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
