Friend,
A new year brings both new challenges as well as new opportunities. We know we have a difficult road ahead.
From the upcoming 2022 midterms, to an alarming rise in settler violence, to the urgent need to reach a diplomatic resolution with Iran, we thank you for being with us as we take on critical fights for democracy, equality and justice at home and abroad.
Thank you,
Logan Bayroff
Vice President of Communications
AROUND J STREET
Pushing for Accountability, Justice and an End to the Surge of Settler Violence
Disturbing, menacing attacks by armed settlers against Palestinian families and Israeli peace activists have continued unabated in recent months. In December, a report by the Times of Israel found that settler violence increased by nearly 50% in 2021, and it has shown no sign of slowing down into the new year. Israeli soldiers and police simply have not done enough to date to curtail and prevent these attacks, or to hold their perpetrators fully accountable.
In the United States, J Street has led the charge for accountability, justice and leadership, making clear that settler violence is a severe threat to the rights of both Palestinians and their progressive Israeli allies. We have been circulating a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, stating that the United States cannot turn a blind eye to this ongoing crisis, and urging the State Department to press Israeli authorities to do much more to confront these attacks and to hold perpetrators of violence accountable. Read, sign and share our petition here >>
A growing chorus of leaders both in Israel and the US have recently spoken out about settler violence. Seven prominent Jewish organizations wrote a letter to Israeli leaders condemning Jewish Israeli extremists and acts of terrorism and political violence. You can read their letter here.
JStreetPAC Endorses Rising Star Jessica Cisneros in Key Congressional Race
Next month, voters in Texas’ 28th Congressional District will cast ballots in one of the most competitive (and one of the earliest) primary elections of the 2022 midterm cycle. The outcome will determine whether a fresh, principled, new progressive voice aligned with J Street enters Congress, or whether a right-leaning representative described as “Trump’s favorite Democrat” will keep his seat. The incumbent, Representative Cuellar, has repeatedly aligned himself with foreign policy hawks and opposed a critical measure designed to prevent Trump from taking us into a disastrous war with Iran.
The stakes are high, which is why JStreetPAC has endorsed Jessica Cisneros -- a passionate immigration and human rights attorney who will fight for democratic values at home and for principled American leadership abroad. Learn more about JStreetPAC and how you can get involved with its work here >>
Defending Iran Diplomacy as the Biden Administration Pursues a Return to the JCPOA
President Trump put Iran and the US on a dangerous collision course to conflict when he senselessly withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear agreement negotiated by President Obama and other world powers. Now, the stakes are high for President Biden's ongoing efforts to bring both the US and Iran back into full compliance with the successful agreement, to constrain Iran's nuclear program and avoid another catastrophic war in the Middle East. J Street is among the leading groups promoting the path of diplomacy -- and pushing back on the hawks who want the US to double down on Trump’s disastrous “maximum pressure” policies.
“The clearest lesson of American policy disasters in the Middle East in the past generation is that we must not listen to the same hawkish voices urging conflict and pressure and instead rally strongly behind diplomacy and peace,” wrote J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami in an op-ed in Business Insider. “Diplomacy has proven to be the only effective way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and avoid war. Leading American and Israeli security experts have made clear that there is no viable military solution to this problem,” he added in a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal.
As talks continue in Vienna, we know from experience that any announcement is likely to draw a firestorm of disingenuous attacks and controversy from hawks and special interests who want diplomacy to fail. J Street stands ready to be a leading voice in Washington, DC and nationwide in support of a peaceful, diplomatic resolution.
Read and share Jeremy’s Op-Ed >>
J Street Launches Action Fund to Support Candidates in Priority Races
J Street is thrilled to announce the launch of a new J Street Action Fund. The fund is designed to strengthen our movement by making targeted independent expenditures to help give voice to our values in key Congressional races. In the 2022 midterm cycle, we plan to raise and spend $1 million in support of candidates who adopt principled, pro-Israel, pro-peace, anti-occupation positions. That work will be critical to shaping the perception of what it truly means to be “pro-Israel.”
“With American democracy under threat and groups to our right increasingly spending millions to push candidates toward more hawkish positions, the Action Fund will be a critical new tool allowing the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement to play a more involved role in key races of national importance,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami, as reported in both Politico and Haaretz.
J Street is also directly supporting the fight for our democratic rights and freedoms by launching J Street Grassroots Action, a new fund to partner with and support local grassroots organizing. We’re excited to partner with Georgia Alliance for Progress and LUCHA (Living United for Change) in Arizona, critical states in 2022 that will help determine the shape of the Senate for years to come.
Learn more about the J Street Action Fund and all of J Street’s political work here >>
New Dates for 2022 J Street National Conference
The J Street National Conference in Washington, DC is the year’s largest gathering of pro-peace, pro-Israel activists -- and one of the most important, talked-about annual events in the worlds of foreign policy and progressive politics.
This month, J Street announced that due to the ongoing health crisis our conference, initially scheduled for April, will now take place on December 3-5, 2022. While we’re disappointed to have to reschedule, we’re confident that this is the best way to ensure the safety and comfort of all our supporters -- and to ensure this year’s conference is as large, vibrant and meaningful as we know it can and should be.
The upshot? Early Bird pricing is back for the new December dates. Reserve your tickets now >>
Meet The Rabbis Standing on the Front Lines of the Fight Against Settler Violence
Across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, grassroots advocates are fighting for a more just, equal and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians. J Street is proud to support and champion their work. Through our Our Israel profiles, we're proud to spotlight groups like Rabbis for Human Rights who are making a difference on the ground.
Rabbis for Human Rights is an Israeli organization that works throughout Israel and the Occupied Territory to monitor human rights violations and combat the impacts of settler violence. Volunteers from the organization were among human rights activists injured during recent settler violence in Burin while helping Palestinian farmers plant trees.
Rabbi Ruti Baidatz, a member of the organization, said last month while speaking with J Street, “As a rabbi, I have to raise my voice. It has meaning to speak up. I represent more than just myself.” Read and share our profile on Rabbis for Human Rights here >>
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