[ [link removed] ]End the War | Free the Hostages | Surge Aid

This Week: Why Smotrich Will Ultimately Fail 🚜 | Ro Khanna on Gaza,
Palestinian Statehood and the Democratic Party 🎙️| Netanyahu’s Expansion
of the Gaza War 🔍 | A Powerful Show of Dissent in Israel 🇮🇱 | Help José
Andrés Serve 1 Million Daily Meals in Gaza 🌍 | This Week’s Must-Reads 📖 |
Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.

🚜 Why Smotrich Will Ultimately Fail: This week, Israeli authorities
rubber-stamped Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s request to build 3,400
homes in the long-delayed E-1 settlement project in the heart of the West
Bank. It’s a deliberate, calculated move – as Smotrich openly admitted –
to split the West Bank in two and “bury a Palestinian state.”

* This Will Not Stop Palestinian Statehood: “Bulldozers, concrete and
settlements can’t bury a people’s hopes and dreams for freedom and
self-determination. As Jews, it’s a truth we know intimately: 2,000
years of oppression and persecution never destroyed our dream of being
a free people in our own land,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami
writes. [ [link removed] ]Read more >>

* ✍️ In addition to rallying opposition to E-1 and continued settlement
growth, J Street is continuing to build support for the West Bank
Violence Prevention Act to sanction and defund violent settlers and
the groups that support them. [ [link removed] ]Join us in calling on Congress to
take action >>

🎙️ Ro Khanna on Gaza, Palestinian Statehood and the Democratic Party: In
the latest installment of Word on the Street Live, Jeremy and J Street
Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg held a wide-ranging conversation with
Congressman Ro Khanna. They discussed his new letter supporting US
recognition of Palestinian statehood and the choices facing the Democratic
Party. [ [link removed] ]Watch here >>

🔍 Netanyahu’s Expansion of the Gaza War: What You Need to Know. In the
face of strong opposition from the IDF, the Israeli cabinet greenlit
Netanyahu’s plan to take over Gaza city on August 8. On August 18, Hamas
reportedly accepted a proposal from Egypt and Qatar for a temporary
ceasefire. Despite initially dismissing it, the Israeli government is
reportedly considering the current proposal even as it continues to ramp
up for a major new offensive. 

* Forced Relocation and Annexation: “As Netanyahu himself has admitted,
his long-term ambition is the forced relocation of some 2 million
Gazans to southern Gaza,” J Street Policy Fellow Frank Lowenstein and
J Street Policy Analyst Liam Hamama wrote. “This is part of a parallel
effort in the West Bank that includes violently expelling Palestinians
from Area C while dramatically increasing settlement growth... Taken
together, it becomes clear that Netanyahu and his extremist coalition
are implementing a comprehensive plan to advance their messianic
vision of creating a Greater Israel." [ [link removed] ]Read the full analysis >>

* ✍️ Add your name to oppose Netanyahu’s Gaza Occupation Plan. It’s not
‘pro-Israel’ to stay silent in the face of Netanyahu’s pursuit of
endless war. American leaders need to wake up and recognize that the
only way to end this war and get hostages home is to exert immense
pressure on Netanyahu. [ [link removed] ]Sign here >>

🇮🇱 A Powerful Show of Dissent in Israel: On Sunday, hundreds of thousands
of Israelis took to the streets to demand a war-ending hostage deal. J
Streeters across the country showed their support, posting messages of
solidarity on social media and [ [link removed] ]rallying in front of the White House and
across the country to demand an end to this madness.

* Jeremy’s Reflections: In his Word on the Street Substack, Jeremy
voiced his support for the Israeli protests and shared reflections and
resources on issues he’s recently discussed: genocide, the disastrous
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and the skewed picture Members of
Congress receive on AIPAC trips to Israel. [ [link removed] ]Read here >>

🌍 Help José Andrés Serve 1 Million Daily Meals in Gaza: World Central
Kitchen Founder Chef José Andrés [ [link removed] ]visited Gaza and Israel last week to
call for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid to Palestinians to
stave off starvation. World Central Kitchen is working on expanding its
operations, building more field kitchens, securing more aid, and we can
help.

* ❤️ Friends, we can help save lives. [ [link removed] ]Donate to World
Central Kitchen here >>

📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens:

* [ [link removed] ]Trump Will Not Save Israel from Netanyahu
Ilan Goldenberg writes for The Contrarian, “Trump was never going to
be the ‘Nixon goes to China’ peacemaker. What we are seeing instead is
a blank-check policy for Netanyahu and his most extreme allies. The
results are clear: a strategic catastrophe for Israel, a humanitarian
tragedy for Palestinians, and a further erosion of U.S. credibility.”

* [ [link removed] ]The West Bank Is Sliding Toward a Crisis (Gift Article 🎁)
Jon Finer writes for the Atlantic, “I spent the past week traveling
across Israel and the West Bank, meeting with officials from the
Israeli government, military, and opposition, as well as Palestinian
political leaders and activists. I left believing that Israel is
closer to triggering a second war with West Bank Palestinians than it
is to ending the disastrous conflict in Gaza.”

* [ [link removed] ]Why Israel – And Trump – Should Support Palestinian Statehood
Ami Ayalon, Gilead Sher and Orni Petruschka write for Time,
"Recognizing Palestine as a state presents a peaceful and realistic
pathway that undermines the narrative of violent resistance and gives
hope to Palestinians seeking a diplomatic solution."

* [ [link removed] ]Israel's Largest Protest in Over a Year Was a Clear Warning to
Netanyahu. Will It Matter?
Amir Tibon writes in Haaretz, "This decision, if executed despite the
military's initial objections, will lead to a 're-run' of the Rafah
incident from last year, and cost the lives of hostages like my
neighbor Omri Miran from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, who can still be saved if a
deal to end the war is achieved."

* [ [link removed] ]Netanyahu Declares War on the World, Dragging Israel and Global
Jewry Toward the Abyss
The Haaretz Editorial Board writes, "There are two options: either
Israel finally pulls into its defensible and normal borders, or the
circles of condemnation will widen, culminating in the inclusion of
all Israelis in the maligned group, indiscriminately."

🗳️  Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List:

[16][ ] [ [link removed] ]Add your name to oppose Netanyahu’s Gaza occupation plans >>

[18][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Tell Jewish leaders: We must speak out to end the war >>

[20][ ] [ [link removed] ]Ask your Member of Congress to cosponsor the West Bank
Violence Prevention Act >>

[22][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Tell Congress to take action on settler violence >>

[24][ ] [ [link removed] ]American Jews say: Bring them home. End the war >>

[26][ ] [ [link removed] ]Order or download posters or yard signs to share our message
>>

[28][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Find pro-Israel, pro-democracy, pro-peace candidates at
JStreetPAC.org >>

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

* Use code ‘weeklyrecap’ for 10% off any general admission ticket!



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

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