Friends,
I’m writing to you from Washington DC, where we’ve just wrapped up another energizing and successful National Leadership Summit.
Tomorrow, we’re building on the momentum from the past two days and heading to Capitol Hill with clear calls for:
- A war-ending hostage deal in Gaza
- Recognition of a Palestinian state
- A ban on the use of US weapons in Gaza
- A red line against annexation and
- Stronger American action against terror and retaliation in the West Bank.
At a dark and difficult time, it’s been deeply meaningful to be with so many J Street members pressing for change and refusing to give up.
So today, I want to share with you some rays of hope – specifically demonstrating that J Street's values and priorities are taking root at the mainstream center of the Democratic Party – and ending the dominance of corrosive, right-wing groups like AIPAC.
- Just last week, we announced our endorsement of the entire House Democratic leadership. J Street now endorses a full 60 percent of all Democrats in the House and Senate. As important, it is becoming harder and harder for Democrats to accept AIPAC’s endorsement or money.
- Together, we’ve raised over $2 million for candidates through JStreetPAC, a record-breaking amount at this point in the cycle.
- We’ve relaunched the J Street Action Fund with a plan to invest at least $3 million in a targeted number of competitive races.
We’re not just fighting against bad candidates, we’re fighting for our values and translating growing political reach into policy influence:
- In the House, we rallied over 100 members to three separate efforts – opposing Trump’s Gaza ethnic cleansing plan, demanding access to baby formula for mothers in Gaza, and challenging State Department visa denials for Gazans needing urgent medical treatment.
- In the Senate, we secured majority Democratic support for key initiatives – from humanitarian aid letters to high-profile votes to stop US weapons from being used to fuel this devastation.
Through it all, we’ve worked closely with our allies to ensure large-scale legislative measures are balanced – including condemnation of Hamas, awareness of Israel’s security needs and concern for the hostage families – and are capable of winning the broadest possible support.
We’re also working to shape the future of the party with our groundbreaking trips to Israel and Palestine – educational tours that Members of Congress, campaign staff and policymakers have called “life-changing” and “transformational.”
We visit Israeli communities targeted on October 7 and Palestinian communities living under the threat of home demolitions and settler violence. This year, we’ve taken more policymakers on more trips than ever before.
Step by step, and with your support, we’re showing that our voice, our values and our priorities belong at the mainstream heart of the Democratic Party.
In communities across the country, we’re working to drive real change as well:
- Our principled calls – driven by our Jewish, democratic values – are resonating. Our challenge to Jewish leaders to speak out more boldly is being heard – witness the recent effort in which we partnered with Rabbi Jill Jacobs and T'ruah to get 550 rabbis to speak out on Trump’s exploitation of antisemitism to advance his own political agenda.
- On college campuses, too, our work has been essential. With extremists on all sides working to inflame tensions and squeeze out the middle-ground – and an administration intent on using any campus tension as a pretext to attack universities and undermine democratic rights – students need our support now more than ever.
- We’re now running hundreds of programs on more than 50 college campuses and are ready to expand to more in the academic year ahead.
The headlines are grim. The challenges can feel insurmountable. But when I look back at what we’re building together – the reach, the impact, the growth – I can only feel a strengthened sense of determination and resolve.
We are gaining ground. We are shaping the debate. And we are building a movement strong enough to last.
I want to thank each and every supporter across the community and across the country for being a part of it – none of this would be possible without your support.
Thank you, sincerely, for joining us in this work.
In determination,
Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street
