Dear Friend,

This past week we held the largest National Conference in J Street’s
history, with over 4,000 pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans joining 2020
presidential candidates and inspiring Israeli and Palestinian speakers to
stand together in Washington and make their voices heard.

We are facing a critical moment -- for democracy, for global American
leadership and for the US-Israel relationship. But if this year’s
gathering showed us anything, it’s that we are capable of rising to this
moment. If we stand together, we can make real, transformative change.
Already, we’ve succeeded in changing so much about how our politics work.

Together, we helped put serious discussion of American leadership and the
US-Israel relationship on the 2020 agenda. We gave candidates a forum to
outline their vision for the region, their plans for a post
Trump-Netanyahu relationship and their strategies for challenging
occupation and annexation. We made clear that the vast majority of
American Jews are prepared to stand proudly in defense of Jewish and
democratic values and pro-Israel, pro-peace policies.

As each of our speakers made clear, we are fighting a shared struggle in
Israel and the United States against corrupt, xenophobic, anti-democratic
leaders who put self-interest ahead of the interests of their people. That
solidarity, and the need to find common cause with our allies, was a
recurring theme.

In this week’s Street Talk, we share some of the highlights from the
conference and the widespread, prominent coverage it received in the media
-- another major indicator of the impact we’re making in reshaping the
national debate on Israel and bringing the voices of our movement to the
forefront.

Thank you so much for your support, and thank you to everyone who helped
make the conference such an important milestone.

Logan Bayroff
Communications Director

Around J Street

2020 candidates go on the record with J Street

[1]2020 Candidates
While we’re determined to defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box, we know
that we also have to defeat his agenda around the country and around the
world. A key part of that will be setting the agenda for a post-Trump
foreign policy, laying the groundwork for a new vision of American
leadership.

That’s why this year we were so proud to host five 2020 Democratic
presidential candidates at our conference, including Senator Bernie
Sanders, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Secretary Julián Castro, Mayor Pete
Buttigieg and Senator Michael Bennet. In three plenary sessions moderated
by Pod Save the World hosts Ben Rhodes and Tommy Vietor, we dove into the
US-Israel relationship, how candidates would tackle settlement expansion
and annexation and whether they would take steps to ensure that US
security assistance isn’t used to bankroll the occupation or potential
annexation. All of the candidate interviews are available at our
[ [link removed] ]conference homepage, as well as recorded messages from those who were
unable to attend, including former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator
Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Yang and Marianne Williamson.

In addition to the 2020 candidates, we were honored to be joined by House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer at our
national gala.
[ [link removed] ]Watch Now →

J Street's work makes national headlines

[4]Conference Center
When we stand together, our voices are powerful -- and the world takes
notice. This year’s J Street Conference proved we have the strength to
shape a national conversation about foreign policy, the US-Israel
relationship and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We earned prominent
coverage across the mainstream media, including stories in the [ [link removed] ]New York
Times, [ [link removed] ]Washington Post, [ [link removed] ]Associated Press, [ [link removed] ]Bloomberg, [ [link removed] ]NBC,
[ [link removed] ]MSNBC, [ [link removed] ]CBS and [ [link removed] ]HuffPost. They focused on how J Street has
become a powerful advocacy force -- and is changing how political leaders
approach the issues we care about:

* [ [link removed] ]The New York Times: “2020 Democrats at J Street Conference Reflect
New Tone on U.S.-Israel Relations….Democratic attitudes toward Israel
are shifting in the highest echelons of the party.”
* [ [link removed] ]The New York Times: “Polling data suggest that as Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn an increasingly hard line against
Palestinians while cultivating a chummy relationship with President
Trump, many Jewish voters and liberal Democrats have started to feel
uneasy...Last spring, J Street commissioned a Democratic firm to poll
likely primary voters nationwide about their feelings on Israel....the
study’s findings paint a detailed picture of a Democratic electorate
that is generally supportive of Israel but also concerned about the
potential for unfair treatment of Palestinians.”
* [ [link removed] ]Associated Press: “The candidates’ attendance -- in addition to
videos sent to J Street by five other hopefuls who could not attend --
underscores the importance of the Democratic-leaning Jewish-American
voting bloc…The Trump-Netanyahu alliance has also strengthened J
Street’s case for Democrats to stand against the Israeli leader’s
pursuit of settlement expansion and annexation in the West Bank.”
* [ [link removed] ]Washington Post: “Jewish voters and political donors, who
overwhelmingly support Democrats, have generally welcomed criticism of
Netanyahu and his policies. And a younger generation of Democrats has
shown an increasing willingness to break from past orthodoxy, which
called for showing more unquestioning support for Israel.”
* [ [link removed] ]New Republic: “The progressive pro-Israel group has gone from
outsider to political kingmaker...J Street has experienced something
of a flourishing during the reign of President Donald Trump.”

J Street and J Street U launch campaign to impact Democratic Party platform

[18]J Street U Board
After the success of their Let Our People Know Campaign, J Street’s
grassroots student arm -- J Street U -- is taking the lead on a new J
Street campaign urging the Democratic Party to update its platform to
include support for Palestinian rights along with support for Israel’s
security, and to state clear opposition to occupation, settlement
expansion and annexation.

“We are calling on the Democratic party to publicly embrace the consensus
by explicitly opposing occupation, annexation, and settlements in order to
support a just and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians alike,”
President of J Street U Matan Arad-Neeman told attendees on opening night.
“The time to act is now.”

In a later interview on stage, Representative Pramila Jayapal -- co-chair
of the Congressional Progressive Caucus -- called the push to change the
platform “essential.”

[ [link removed] ]You can support our new campaign by signing the call to action here >>
[ [link removed] ]Take Action →

J Street welcomes prominent Israeli and Palestinian leaders, activists

[21]Ehud Barak
As speaker after speaker reminded us at the conference, we are not in this
fight alone. Defeating the far-right’s agenda, securing a better future
for Israelis and Palestinians and fighting the forces of hate and
anti-Semitism is collaborative work and demands close collaboration with
our many American, Israeli and Palestinian partners.

We were proud to welcome prominent Israeli and Palestinian leaders to our
stage. Partnership and collaboration was a major theme in a series of
speeches from these leaders, including former Prime Minister Barak’s
impassioned argument for a two-state solution and recommitment to the
peace process, Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat’s passionate
defense of Palestinian aspirations for statehood, Joint List Leader Odeh’s
call for a new era of inclusive Israeli politics and Democratic Union
Leader Horowitz’s championing of a truly progressive vision for Israel. On
the mainstage and in breakout sessions, we were joined by a rising
generation of activists, organizers and experts who are building new
progressive, pro-peace movements and driving change on the ground. [ [link removed] ]All
the videos can be found here.

[ [link removed] ]Donate →

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[2]Street Talk Logo
© 2019 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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