Friend --

I wanted to make sure you received this email from Nadav Tamir, who we
just brought on board to head up our operations in Israel. We got a ton of
feedback after this email from people thrilled to have someone of Nadav's
stature and experience joining J Street, but curious about exactly what
our Israel office does.

Well, it's a long list. Nadav will be our spokesperson in Israel. But he
and his team largely focus on supporting our efforts here in the US:

* Before J Street, American policymakers often got a one-sided, hawkish
view of 'Israeli opinion.' The fact is, much of Israel's security
establishment shares our views about the importance of a two-state
solution and preserving the Iran nuclear deal. Our Israel team helps
make sure legislators and pundits are hearing from those experts and a
wide array of Israeli and Palestinian thought leaders.
* Similarly, the team helps lead congressional delegations to Israel and
the West Bank, helping American leaders better understand the dynamics
on the ground. These visits have been an important way to educate
members about the harsh realities of the occupation, including the
threat of demolition facing so many Palestinian communities.
* Our Israel office also helps us forge relationships with activists and
NGOs in Israel, the occupied territory and across the globe to
facilitate the sharing of information and resources and wage more
successful campaigns (like the recent international battle against
annexation).

I'm only scratching the surface, but I want to wrap up so you can get to
what Nadav had to say in his email. In short, our Israel team is integral
to our efforts here in the US to transform the debate on Israel and help
bring about a better future for Israelis and Palestinians.

You are also integral to that effort. So in closing, I'll echo Nadav's
urgent appeal for your support as we try to close our budget gap by the
end of the year. [ [link removed] ]If you are in a position to give, you can donate here
>>

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your
donation will go through immediately:

[ [link removed] ]Chip in $36 [ [link removed] ]Chip in $75
[ [link removed] ]Chip in $180 [ [link removed] ]Chip in $360
[ [link removed] ]Chip in $500 [ [link removed] ]Chip in another amount

Thanks for your support,
Jess Smith

------- ORIGINAL EMAIL -------

[8]J Street

Dear Friend,

As a former Israeli diplomat, I’ve spent almost my entire career working
on the US-Israel relationship. Sitting in meetings with Foreign Minister
and later President Peres and Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama, I’ve
seen the profound impact American politics can have on Israel’s strategic
decision-making -- for better and for worse.

Now, following a career of service to Israel that has taken me from the
IDF to the Israeli Foreign Ministry to the Peres Center for Peace, I’m
thrilled to be starting my next chapter as J Street Israel’s new Executive
Director.

[ [link removed] ]If, like me, you are determined to make the most of this moment of
promise and opportunity for our movement, please consider a contribution
to fuel our momentum as we head into 2021 >>

Friend, it was just over a decade ago, when I was serving as
Israel’s Consul General for New England, that I was approached by a
newly-formed group of pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans intent on reshaping
American political and communal conversation about Israel: They called
themselves J Street.

Back then, I couldn’t have imagined the magnitude of success J Street
would have in just a few short years -- from a basement start-up to an
influential political force.

As a diplomat in America, it was often frustrating to have a front-row
seat as more conservative groups in the American Jewish establishment
worked repeatedly to block US administrations from promoting the
leadership and policies that would help Israel reach peace with the
Palestinians. Their “back the Israeli government’s position, no matter
what” definition of “pro-Israel” enabled the very worst impulses of the
Israeli right, and undercut Israel’s founding ideals of democracy and
equality.

J Street’s work to reshape the debate and challenge this tired political
playbook is bringing this very harmful, limiting status quo to an end --
and not a moment too soon.

If there’s any silver lining to the Trump-Netanyahu era, it’s that Prime
Minister Netanyahu’s embrace of President Trump has brought a jolt of
clarity to many in America -- a long-overdue realization that being
pro-Israel need not necessarily mean supporting each and every one of the
Israeli government’s positions.

Now, progressive American Jews and progressive Israelis have the
opportunity to truly work together to help promote our shared democratic
values -- and that includes a commitment to Palestinian rights. [ [link removed] ]Please
help us make the most of this political moment with a contribution to
sustain our work to shape a new, values-driven vision of American global
leadership >>

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your
donation will go through immediately:

[ [link removed] ]Chip in $36 [ [link removed] ]Chip in $75
[ [link removed] ]Chip in $180 [ [link removed] ]Chip in $360
[ [link removed] ]Chip in $500 [ [link removed] ]Chip in another amount

I’m a proud former IDF officer, but I know that simply having the
strongest military in the region is not enough to solve Israel's most
acute challenges -- which require diplomacy and political resolve.

I firmly believe that reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians and
establishing a viable Palestinian state are among Israel’s most urgent
existential priorities.

It is the only way to halt our slide into a one-state nightmare in which
our government forces us to choose between giving up our status as a
homeland for the Jewish people, or being an undemocratic state which
denies equal rights to millions under its control. It is the only way to
end a decades-long occupation that corrupts our values, violates the
Palestinian’s rights and freedoms and places thousands of young Israelis
on the front lines of an unnecessary conflict (my son amongst them).

There is much work ahead -- and I’m excited to get to it. I want to take
this opportunity to thank everyone for the warm welcome I have received so
far, and for everything you’ve done to help build and strengthen the J
Street movement over the past decade.

I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish in the years to come.

Yours,

Nadav Tamir,
J Street Israel Executive Director

 


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© 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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