[ ]J Street [ ]
Friend --

For several months, the date July 1 has weighed heavily on the minds of
those committed to Israeli democracy, Palestinian rights and prospects for
a negotiated peace in the Middle East.

72 days ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu forged a coalition agreement that
established this day as the starting point for West Bank annexation. Every
day since, we’ve waged our campaign to #StopAnnexation and avert calamity.

Alongside our allies in the US, Israel and around the world, we’ve helped
mobilize and amplify opposition from Jewish communal leaders, Israeli
security officials, foreign policy experts and over 80% of the Democrats
in Congress.

Now the day has come, without an announcement. All we’ve heard from
Netanyahu are vague statements about ongoing discussions.

This, of course, is positive news. But we have to remember that July 1 is
the starting line, not a deadline. Netanyahu, Ambassador David Friedman
and the settlement movement will continue pushing to enact annexation in
some form -- whether a ‘limited’ move of 2-3 settlement blocs or the full
30% of the West Bank threatened by Netanyahu -- before Trump leaves
office.

I want to be clear that J Street is committed to opposing any form of
annexation by the Israeli government absent a negotiated agreement with
the Palestinians. Our position on this is firm: Annexation -- no matter
how limited -- would be a violation of international law and severely
damaging to Palestinian rights and US and Israeli interests.

And if such moves come to pass, we will advocate for meaningful
consequences -- not mere rhetoric -- designed to pressure the Israeli
government to reverse course.

For now, however, we’ve got to keep up our fight to prevent annexation
from happening in the first place.

I’ve no doubt that the work we’ve done alongside our allies in Israel and
across the globe to fight annexation is making a difference and has helped
scuttle the maximalist annexation plan endorsed by Ambassador Friedman in
January.

We can’t let up now. And -- just as important -- we can’t stop working
every day until November 3 to bring a new administration into office that
will firmly oppose both formal annexation and the relentless expansion of
settlements which entrench the occupation as well.

Because ultimately, while stopping annexation is the most urgent matter
before us, it’s only one part of our larger fight to secure Israel’s
future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people and to achieve the
fundamental rights and freedoms too long denied to the Palestinian people.

Thank you for your commitment to that fight.

- Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street

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J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace 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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