Friend --
When the sun sets this evening, Hanukkah will be over. And so will our ability to match every gift that comes in.
We still have over $10,000 in matching funds available, so please -- if you’re planning to give to J Street this December -- consider making your donation before tonight’s deadline so that we can make sure your gift is doubled.
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Of course, that’s not the only reason now is an important time to support J Street.
Despite two important victories this year -- defeating Trump and stalling Friedman and Netanyahu’s push for de jure West Bank annexation -- our vision for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians remains under threat.
In Israel, demolitions of Palestinian property have reached record levels as the settlement movement aims to extend its control over the West Bank. As I write, there are moves afoot to retroactively legalize outposts currently illegal -- even under Israeli law. And Netanyahu is advancing plans for a hugely controversial new settlement between Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem and Bethlehem -- setting up a major confrontation in the early days of the new administration.
Here in the US, the Trump administration is cramming through a series of last-ditch measures designed to boost the settlement movement and silence critics of the occupation in the US and abroad. These include new rules that require settlement goods to be falsely labeled ‘made in Israel’ and which allow US grants to fund projects within the settlements. And there’s a good chance that, in the next few weeks, the State Department will issue a blacklist of human rights organizations that monitor and document Israeli activity in the West Bank -- a move with far-reaching implications not just for Israel/Palestine but for human rights work across the globe.
These actions by the Netanyahu government and the Trump administration are reversible. But it won’t be easy.
We’ll need the resources to fight these early policy battles, working with Congress and the next administration to begin repairing relations with the Palestinians, demonstrate meaningful opposition to settlement expansion and reaffirm the US commitment to a two-state solution. And, we’ll need to be ready to have the backs of these leaders when the far-right inevitably pushes back with its usual smears and intimidation tactics.
More than ever, this moment calls for a strong pro-Israel, pro-peace movement. Can we count on your support?
Thank you for standing with J Street.
- Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street
