Dear Friend,

Despite former President Trump's efforts, a violent mob of
insurrectionists and an unsettlingly large number of Republican lawmakers,
President Biden and Vice President Harris are now in the White House. This
represents not just a long-overdue change in direction for our country --
but a major change for J Street as well.

Our efforts to lay the groundwork for this new era are already paying off:

* We’ve welcomed the Biden administration’s official adoption of
numerous J Street priorities, including re-entering the Iran nuclear
agreement, repairing diplomatic ties with the Palestinians and
restoring humanitarian aid;
* We’ve supported the nominations and appointments of a slew of J Street
allies across the administration;
* We have reason to be hopeful that other aspects of the Trump
administration's pro-settlement movement policies will be revoked in
the coming months.

While the power of the entrenched, establishment organizations to our
right is significant, the past four years have shown us that when we
organize, mobilize and commit to our goals, we can and will emerge
victorious. Thank you for joining us in the fight.

Yours,

Logan Bayroff
Communications Director

[ [link removed] ]To sustain our work in the year ahead, we’re encouraging supporters to
sign up for regular, monthly contributions. Please consider joining us
today as a sustaining donor to our fight for peace, justice and human
rights. All new monthly donations are being matched each month in 2021.

Around J Street

J Street applauds Biden’s early statements on Israeli-Palestinian policy

[2]Joe Biden
The Biden administration is already making it clear that it will turn the
page on Trump’s failed Middle East policies. In a speech to the United
Nations Security Council, Acting UN Ambassador Richard Mills outlined a
number of principles fully in line with J Street’s priorities.

Mills stated that establishing a “viable Palestinian state” remains the
“best way to ensure Israel’s future as a democratic and Jewish state,
while upholding the Palestinian people’s legitimate aspirations for a
state of their own and to live with dignity and security.” The
administration also outlined plans to restore US assistance programs to
the Palestinians and re-open diplomatic missions in Washington and
Jerusalem shuttered by the Trump administration.

“This is exactly the type of swift action the administration needs to take
to restore American credibility as a diplomatic mediator between Israelis
and Palestinians,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami told the New York
Times. “Undoing the terrible damage done by the Trump administration
starts with re-establishing a working relationship with the Palestinian
leadership and people.”

Unfortunately, Israel has taken a number of damaging steps toward de-facto
annexation in the early days of the Biden administration that put a just
and viable solution further out of reach. This includes a large-scale
demolition of Palestinian homes in the Jordan Valley.

This week, J Street outlined a number of steps the administration should
take to push back against such destructive actions by the Netanyahu
government.
[ [link removed] ]Read our recommendations →

Join Our Call to Expel Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress

[4]Expel Marjorie Taylor Greene
This week, J Street joined with our progressive, Jewish, Muslim and racial
justice allies to call for the House of Representatives to use its
constitutional powers to expel Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Greene is one of the most vocal defenders of Trump’s claims that the 2020
election was rigged and is perhaps the most high-profile congressional
supporter of QAnon, a conspiracy theory described by Genocide Watch as a
“rebranded Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.”

It’s not just our community that the Congresswoman is putting in danger.
In the recent past, Greene has called for the execution of House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, harassed victims of the Parkland shooting, posted
anti-Muslim videos and has promoted the white nationalist ‘Great
Replacement’ conspiracy theory -- the same theory espoused by the gunman
who massacred 51 Muslims in Christchurch, by the gunman who killed 11 Jews
in Pittsburgh and the organizers of the Unite the Right rally in
Charlottesville.
[ [link removed] ]Sign and share the petition →

J Street welcomes appointment of pro-Israel, pro-peace officials

After four years with ideologically-motivated, inexperienced political
appointees at the helm of US foreign policy, we’ve cheered the naming of a
series of highly-accomplished and devoted public servants to the senior
ranks of the Biden administration.

J Street has longstanding relationships with a number of senior officials
-- including Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Special Envoy for Iran Rob
Malley, nominee for Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and others --
and we know they have what it takes not only to repair the damage from the
Trump administration, but to advance a new, optimistic agenda for US
Foreign Policy.

As expected, a number of these nominations have faced strong right-wing
opposition from groups devoted to frustrating President Biden’s agenda --
particularly his commitment to restoring the Iran nuclear deal. President
Biden’s nominee for Special Envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, was met with
backlash from the same hawks that pushed Trump to revoke the deal,
triggering an escalation in tensions and an increase in Iran’s nuclear
enrichment.

J Street was proud to join an open letter with over 200 former diplomats,
foreign policy experts and our progressive allies in support of Special
Envoy Malley.

[ [link removed] ]Check out the letter and co-signers →

Our Israel: MachsomWatch’s ‘thousand little wins’

[7]Machsom Watch
J Street’s 'Our Israel' project spotlights the amazing Israeli groups who
share our vision and our values, and who work to build and preserve a
liberal, democratic society underpinned by the principles of equality,
freedom, justice and peace. Together, these groups stand on the frontlines
in the fight to build a society that lives up to the founding values
enshrined in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. This month, we profile
MachsomWatch: Women Against the Occupation and for Human Rights as they
continue their work to observe, address and report on the indignities
inflicted upon Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.

“We present a civilian, non-violent, feminine presence -- although to some
our very presence is regarded as provocative,” spokesperson Ina Friedman
says. “We consider it a win if we are able to solve a problem, however
small, for an individual or two at a checkpoint, or by working behind the
scenes. Our motto should be ‘She Persisted,’ because that's really what
we're about, thousands of little wins accumulated over the years under
disheartening conditions.”
[ [link removed] ]Read and share the profile →

Join J Street’s first-ever virtual conference

[9]Conference Logo
After careful consideration, J Street’s 2021 National Conference -- our
most important event of the year, and our first-ever virtual conference --
will now be held on April 18-19.

At J Street, we’re excited to hold our largest, most accessible conference
ever from April 18-19 -- and we want you to join us. Our events team has
been working hard to deliver a rich and engaging experience, taking full
advantage of new platforms and the global scope a virtual event affords
us.

While we may not be able to gather in person, this remains an important,
landmark moment for our movement, for the American Jewish community and
for pro-diplomacy progressives across the country. As always, we’ll be
following our program with a series of advocacy meetings with senators and
representatives from across the country to discuss our issues and advocate
for pro-Israel, pro-peace policies.

[ [link removed] ]Register today with code “NewDay” for 15% off of your registration fee
>>
[ [link removed] ]Register now →

Israel election shakeup: A new top challenger to Netanyahu emerges

[12]Ballot box
Since the Netanyahu-Gantz coalition crumbled and Israel’s fourth election
in two years was set for March 2021, the presumptive chief competitor to
Prime Minister Netanyahu has been Gideon Sa’ar -- a former Netanyahu ally
who split from Likud to form his own party. In the past week, however, the
race has shifted. Opinion polls have shown a steady decline in support for
Sa’ar’s ‘New Hope’ party and a new competitor has risen to second place:
Former Blue and White Deputy Leader and centrist opposition leader Yair
Lapid.

New polling could swing the dynamics of the race at any moment, but for
now, the return of a 'centrist' leading-challenger for Netanyahu is a
return to the usual dynamics of Israeli election campaigns. Already,
Netanyahu is retreating from his initial ‘unity’ language and trying to
make deals with Israel’s extreme-right Kahanist party.

To follow all the ups and downs of the latest Israeli election as leaders
race toward the March 23 polling date, sign up for J Street’s Israeli
Election Updates.
[ [link removed] ]Sign up →

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[2]Street Talk Logo
© 2021 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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