This week: The Moment We’ve All Been Working For 🕊️ | Two years since October 7 🕯️ | The Promise and Peril of Trump’s Gaza Deal 📄 | Join Nationwide No Kings Rallies Next Saturday 👑 | A Word About Christian Nationalism with Michelle Goldberg 🎤 | Reserve Your J Street 2026 Convention Ticket 🎟️ | This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.
🕊️ The Moment We’ve All Been Working For: On Wednesday night, mediators announced Israel and Hamas’s agreement to a US-backed ceasefire proposal that would immediately end the war, free all living hostages and provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people. J Street’s full focus now turns to pressing for the strong, clear-eyed American leadership necessary to keep the deal on track – and ensure neither side can sabotage progress. We cannot go back.
- A Moment of Cautious Optimism: “We urge all parties to seize this moment of hope with courage, accountability and commitment to steadfast diplomacy to ensure that this ceasefire becomes not just an end to the war but a beginning of peace,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami wrote in response to the news.
- Breaking the Cycle: “It was always going to take forceful American leadership to break this impasse. In the end, that’s what made the difference,” J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg writes. “This is the power of the United States refusing to take no for an answer.” Read Ilan’s topline analysis here >>
- Rapid-Response Briefing: Jeremy and Ilan were joined by Israeli hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin to discuss how this deal was reached and why this moment is different from past failed negotiations. Watch here >>
🕯️ Two years since October 7: Grief, Pain and a Fragile Hope: Two years after the horror of October 7 and two years into the devastation of the war in Gaza, our collective grief and trauma remain palpable and raw. As we mark this painful anniversary, voices from across the J Street community are reflecting on what’s been lost, what’s been learned and what it will take to build a different future.
- I Still Carry the Pain of That Day
“I have wrestled deeply with the moral conflict of this war – at times torn between solidarity with Israelis seeking safety and Palestinians yearning for the same. I have met extraordinary Israelis and Palestinians who, despite carrying deep wounds, refuse to let their pain erase their compassion. They hold fast to humanity, choosing empathy over vengeance,” writes J Street Vice President and Chief of Staff Adina Vogel-Ayalon. You can read the full piece here >>
- Remembering the Victims, Fighting for the Hostages
Ilan Goldenberg sat down with Sharone Lifschitz, whose parents were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz; Elana Kaminka, whose son, Lt. Yannai Kaminka, was killed by Hamas while fighting to protect his trainees; and Emmanuelle Elbaz-Phelps, a journalist who has helped Israel reckon with its trauma and the struggle to bring the hostages home. You can watch this incredibly moving discussion here >>
- Life & Death in Gaza Since October 7
J Street Chief of Staff Adina Vogel-Ayalon spoke with Kareem Alsalqawi, a doctor working in Gaza’s hospitals, Angela Mattar, a coexistence activist, and Khalil Sayegh, a Gaza-born policy expert to reflect on the ongoing struggle for survival, justice and dignity in Gaza. Watch the full conversation here >>
👑 Join Nationwide No Kings Rallies Next Saturday: On October 18, millions will gather in rallies across the country in the largest nationwide day of protest so far this year, coming together to denounce Trump’s assault on our democracy and stand up for our freedoms. J Street is proudly mobilizing our community and standing up for our Jewish, democratic values.
🎤 A Word About Christian Nationalism with Michelle Goldberg: On this week’s Word on the Street, Jeremy sat down with New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg to discuss the rise of Christian Nationalism in America.
- “The way in which the United States approaches the Israel issue through a lens of end times theology and Christian Zionism really is part of the reason why our policy towards the Middle East has been so warped,” says Goldberg. Watch here >>
🎟️ Reserve Your J Street 2026 Convention Ticket: From working to lock-in this ceasefire to fighting for our democracy at the ballot box, J Street’s work has never been more important. Our 2026 convention will feature pro-peace leaders from Israel and Palestine, pro-democracy champions in the House and Senate, and challengers looking to defeat MAGA incumbents up and down the ballot. Don't miss out on the largest gathering of our pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy movement next year! Learn more and register here >>
📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens:
- An Invitation to President Trump: Come to Gaza [Gift Link 🎁]
“The international community must invest not only in reconstruction but also in reconciliation — in education, dialogue and joint initiatives that rebuild trust after years of hatred. And we, the Palestinian people, must refuse to surrender again to extremism or despair. That means rejecting the politics of revenge, insisting on unity through elections and building a culture of accountability,” writes Samer Sinijlawi from East Jerusalem.
- Israeli-Palestinian Peace Isn’t a Naive Ideal. Here’s Why I Have Cautious Hope
“Kfar Aza will forever be a place of unbearable loss. But for me it remains a reminder of what’s worth fighting for: the belief that peace is not just possible, it’s necessary; the understanding that the lives of Israelis and Palestinians are intertwined; and the memory that even amid the ruins, there are people on both sides who refuse to give up,” writes Jeremy Ben-Ami in The Guardian.
💡 More Resources:
- Watch our Webinars and Listen to our Podcast:
- Read More on Our Website:
