policies are disastrous for Israelis, Palestinians and the United States. We’ve pointed out that his xenophobic rhetoric and ideology endangers our democracy and all vulnerable minorities, including American Jews. We’ve challenged his shameful use of “anti-Israel” and “anti-Semite” as smears with which to attack his critics and shut down important debate on the occupation and US foreign policy.

The president and his close political allies like Benjamin Netanyahu will never understand our community -- because they will never understand our values.

But we’re on the right side of history. We’re going to battle Trump every step of the way, help defeat him on Election Day in 2020 and defeat the far-right in the long run.

Please take a moment now to help J Street take on the massive threat that Donald Trump poses to our community and our democracy.

Thank you so much for your support,

Adee Telem
Vice President of Development