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Friend --

After 11 days of intense conflict, families in Gaza and Israel will have
their first full night uninterrupted by rockets, sirens and explosions. We
take this moment to be thankful, particularly to the diplomats who worked
tirelessly to reach a ceasefire agreement.

But we must also recognize that this cycle of violence and injustice did
not start with the volley of Hamas rockets two weeks ago -- and it will
not end now that a ceasefire has been reached.

A 15-year-old in Gaza has now lived through six major conflicts with
Israel, enduring the anguish of friends and family being killed and
injured, homes and schools destroyed. A 15-year-old Israeli has lived
through thousands of indiscriminate Hamas rocket attacks, sleeping weeks
on end in bomb shelters, running in fear whenever rocket sirens pierce the
air.

We must also remember that for too many families, the trauma has not
ended. Hundreds of families in Gaza and Israel are left mourning the loss
of loved ones, too many of them children. Thousands are now homeless;
critical infrastructure has been destroyed.

This is an intolerable status quo. We must commit to ending it.

The United States rightly supports Israel’s right to defend its citizens
from terror. But repeating the mantra of “the right to self-defense”
cannot be the beginning and end of this conversation. Military strength
alone can never bring lasting peace to a conflict that is political at its
root.

As this latest escalation has shown all too clearly -- from injustice in
East Jerusalem to violence on the Temple Mount to abhorrent,
indiscriminate rocket attacks from Hamas -- the rights of both Israelis
and Palestinians to live in freedom and security are inextricably linked.
Neither people can be truly safe or free while the other faces violence
and injustice.

Now that we have reached a ceasefire, the United States must commit to
pursuing a balanced, even-handed approach to end the cycle of injustice,
retaliation and violence for good. Israeli and Palestinian lives matter.
It’s time for US foreign policy to reflect that.

At J Street, we’re calling for a fundamental reset of the Israel-US
relationship, a renewed commitment to the rights of both Israelis AND
Palestinians, and an end to the unrestricted “blank check” to Netanyahu’s
far-right government.

In the immediate term, the United States must commit to leading
international efforts to repair infrastructure and rebuild homes, schools
and hospitals in Gaza. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is appalling,
fostering suffering that only empowers Hamas and other extremists.

In the longer term, we must commit to leveraging our relationships with
Israel, Egypt and others to find a sustainable end to the current
restrictions -- a solution which disarms Hamas and grants freedom of
movement and trade to the 2 million residents of Gaza.

We must also recognize that too often, the United States has enabled this
conflict to get worse, not better. Too often we have shielded the
Netanyahu government from criticism and excused the far-right settlement
movement -- all while sidelining the legitimate rights of millions of
Palestinians to freedom and self-determination.

This status quo is catastrophic not just for Palestinians, but for
Israelis themselves. Thousands of young Israelis are put in the line of
fire every year, called upon to defend unlawful settlements on occupied
territory and to fight a war in Gaza with no long-term strategy for peace.
With every new Israeli settlement and every demolition of a Palestinian
home, the dream of Israel as a proud, peaceful and democratic homeland for
the Jewish people slips further from view.

This must change.

As Israel’s closest ally, America must ensure that we live up to our
global commitment to peace, human rights and international law -- and to
our vision of a just, peaceful and democratic future for Israel.

* We must appoint a senior-level Special Envoy to direct and coordinate
US policy related to the conflict. The envoy’s mandate should be to
actively address the underlying causes of the conflict and to help
uphold the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to peace, justice
and self-determination.
* We must reverse destructive steps taken by Trump. This includes making
clear that settlement activity on occupied territory is a damaging
violation of international law, and reopening the Palestinian mission
in Washington and the US consulate in East Jerusalem.
* We must enact transparency measures and safeguards to ensure our full
level of aid to Israel can only be used for legitimate defensive
purposes. We cannot allow US military aid to be diverted to support
demolitions, evictions and de facto annexation.
* We must end the practice of reflexively insulating the Israeli
government from fair and legitimate criticism in international fora --
including at the UN Security Council.

If we do not chart a new course, the daily injustices facing Palestinians
and the security threats facing Israelis will continue. New escalations
will bring more grief, pain and anguish to families on each side. This can
and must be changed.

As the past few weeks have shown, there has been a transformational shift
in the politics of our issue -- the culmination of years of dedicated
advocacy in the halls of Congress, on campaigns and in communities across
the country.

There is a path forward toward real change -- but only if we continue to
push for it.

Thank you for your support.

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street

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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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