Dear Friend,

I want to begin our final newsletter of the year by saying thank you.

Our movement faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. But together, we rose
to the moment.

We reached hundreds of thousands of voters and raised historic sums to
help achieve our most important goal for the year: defeating President
Trump. And in the midst of that effort, we helped hold the line against
the threat of de jure annexation, shape the political debate around
Israel/Palestine and lay the groundwork for the immediate diplomatic
action needed to repair Trump’s damage and address urgent international
crises.

Heading into 2021 and the start of a Biden administration, our movement is
uniquely positioned to help shape a bold new era of progressive,
values-driven, diplomacy-first foreign policy, and to keep fighting for
our Jewish and democratic values both at home and abroad.

But to do it, we’ll need your sustained support. [ [link removed] ]So I’m asking you, as
we enter our end-of-year fundraising period, to chip in and help us reach
our critical $200,000 goal.

To everyone who marched, volunteered and raised their voices this year, to
everyone who donated on Giving Tuesday and will chip in this December,
thank you for standing up when it mattered most.

Happy holidays to you and your family,

Logan Bayroff
Communications Director

Around J Street

Election 2020: J Street’s indispensable role

[2]VP Biden
In an election this fiercely contested, with so many close-run races, our
movement’s dedication to defeating President Trump and his acolytes and
enablers in Congress played a critical role in an overall victory for
democracy, diplomacy and decency.

Together, J Street supporters contacted over half a million voters, filled
over 2,000 campaign volunteer shifts and sent over 9,000 personalized
letters to infrequent voters. Thousands of J Street supporters stepped up
to combat the influence of right-wing mega-donors, contributing a total of
$7 million to congressional races and over $2 million to the Biden-Harris
campaign.

We helped elect Senator Mark Kelly and Senator-Elect John Hickenlooper.
96% of J Street-backed members of Congress won re-election, including 17
frontline incumbents in key races that helped decide control of the House.

Our community overwhelmingly stood against Trump, with J Street’s polling
showing that 77% of Jewish voters supported the Biden-Harris ticket. As
our comprehensive survey made clear, our community continues to support
pro-Israel, pro-peace, diplomacy-first positions including restoring the
Iran deal (74%), restricting settlement expansion (82%) and supporting a
two-state peace agreement (75%).
[ [link removed] ]Check out our full election report →

J Street goes all in for Georgia runoffs

[4]Ossoff and Warnock
J Street has proudly endorsed both Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock as
they face critical runoff elections in Georgia which will determine
control of the Senate and have a major impact on the shape of our national
politics for at least the next two years.

With the January 5 election fast approaching, JStreetPAC is proud to
announce that supporters have already raised over $400,000 for the Ossoff
and Warnock campaigns and for Stacey Abrams’ voting rights organization,
Fair Fight. J Street’s Atlanta chapter and supporters throughout the state
are putting in volunteer shifts to help get out the vote. Together, we can
help elect two pro-Israel, pro-peace champions to the Senate -- and put an
end to Mitch McConnell's incredibly destructive tenure as senate majority
leader.

[ [link removed] ]Become a J Street member to get involved →


New items in the J Street store!

[7]J Street merch
With Hanukkah approaching, check out J Street’s store for great merch
that’ll be sure to please the pro-Israel, pro-peace activists on your list
(and will also make a nice gag gift for the right wingers on your list who
can’t stand us). We’ve just added masks and restocked some of our most
popular items.
[ [link removed] ]Shop now →

Lame-duck firesale: pushing back against creeping annexation, settlement
construction in the final weeks of Trump

[9]Pompeo lands in Psagot
With less than 50 days until the Trump era comes to an end, both the
administration and the Netanyahu government are racing forward with a
spate of actions designed to lock-in gains for the settlement movement and
undermine the prospects for a just and lasting peace -- and J Street is
pushing back.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is continuing his efforts to erase the
Green Line, dropping any distinction between exports from Israel-proper
and unlawful Israeli settlements in the West Bank -- while also
threatening to blacklist respected advocacy groups like Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch as “antisemitic” for their
documentation and criticism of the occupation. Meanwhile, the Netanyahu
government has stepped up devastating Palestinian home demolitions at a
record pace and moved forward with major settlement construction projects
designed to undermine the prospects for a viable Palestinian state.

J Street is working to raise awareness of these cynical acts and to
mobilize action to condemn, deter and reverse them once the Biden
administration takes office. In a J Street-supported letter led by Rep.
Mark Pocan (WI-02), 41 members of the House made clear that a recent West
Bank demolition was “a serious violation of international law” and called
for transparency over whether American-sourced military equipment was used
in the demolition.
[ [link removed] ]Contribute now to support our efforts →

Fighting for the JCPOA as opponents seek to sabotage diplomacy

[11]Trump at the End the Iran Deal Rally
Last week saw the shocking assassination of a senior Iranian nuclear
scientist near Tehran, a move widely seen as an effort to derail new
US-Iran diplomacy with President-Elect Biden just weeks away from taking
office. In a statement noted by the [ [link removed] ]Times of Israel and the
[ [link removed] ]Jerusalem Post, J Street President Jeremy-Ben Ami said, “The
assassination of a senior Iranian nuclear scientist appears to be an
attempt to sabotage the ability of the incoming Biden administration to
re-enter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”

At J Street, we have been clear: President Trump's strategy of
assassinations, ‘maximum pressure’ and military escalation has been a
resounding failure. Iran now has twelve times as much enriched uranium as
when Trump took office. Its forces have openly launched missiles at US
troops. The Iranian people -- suffering cruel sanctions in the midst of a
pandemic -- blame the United States rather than their own government’s
hardliners for their predicament. Thankfully, Biden seems to share our
perspective on the urgency and importance of restoring the deal. In an
important diplomatic signal, the president-elect told the [ [link removed] ]New York
Times this week that America’s overwhelming interest is to restore the
nuclear deal as “the best way to achieve getting some stability in the
region.”
[ [link removed] ]Read our full statement→

Register now for a landmark J Street conference

[16]Bedouin Israelis
Registration is now open for J Street’s 2021 National Conference, which
will be held online from February 20-22. Taking place just one month after
the inauguration of the Biden-Harris administration, the conference marks
a landmark moment for our movement.

As we enter a new era for American leadership, we’re excited for the
opportunity to speak with the legislators and officials charged with
repairing the damage inflicted by the Trump administration, rebuilding our
alliances and crafting bold new policies to take us forward. Star-studded
lineups at previous conferences have included speakers like then-Vice
President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of State John Kerry,
Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Former Israeli Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni, Joint List Leader Ayman Odeh and many more.

This will be a can’t miss event for our movement, and we need all our
supporters to join us to plan for the year ahead and make our voices
heard!
[ [link removed] ]Register now →

Must Reads
New York Times
[18]Biden Biden Made Sure ‘Trump Is Not Going to Be President for Four
More Years’
[ [link removed] ]Read more →
Washington Post
[20]JCPOA Killing scientists won’t stop Iran’s nuclear work. Diplomacy
can.
[ [link removed] ]Read more →
NBC
[22]Flags Biden can clean up Trump's Israeli-Palestinian policy mess, but
can he broker peace?
[ [link removed] ]Read more →
[ [link removed] ]Donate →

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[2]Street Talk Logo
© 2020 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

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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