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Friends,

"Netanyahu is leading Israel and the hostages to doom.”

That’s what hostage families had to say amid reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu is planning to intensify the war in Gaza and fully occupy the Gaza Strip, a step which right-wing coalition partners see as essential as they press to resettle the Strip and expel Palestinian civilians.

The plan is reportedly strongly opposed by the head of the IDF – himself a Netanyahu appointee – and comes after the majority of former leaders of Israel’s security agencies joined forces to issue a public call for Netanyahu to end the war.

Here’s the latest update from Israel, where Netanyahu appears intent on defying growing outcry from both the international community and within Israel over his failure to pursue a war-ending hostage deal. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who may be interested in seeing it:

In an unprecedented plea, a majority of the living former leaders of Israeli security agencies – from the IDF to the Shin Bet to Mossad – issued a public call to Netanyahu to end the war for the sake of Israel’s own security:

Ami Ayalon, Former Head of the Shin Bet: “This was started as a just, defensive war. But once we achieved all its military objectives [...] this war stopped being a just war. This is leading the state of Israel to the loss of its security and identity.”
Moshe Ya’alon, Former IDF Chief of Staff: “There are moments that represent a black flag in which one must stand firm and say ‘this far and no further.’”
Tamir Pardo, Former Head of the Mossad: “No matter how good the army is, a war with no political goal is a guarantee of defeat.”
Yoram Cohen, Former Head of the Shin Bet: “The damage is severe internationally, and we have not advanced in any way towards the release of the hostages.”
Watch and share the video »

Over 600 former Israeli security and diplomatic officials have called on President Trump to press Netanyahu to end the war:

“The IDF has long accomplished the two objectives that could be achieved by force: dismantling Hamas’ military formations and governance. The third, and most important, can only be achieved through a deal: bringing all hostages home,” wrote the group in an open letter.
“It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel, and our experience tells us that Israel has all it takes to deal with its residual terror capabilities, remotely or otherwise.”
Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Setter, who served as a senior Israeli negotiator for the first year of this war, similarly publicly condemned the Israeli government’s “resounding failure” to secure a partial hostage deal, and called for “a comprehensive agreement to free all hostages and end the war.”
Over 1,000 Israeli artists and cultural figures signed a petition voicing their moral opposition to their government’s conduct of the war in Gaza:

The petition calls out “the horrific actions carried out by our government in Gaza: the killing of children and civilians, policies of starvation, mass displacement, and the senseless destruction of entire cities.”
The artists also stated their concern that they share complicity in the “horrifying events” in Gaza against their will, and called on the government to end the war.
The petition was signed by several prominent figures, including Etgar Keret, David Grossman, and Chava Alberstein.


Following distressing new images of emaciated hostages – and footage of one of the hostages being forced to ‘dig his own grave’ – hostage families have renewed their call for Israel to agree to a comprehensive hostage deal:

“Expanding the war endangers the lives of hostages who are already in immediate danger of death,” hostage families said in a joint statement.
A new poll from the Institute for National Security Studies found that 76% of Israelis have lost trust in Netanyahu’s government, 61% believe that the current strategy doesn’t facilitate the return of hostages and 52% blame the government fully or partially for the impasse.
Former Israeli Prime Ministers are continuing to speak out against Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza:

This week, Ehud Barak called for an end to Netanyahu’s “war of deception,” which he said has “nothing to do with the security of Israel or its interests. It’s about keeping alive the coalition and Netanyahu because the day the war is over is a day of reckoning.”
In May, Ehud Olmert wrote: “The government of Israel is currently waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning and with no chances of success.”
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s decisions to prolong the war and obstruct humanitarian aid are dealing a catastrophic blow to Israel’s international reputation:

Negative perceptions of Israel are growing worldwide, including in the United States, where Pew Polling shows 53% of Americans now have a negative view of Israel – up 11 points since a poll taken before the Gaza war.
Just 8% of Democrats and 25% of Independents support Israel’s campaign in Gaza, according to a new Gallup poll.
We owe it to the hostage families, civilians in Gaza, soldiers on the front lines and Israel’s future to continue to speak out against the Netanyahu government’s conduct of this war and to ramp up pressure for an immediate war-ending hostage deal and a surge of humanitarian aid.

Friend – Can you forward this email to people in your network who need to see it? You can also share the video of former Israeli security chiefs here.

Silence is complicity, and we cannot afford to stay silent any longer.

Yours,

Adina Vogel Ayalon
Vice President and Chief of Staff, J Street

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