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Friend --

It’s looking very likely that, within the coming days, we will see the
creation of a new Israeli government that -- for the first time in over 12
years -- will not include Benjamin Netanyahu.

Through election after election and coalition after coalition, Netanyahu
has successfully clung to the office of prime minister since his election
in March 2009, just under a year after the initial founding of J Street.
If and when this new government is indeed sworn in and Netanyahu is
finally booted from the prime minister’s residence on Balfour Street, it
will mark the end of an era not just for Israeli politics, but for J
Street and the American Jewish community as well.

Throughout his last decade-plus in power, Netanyahu has positioned himself
as the absolute center and the protagonist of Israeli politics and society
-- a ubiquitous political manipulator singularly focused on promoting his
own power and advancing his right-wing ideological project. While he
certainly did not invent or introduce ethnonationalism, fearmongering,
personal corruption and incitement to violence, he helped to ensure that
these abhorrent ideas and tactics became increasingly prominent and
dangerous aspects of Israel’s political culture.

Indeed, it’s nearly impossible to overstate the damage Netanyahu and his
party has done to Israeli democracy, civic institutions and the rule of
law, the degree to which they have harmed Israel’s relationship to
American Jews or the negative impact they have had in expanding
settlements, undercutting hopes for a two-state solution and
delegitimizing the entire concept of Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy and
compromise.

That’s why, for all those who care about Israeli democracy and still
believe that a better future is possible, Netanyahu’s fall from power is a
cause for great relief -- even as we recognize that the political defeat
of one dangerous man will not magically bring about all the change we
still yearn for, or meaningfully alter the lives of Palestinians living
under occupation.

Just as the defeat of Donald Trump still did not end the threat or lasting
impacts of Trumpism, so too the very welcome toppling of Netanyahu by an
extremely broad “change coalition” does not erase the danger of his
right-wing movement and vision. It does not end the 54-year old occupation
that began long before Netanyahu took power, and will continue after him.
What it does mean is that -- for the first time in many years -- Israeli
leaders and society could have an opportunity to change course.

Even now, after coalition agreements have been formally reached, Netanyahu
has roughly a week in which to maneuver to try to block the new government
from being formed. If the prospective new “change government” does in fact
take office, its exact shape and priorities remain very difficult to
predict.

On the one hand, it would be led for several years by Naftali Bennett -- a
thoroughly right-wing politician who came up under Netanyahu’s tutelage
and has consistently presented himself as an even more hardline,
pro-settlement, anti-Palestinian, right-wing alternative. Bennett has
repeatedly made clear his support for de jure and de facto annexation and
fierce opposition to Palestinian statehood -- which makes him highly
unlikely to lead or tolerate any steps toward diplomatic compromise.

On the other hand, with Bennett himself holding just six Knesset seats,
the new coalition’s survival would also heavily depend on the inclusion
and buy-in of center, center-left and left-wing parties including Blue and
White, Yesh Atid, Labor and Meretz. These parties could occupy critical
ministries and will likely seek to block any overt acts of de jure
annexation, while also promoting critical, welcome measures to strengthen
democracy, civil society and coexistence inside Israel.

Amazingly, the new coalition is also set to include Ra’am, a primarily
Islamist party of Palestinian citizens of Israel. Their active
participation would mark the first time in history that a majority Arab
party actively formed part of an Israeli governing coalition, a notable
and welcome milestone that could help further normalize Palestinian
citizens of Israel playing a major role in political life.

Certainly, this ragtag coalition of left, center and right-wing parties
united primarily by their opposition to Netanyahu will likely struggle to
agree on a policy agenda. While we have good reason to hope that it would
be far more moderate and reasonable than its predecessor in many areas, we
also cannot expect that it will act to end the intolerable, unjust and
deteriorating status quo of endless occupation and recurring violence.

For J Street, our mission at this historic moment is clear. In the wake of
the horrific violence of recent weeks in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and
East Jerusalem, we have begun to call for a fundamental reset of US policy
toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- a reset focused on addressing
the root causes of violence, including the daily injustice of occupation,
and on holding our close ally far more accountable for its actions.

Now, with a new political era beginning in Israel, such a reset could not
be more timely.

In the coming weeks and months, as a new government finds its feet,
American leaders should reaffirm their commitment to Israel’s security and
future -- while at the same time making absolutely clear that the
disastrous, right-wing policies and ideology of the Netanyahu era have put
both in terrible jeopardy.

They should urge the new government to pursue a very different new path,
one that recognizes the dangers and injustices of occupation and
meaningfully commits to diplomacy and compromise. They should not hesitate
to confront unacceptable destructive measures by Israeli or Palestinian
leaders which violate human rights and push peace further from reach --
including acts of de facto annexation like settlement expansion,
demolitions and evictions.

As we urge Congress and the Biden Administration to pursue this reset, we
will also continue to do all that we can to stand with and strengthen our
progressive Israeli allies -- those who will now likely have a foothold in
government as well as those outside the Knesset who continue to advocate
for the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to freedom, security,
equality and self-determination.

We will make clear to the new Israeli government that the overwhelming
majority of American Jews share our movement’s opposition to settlement
expansion and occupation, our support for a lasting peace agreement and
our commitment to democracy, equality and human rights.

We don’t know for sure what will happen in the coming days and weeks -- no
one does.

But we do know that no matter what, in this moment of transitions, new
opportunities and new challenges, our work will continue to focus on the
transformational changes that we need to see in American politics and
policy in order to promote true progress and a better future for Israelis
and Palestinians.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street

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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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