Dear Friend,

Last month, at J Street's 2021 National Conference, we saw the largest
ever virtual gathering of pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans. It was our
first all-virtual conference and -- based on attendee feedback and media
coverage -- I'm happy to report it was a resounding success.

In this week's Street Talk, we'd like to share with you some of the most
prominent speeches and panel discussions from the conference. From Senator
Elizabeth Warren's powerful vision of progressive US policy in the Middle
East and Beto O'Rourke's remarkable words of praise for J Street to an
important address from President Biden's UN Ambassador, Linda
Thomas-Greenfield, we hope you will enjoy and share these links to some of
the standout moments.

With so many star political leaders, experts and activists sharing our
conference stage and embracing our movement, we feel energized for this
critical moment, when we have a chance to help shape American leadership
and to pursue a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians. The
recent incendiary efforts by Israeli settlers and officials to evict East
Jerusalem Palestinians from their homes, and subsequent confrontations,
violence and police crackdowns in the city and beyond have reminded us
that the situation on the ground is unjust, unsustainable and dangerous.

As you'll read below, we're advocating for bold action and policies that
won't simply seek to maintain a deteriorating status quo, but will push
forward to pursue peace, counter the occupation and build a new era of
diplomacy-first foreign policy.

Thank you,

Logan Bayroff,
Vice President of Communications

Around J Street

DEVELOPING NEWS: Threatened Evictions Spark Alarming Escalation in Jerusalem

[1]Voting
The efforts of Israeli settler leaders and far-right politicians to evict
dozens of Palestinians from their homes in Palestinian neighborhoods of
East Jerusalem has sparked mass protest, police crackdowns and ongoing
violence in the city and beyond. Palestinian worshippers in the Al-Aqsa
Mosque compound have alarmingly faced repressive police tactics, leaving
dozens wounded and further inflaming tensions at one of the most sensitive
holy sites in the world. While monitoring this dangerous escalation, J
Street has warned against the unjust evictions -- and urged the Biden
administration to take stronger action to push back against them, and make
clear to the Israeli government that it cannot allow the settlers’
extremist efforts and incitement to continue.

In our statement, we observed that it’s “critical that the Biden
administration urgently warn the Israeli government that these provocative
and unjust evictions are illegal under international law and have
dangerous ramifications for Jerusalem and the wider region. The European
Union and a number of members of Congress have already spoken out publicly
on this issue -- the US administration should do the same.” The situation
underscores the critical need for US diplomatic involvement to help broker
meaningful progress and push back on harmful acts -- instead of allowing
the status quo to deteriorate further.

[ [link removed] ]You can read our statement here. Look out for more responses from J
Street as the situation in Jerusalem develops.

J Street Hosts American Political Leaders in Landmark National Conference

J Street's first all-virtual conference was attended by well over 4,000
people and featured appearances from a wide array of top lawmakers and
political leaders. The two most powerful legislators in Congress,
[ [link removed] ]Speaker Nancy Pelosi and [ [link removed] ]Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, gave
remarks, while Biden administration officials [ [link removed] ]Ambassador to the United
Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield and [ [link removed] ]Senior White House Advisor Cedric
Richmond updated us on approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and
foreign policy.

[ [link removed] ]Speaker link
Prominent Democrats from [ [link removed] ]Senator Elizabeth Warren, [ [link removed] ]Senator Bernie
Sanders, and [ [link removed] ]Congresswoman Barbara Lee, to rising stars like
[ [link removed] ]Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, [ [link removed] ]Congressman Jamaal Bowman, and
[ [link removed] ]Senator Jon Ossoff – inspired us with galvanizing calls to action.
Former congressman Beto O'Rourke told us that "There has been no
organization that has had a bigger impact on me in my time in Congress
than J Street [...] I really feel as if you all have continued to perfect
some of the best practices in strengthening our democracy. And making sure
that we have honest and real conversations about important public policy."

[ [link removed] ]Speaker link
All in all, we saw the strong support and appreciation that our movement
has at the highest levels of government policy -- and heard some of their
thinking about the steps we can take as a country and as a movement to
promote our democratic values and progressive goals both at home and in
the Middle East.

