Dear Friend --
This week, we witnessed the signing of the first new agreements between Israel and neighboring countries in well over two decades.
These are historic agreements that J Street welcomes, as they provide clear recognition of Israel’s valid, legitimate and permanent place in the region. They also demonstrate that international diplomacy can unlock meaningful progress on issues we care about.
These agreements build on years -- decades even -- of growing alignment between Israel and some Arab countries around shared strategic, security and economic interests. The agreements are also clearly contingent on Israel pressing pause on plans for unilateral de jure annexation on the West Bank -- a welcome development for all of us who have mobilized to stop annexation from moving forward.
At the same time, we’ve been clear about what this deal is not. It’s not the earth-shattering “new dawn of peace” that Trump and Netanyahu have branded it, with the hope of receiving a political boost. The truth is these accords bear more resemblance to a business deal than a peace agreement, bringing together partners who share common interests and challenges.
Israel has never been at war with Bahrain or the UAE, and these agreements do nothing to help resolve the core Israeli-Palestinian conflct, which impacts the daily lives of Israelis and Palestinians and imperils their futures. Rockets fired from Gaza the very same day as the signing of these agreements underscore the point that the real, immediate threats to Israelis remain unaddressed.
A “new dawn of peace” is urgently needed, but we know that the only way to secure Israel’s future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people is to reach a comprehensive peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, to create a Palestinian state and to deliver real freedom and security to both peoples.
We remain committed to that essential work. If you do too, please consider making a donation to help us reach our Rosh Hashanah goal and continue leading the way >>
Our movement can recognize these agreements for the positive step they are, without pretending that they solve problems they don’t -- or using them as just another excuse to rebuke and sideline the Palestinians. Our movement remains committed to fighting for true and lasting peace, to ending the systemic injustice of the 53-year occupation and to responding to developments in the region with nuance, empathy and real impact.
Friend, we face an extraordinarily difficult political moment both in the United States and Israel, where a corrupted politics of narrow self-interest is tearing at the seams of our society and our democracy and exacerbating a growing public health disaster.
But this Rosh Hashanah, I choose to focus on optimism as we enter the year ahead. Together, our pro-Israel, pro-peace movement can play an essential role in vanquishing the cruelty and callousness of the Trump administration, and helping to rebuild a compassionate, values-driven domestic and international agenda. We can seize a historic opportunity to elect an administration that can launch a new era of principled, diplomacy-first foreign policy, and to help shape a new vision of pro-Israel, pro-peace leadership in the Middle East.
If everyone reading this email chips in only a few dollars, we’ll be able to hit our Rosh Hashanah goal and enter the new year ready to drive the change we know is possible and needed. Please consider a donation today >>
With your support, we’ll keep up the fight against creeping, de facto annexation, which moves forward every day in the West Bank. We’ll keep calling for strong diplomacy to reduce tensions and conflicts throughout the region -- and to avoid a disastrous war of choice with Iran. We’ll keep promoting the voices of Israelis and Palestinians who demand real peace -- and won’t settle for empty promises.
Thank you for being with us in the fight.
L’shana tova,
Jeremy Ben-Ami
