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.
Select a contribution now >>
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Thank you, sincerely, for your ongoing support.
Adina Vogel Ayalon
Chief of Staff, J Street
