[ ]J Street[ ]
Dear Friends,

It’s been nearly a year since I launched Word on the Street as a place to
share personal thoughts in real time on the issues of the day – distinct
from the press releases and policy papers of J Street.

I wanted a space to write candidly, process events and push back against
the flood of Israel-related commentary that so often comes only from
polarized extremes. Between those poles, I saw an opening: A wide,
underrepresented middle hungry for serious, principled, nuanced
conversation. That’s the space I’ve tried to carve out with Word on the
Street.

[ [link removed] ]Today, I’m excited to share how our community on Substack has been
growing, and I want you to be part of it 👇

[ [link removed] ]Subscribe

What began as a personal Substack is becoming something larger: A home for
voices across the J Street organization. Going forward, you’ll not only
hear from me, but also from other members of our senior team – including
Ilan Goldenberg, our Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer – as
well as our Policy Center Fellows and occasional guest voices.

We’ve added a weekly Word on the Street LIVE feature, where Ilan and I dig
into current issues and interview key figures in politics and policy.
You’ll also find our short policy briefing memos from J Street Policy
Fellows Frank Lowenstein, Jen Gavito, Yael Patir and Larry Garber, along
with regular writings from Nadav Tamir, Director of our Israel Team. This
is becoming a one-stop shop for ideas and insights from across J Street.

As we launch this next phase of Word on the Street, I want to restate a
few commitments that guided my earliest posts and continue to shape J
Street’s mission and work on Substack:

* Beyond the binary. It is both possible and necessary to be pro-Israel
and pro-Palestine – to affirm Israel’s right to exist and defend
itself while insisting Palestinians deserve freedom and dignity in a
state of their own.
* The “two-state solution” is too small. I’ve argued that resolution of
this conflict requires bigger thinking – a “23-state solution”: A
regional, comprehensive vision that recognizes the interlocking
interests of Israel, Palestine and their Arab neighbors.
* The case for the middle of the road. In my first post, I rejected the
old line that the middle of the road is only home to yellow stripes
and roadkill. In politics, the center is where deals are made,
compromises forged and progress secured.
* Unity is not uniformity. Too often, calls for Jewish “unity” are
wielded as a cudgel to silence dissent. A healthy Jewish community can
– and must – embrace vigorous debate about Israel. Criticizing
government policy is not a betrayal of Jewish identity; it is, in
fact, an expression of it.
* The next generation gets it. Some older Jewish leaders view young
people’s critiques of Israel as rebellion. I see the opposite: A
generation that has deeply absorbed values of justice and human
dignity – and is now challenging us to live up to them.

Through it all, I’m committed to keeping the candor and honesty that have
defined my posts so far – while enriching them with more perspectives and
more frequent updates on the issues we know our community cares most
about.

In the months ahead, you’ll see more regular updates on the issues that
matter most – from the US election, to the war in Gaza, to the growing
international push to recognize Palestinian statehood. Some posts will
carry my personal voice; others will bring in colleagues whose insights
sharpen and deepen our work.

[ [link removed] ]Don’t miss out! Subscribe now!

I’m deeply grateful to all of you who have read, shared and debated these
posts over the past year. Now, I hope you’ll join me – and all of us at J
Street – in this next phase.

Thank you for joining us,

Jeremy Ben-Ami
J Street President


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J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the
Jewish people. Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we
advocate policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish
and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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