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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. 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 |
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Around J Street |
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Election 2020: J Street’s indispensable role |
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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%). |
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Check out our full election report → |
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J Street goes all in for Georgia runoffs |
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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. |
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Become a J Street member to get involved → |
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New items in the J Street store! |
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| 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Shop now → |
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Lame-duck firesale: pushing back against creeping annexation, settlement construction in the final weeks of Trump |
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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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Contribute now to support our efforts → |
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Fighting for the JCPOA as opponents seek to sabotage diplomacy |
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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 Times of Israel and the 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 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.” |
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Read our full statement→
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Register now for a landmark J Street conference |
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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! |
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Register now → |
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