Friend,
When we at J Street prepared for July and the scorching summer heat, we certainly hoped we’d have a chance to eat some ice cream. We just had no idea how much we’d end up talking about it -- or how significant that conversation would be for our work.
Since Ben & Jerry’s made the principled decision to stop selling its ice cream in occupied Palestinian territory (while continuing to do so in the State of Israel) they’ve faced outrageously over-the-top smears and attacks -- from accusations of antisemitism and even terrorism, to calls for US state governments to punish them using constitutionally dubious “anti-boycott” laws.
These attacks seem intended not just to punish one company, but to intimidate and silence all those who seek to protest the occupation -- and who wish to maintain the critical, pro-Israel distinction between Israel and the illegal settlements. That’s why J Street and our progressive pro-Israel partners have done so much to defend the legitimacy of this decision, and to make clear that right-wing voices who refuse to even acknowledge the occupation as one of the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict do harm to both the future of Israel and to Palestinian rights -- and don’t speak for the majority of American Jews.
Even as we stand up for the First Amendment and the right to protest unjust policies, we also won’t let the meltdown distract us from the core injustices and problems that Ben & Jerry’s is speaking out against in the first place. Over the past few weeks, we’ve helped ensure that a critical package of US aid to Israel and the Palestinian people passed the House; spoken out against the rising scourge of settler violence; and pushed back on right-wing Republican lawmakers who seek to legitimize settlements and end US support for a two-state solution.
Through all this, our J Street family is also mourning the loss and celebrating the life of one of our greatest leaders, friends and colleagues, National Political Director Ilya Braverman. Below you can read more about this very special person, and how we hope to honor his legacy.
Thank you,
Logan Bayroff
Vice President of Communications
AROUND J STREET
J Street Community Mourns the Loss of Ilya Braverman, Z”L
On Sunday, July 25, the J Street family suffered the terrible loss of one of our most beloved, talented and respected members and leaders, National Political Director Ilya Braverman.
It’s simply impossible to overstate just how special, how important and how appreciated Ilya was as a person and as a colleague. In his over seven years at J Street, he worked his way from an initial position as a development assistant to his later roles as a critical member of J Street’s political team and ultimately as the team’s leader. In that time, he consistently showed the passion, dedication, brilliance and kindness that made him so well-liked, admired and valued. His achievements in building and then leading J Street’s political team and JStreetPAC were simply incredible. And beyond his staggering professional accomplishments in such a short amount of time, where Ilya truly shone was in his relationships with his colleagues and the many, many J Street leaders and activists with whom he worked every day.
You can read J Street’s full public reflection on Ilya’s life here.
Ilya’s deep commitment to our mission is an inspiration and we will all continue to build on his legacy -- including by permanently naming his role at our organization after him: The Ilya Braverman National Political Director at J Street. You can help support that legacy by making a contribution to help fund this position and to continue the work of the political department Ilya helped build. Just go to jstreet.org/Ilya to learn more.
Out of Cone-trol: J Street Pushes Back Against Bad Faith Attacks on Ben & Jerry’s
With the right wing in Israel and the US melting down about Ben & Jerrys’ decision to cease sales in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, J Street spent the last few weeks providing a much-needed counterpoint. On social media, in the press, and in our advocacy to elected officials, we led an effort to make clear that not only were the cries of “anti-Israel” and “antisemitism” over-the-top and harmful, but they also demonstrated that many in the Israeli government and on the American right no longer acknowledge the critical distinction between the state of Israel and Occupied Territory. As J Street’s president Jeremy Ben-Ami wrote, “[W]hen Ben & Jerry’s says it wants to sell ice cream in Israel but not in the settlements, that seems -- to me -- a rational and principled, even pro-Israel, position….It’s a line in the sand between Israel and the occupation that makes perfect sense to the overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans who support a two-state solution and oppose settlement expansion.” Read Jeremy’s full letter here >>
J Street created a detailed Q&A explainer to help shatter some of the myths and misconceptions about the decision, and circulated a petition defending Ben & Jerry’s right to protest occupation. In response to letters from the Israeli government and right-leaning Jewish groups calling on state governors to employ punitive anti-BDS laws against the company, J Street partnered with six other progressive pro-Israel groups (including Americans for Peace Now, the New Israel Fund and T’ruah) to send our own letter, which received exclusive coverage in the Washington Post. In the letter, our groups opposed and condemned “legal action against Ben & Jerry's or its parent company Unilever in response to its decision to no longer sell ice cream in occupied Palestinian territory.” We explained that “None of our organizations endorse boycotts of Israel or support the global BDS movement — and many of us actively advocate against them. At the same time, like Ben & Jerry’s, we make a clear distinction between the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories it militarily occupies.”
