[ ]J Street [ ]
Friends --

We had 60 seconds to get everyone to the bomb shelter.

Two or three times a night during the Gaza escalation last May, a volley
of Hamas rockets would trigger piercing sirens by our home south of Tel
Aviv. The Iron Dome battery would fire nearby. My husband, our
four-year-old and two dogs would race outside, down the stairs, and around
the corner to the shelter.

Over the course of two weeks, we must have sprinted that route nearly 40
times. Our daughter thought it was a fun game. Too young to understand our
anxiety and fraying nerves, we let her believe it was.

As I watched her patting the dogs under three feet of concrete, my stomach
would fill with dread as I heard jets roaring toward Gaza. Toward parents
who, unlike me, were powerless to protect their children. Toward mothers
who couldn’t let their daughters believe it wasn’t real.

A total of 69 children were killed last May, the overwhelming majority of
them Palestinian. Smiling faces lost to those who loved them most.
Mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings seared with grief for the rest
of their lives.

Everyone forced to live through this terror and anguish -- from families
in Gaza City to Sderot to Jabalia to Ashkelon -- deserves more from their
leaders than the same old patterns, the same resort to military force, the
same empty claims that this cycle of violence is somehow more justified
and definitive than the last. Instead, we deserve real leadership.

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With so much distrust and animosity, and such broken politics on each
side, this leadership can and must come from the United States. We need
strong, principled, confident American diplomacy aimed at preventing
injustice, marginalizing destructive forces, standing firm for equality
and fairness, and empowering those on both sides working toward a better
future for all.

Real peace means not having to hand automatic rifles and combat fatigues
to generation after generation of young Israelis. It means each and every
child in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank growing up free from missiles and
rockets and terror attacks, free to dream of a future without fear or
limitation. It means a proud Israel, standing as a beacon of equality,
justice and peace.

That’s the leadership and the vision J Street is working toward, and it’s
what I’m asking you to contribute toward with a donation of
$22
or
$54
-- or any amount you choose -- toward our final fundraising goal of 2021.

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I remember a tangle of emotions back in May. Fearful for the Palestinian
parents and their children in Gaza. Angry at Hamas for escalating the
already tense situation surrounding the evictions and clashes in East
Jerusalem, ushering in yet another horrific exchange of rockets and
airstrikes. Infuriated that Netanyahu was more interested in military
targets than a ceasefire or a long-term solution to prevent further rounds
of conflict. Grateful for the Iron Dome battery nearby, and the bomb
shelter for my family.

And I felt thankful too that J Street and our community understood and
reflected this complexity.

Thankful that J Street was leading the charge for the Biden administration
to do everything it could to push for an urgent ceasefire. Grateful that
there was a world of people (you!) who knew you CAN care deeply about the
future of Israel AND care deeply about the security, rights and freedoms
of Palestinians AND be enraged at the actions of delusional hardliners and
extremists who threaten us all.

And increasingly, that world of people includes a growing number of key
policymakers in Washington DC.

There has been a tectonic shift in American politics over the past few
years, with more and more Members of Congress now feeling free to speak
with clarity about the need for justice, equality and an end to the
occupation as key building blocks for long-term peace. It’s a shift that
must go further, to be sure, but the shift toward balance, nuance and
compassion so far is in no small part thanks to the tireless work of J
Street’s movement, engagement and political savvy.

With the debate over Israel/Palestine becoming increasingly toxic, holding
on to that space for nuance, empathy and bold, effective policy is harder
than ever. But it is also more important than ever.

Without sustaining and growing J Street in the years ahead, I worry
Congress won’t be hearing loudly and clearly from the majority in our
community fighting for peace, justice and self-determination. I worry that
we’ll risk being drowned out by increasingly well-resourced, right-wing
groups who continue to claim -- falsely -- to speak for us. 

That’s why reaching our $280,000 December goal is so important, and why
I’m asking you for a contribution of
$22
or
$54
-- or any amount of your choice -- to fund our work into 2022.

[ [link removed] ]Select a contribution now >>

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 Thank you, sincerely, for your ongoing support.

Adina Vogel Ayalon
Chief of Staff, 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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