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Friend --

It’s no surprise that this week, Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed the
official backing of Israel’s most extreme right-wing political party and
its six members of Knesset.

Netanyahu, after all, was instrumental in orchestrating their election
last week. He placed one of their candidates on his list, signed an
official vote-sharing agreement and reportedly promised a cabinet position
to their leader, Bezalel Smotrich.

I’m Israeli, so let me speak directly: These six men are extremists. They
campaigned on annexing the entire West Bank, sought the expulsion of Arab
citizens from Israel and openly championed stripping rights from LGBT+
Israelis.

Many are rightly concerned about the influence these men will have if they
become part of a Netanyahu-led government -- either way, I’m deeply
concerned about the influence they’ve already had. On demolitions,
settlement expansion and weakening Israel’s judicial checks and balances,
Israel’s ‘mainstream’ conservative parties are too often in lock-step with
these extremists.

Against this backdrop, our shared fight for human rights, justice and
democracy is more important than ever. [ [link removed] ]Will you consider chipping in to
fuel our work and help close our Passover fundraising shortfall?

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As Jeremy said last week, in both Israel and the United States, we are
increasingly seeing views on the extreme fringe adopted and accommodated
by more mainstream political parties. “The Kahanists won before even
making it into the Knesset,” wrote West Bank correspondent Amira Hass in
Haaretz this week.

As a soldier who’s served in the occupied territories, I’ve seen the
needless pain and misery their vision of indefinite occupation and
annexation will continue to inflict on both Palestinians and Israelis. As
an Israeli, I see these men and their fanaticism for Jewish supremacy,
annexation, sexism, homophobia and lawlessness as direct threats to the
principles of democracy and equality enshrined in Israel’s Declaration of
Independence.

It’s a vision that will ultimately destroy not only the Palestinian
people’s legitimate dreams of freedom and self-determination, but all hope
for Israel’s future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people. That’s
the inevitable endpoint of these current trends, and it’s up to all of us
to push for bold action to stop that from happening.

Nothing could be more patriotic than fighting against these extremists and
the priorities they represent. Nothing could be a greater betrayal of our
values than bending to their will to retain power.

At times like this, I am more grateful than ever to be part of a
pro-Israel, pro-peace movement that shares a clear and unshakable vision
for Israel as a just, secure and democratic homeland for the Jewish people
-- and is committed to fighting for it.

[ [link removed] ]If you feel able, please chip in to help support our work:

If you have ActBlue Express, your donation will process immediately:



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Thank you, truly, for your support,

Nadav Tamir
Executive Director, J Street Israel


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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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