Ultimately, we believe that whether you’re an American, Israeli, Palestinian, or an ice cream company, you have the right to peacefully protest the occupation. If you agree, sign our petition here >>
On the Hill: J Street Helps Critical Aid Package to Israelis and Palestinians Pass the House -- And Calls Out Ted Cruz’s Attack on the Two-State Solution
Thanks in part to determined advocacy by J Street, the House of Representatives last month passed a State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs appropriations bill that ensured robust security assistance to Israel and aid to the Palestinian people, as well as critical US funding for multilateral organizations and diplomacy worldwide. Critically, new provisions in the legislation and its accompanying report are an important first step toward ensuring that equipment purchased with US Foreign Military Financing is used in a manner consistent with US law and national security policies, including specifying that items supplied pursuant to the US-Israel Memorandum of Understanding on security assistance may not be used in any way that undermines the prospects of a negotiated two-state solution. Read our full statement here >>
Over in the Senate side, overwhelming bipartisan support has emerged for the Israel Relations Normalization Act, which supports Israel’s process of normalizing relations with Arab states, and reinforces the pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace via a two-state solution as a cornerstone of US policy in the region. Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz has taken it upon himself to unilaterally block the bill’s passage, simply because he refuses to tolerate language that reiterates US support for Palestinian statehood alongside Israel. As J Street’s Director of Government Affairs Debra Shushan told press, “Cruz has evidently watched years of the endless Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, where Palestinians lack basic rights and dignity while Israelis face the constant threat of violence and instability, and decided that the unjust and destructive status quo suits him just fine.” Read coverage in Politico and JTA of our pushback against Cruz’s antics.
Our Israel: Making Israeli Tech More Inclusive
“Our Israel” is a J Street initiative to spotlight amazing Israeli organizations and individuals who share our values and who struggle, as we do in the United States, to build and preserve a liberal, democratic society underpinned by the principles of equality, freedom, justice and peace. This month, we checked in with PresenTense, an organization that looks to make entrepreneurship accessible to underprivileged communities in Israel.
The group has launched a number of business incubators across the country focused on providing the necessary resources for entrepreneurs from the Arab Israeli, Bedouin, and Haredi communities, among others, to start businesses. “If Israel is to truly be the world’s ‘Startup Nation,’” says one of PresentTense’s founders, “then it must be an inclusive society in which all groups can get a foothold in our entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Read and share the full article here >>
J Street’s Israel Director Weighs in on Settler Violence and IDF Participation
According to collaborative reporting from Israeli and American organizations, on May 14th, Palestinians in the West Bank town of Urif faced a series of five unprovoked, joint attacks from settlers and IDF soldiers. Each joint attack included violence against Palestinian civilians, the burning of farmland and the use of live ammunition. Four Palestinians were killed.
In response to the disturbing reports, J Street Israel Director and former IDF Officer Nadav Tamir wrote, “IDF participation in attacks on civilians is brutal and a violation of Israel’s founding values. It feeds a cycle of injustice and retaliation which undermines Israel’s security, degrades the IDF’s reputation and increases the risk of reprisal attacks. I am appalled at the violence and impunity. I cannot, however, say that I am surprised.” Read and share Nadav’s powerful post here >>
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