[ [link removed] ]Check out our conference highlights page for an extended look at most
of our conference speakers and panels!
[ [link removed] ]View Highlights →

The View ‘On the Ground’: Palestinian President, Former Israeli Prime Minister,
Progressive Leaders and Top Activists Join J Street Conference

[ [link removed] ]Capitol Hill Advocacy
Top Israeli and Palestinian leaders, experts and analysts made sure our
conference attendees heard many perspectives coming directly from the
region. Leading Knesset progressives like Meretz leader [ [link removed] ]Nitzan
Horowitz, Labor leader [ [link removed] ]Merav Michaeli, and Joint List Leader Ayman
Odeh spoke of their efforts to end the Netanyahu era, defend democracy,
and confront the forces of the far-right.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made clear his ongoing commitment to
the two-state solution and his desire to rebuild closer relations with the
United States during the Biden era. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Foreign Minister [ [link removed] ]Tzipi Livni described the continued urgency and
necessity for Israel to pursue genuine negotiations towards a Palestinian
state.
[ [link removed] ]View Highlights →

Our Work At Home: Taking on White Nationalism, Defending Voting Rights, Pursuing
Racial Justice

[ [link removed] ]Capitol Hill Advocacy
The conference programming delved into not just what J Street and our
allies are doing in the struggle for peace in Israel/Palestine and the
Middle East, but also how we're upholding our values of peace and
democracy here at home. [ [link removed] ]Activists Amy Spitalnick and Salam Al-Marayati
spoke with journalist Peter Beinart about how the Jewish and Muslim
communities are showing solidarity with other besieged and vulnerable
minority communities in the fight against white nationalism.

[ [link removed] ]Senator Raphael Warnock updated us on the defense of voting rights in
the face of ongoing attacks from Republican legislators in many states.
And actress and activist [ [link removed] ]Debra Messing gave rousing remarks about how
every single American has the opportunity to press for change and social
justice both at home and abroad.
[ [link removed] ]View Highlights →

Tell the US Government: Fund Israel's Defense, Not Endless Occupation

[ [link removed] ]Petition button
Coming out of the conference, J Street is more committed than ever to
supporting Israel's security needs while also ensuring our government
takes meaningful action to oppose de facto annexation and entrenched
occupation -- Israeli government policies that are imperiling Israel's own
future. As part of that work, we're calling on Congress and the Biden
administration to ensure that every dollar of America's critical military
aid to Israel is used to defend our ally against the very real security
threats it faces -- and that none of it can be spent on actions that
facilitate settlement expansion or trample on Palestinian rights.

We need your help to show our elected leaders that common-sense
transparency and guidelines on our critical aid to Israel have popular
support. Click here to sign and share our petition: [ [link removed] ]Fund Israel's
Defense, Not Endless Occupation.

The Israeli right should not be able to use American taxpayer dollars to
fund the detention of Palestinian children, the demolition of their homes,
or the destruction of their communities. We need common-sense transparency
measures and guardrails that will ensure American aid to Israel is
actually used to protect Israelis, rather than to violate Palestinian
rights. [ [link removed] ]Read J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami's op-ed responding to
some common misconceptions about this critical policy -- and explaining
why this is such an important priority for the pro-peace, pro-Israel
movement.

[ [link removed] ]Sign & Share the Petition →

As COVID Spreads and Vaccination Lags In Palestinian Territories, Israel Must
Work with Palestinian Officials to Help

J Street has watched with excitement and pride as Israel has led one of
the most equitable and effective vaccination programs in the world. At the
same time, we're alarmed at how efforts to vaccinate millions of
Palestinians living in occupied territory have been extremely slow and
under-resourced — while the number of COVID infections continues to
increase. Meanwhile, Israeli officials are reportedly in possession of a
substantial vaccine surplus.

While the Palestinian Authority and local officials should of course be
doing whatever they can to drive the vaccine procurement and distribution
process forward, it's also clear that they need and should receive much
more support from the Israeli government, as well as the US government and
the international community. We are calling on Israel as well as the US to
do everything in their power to help urgently vaccinate the Palestinian
population.
[ [link removed] ]Full Statement →

Mourning the Tragedy on Mount Meron

J Street was stunned and deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred at
Mount Meron late last month, where dozens were reportedly killed and
injured in an apparent stampede during a mass Lag B'Omer celebration. We
stand with Israelis in mourning this horrific incident and hoping for the
swift recovery of the wounded.
[ [link removed] ]Our Statement →

Meet the J Streeters: Six Questions with J Street's Israel Director Nadav Tamir

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This month, we sat down with the Executive Director of J Street Israel,
Nadav Tamir to learn more about his background as a senior Israeli
diplomat and policymaker, and what drew him to J Street's work.

Tamir first heard about J Street when he was Israeli Consul General in New
England. "I cabled back to Israel that we should be enthusiastic about the
potential for the organization to give a voice to pro-Israel, pro-peace
American Jews," he said.

On why J Street's mission is personal to him, Nadav explained, "Israel is
my home, it's where my family lives and it's a country I have worked for
throughout my entire career -- from serving in the IDF to becoming a
diplomat to working for President Peres. I care deeply about the future of
our society, our democracy and our security, and J Street's role in
transforming the politics of Israel in the United States is critical."

[ [link removed] ]Read and share the full interview with Nadav here >>
[ [link removed] ]Donate →

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© 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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