Friends --
As a former Israeli diplomat and IDF Officer, I believe it’s essential for leaders in the United States -- our most important partner -- to have a clear and honest understanding of the realities facing Israelis and Palestinians. It’s the only way we can work together toward a better future.
Two weeks ago, I had the honor of helping lead a five-day Congressional Delegation (CODEL) on which J Street gave ten Members of Congress first-hand exposure to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and what it will take to resolve it.
From security briefings near Gaza to tours of Yad Vashem to visits to Palestinian communities feeling the sharpest edge of the occupation, J Street led the Members on a trip designed to provide them with an in-depth understanding of the situation without hiding anything from view.
Perhaps the most powerful moment of the trip was standing in the South Hebron Hills, meeting with Palestinian Bedouin farmers and goatherds who suffer weekly -- sometimes daily -- assaults from nearby settlers.
Trips like these demonstrate to elected officials and policymakers what’s at stake.
They force us to ask what more can be done to end the injustice and violence which inflicts so much pain -- and undermines Israel’s future as a just, democratic homeland for the Jewish people.
Right-wing Israelis and their supporters in the United States would rather that Members of Congress take trips that never even discuss let alone see these painful realities -- but those of us who believe in building a safer, better future know they cannot be ignored.
We began our trip with a visit to the Tel Aviv home of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, and with a discussion about the values and vision underpinning the founding of Israel as a national homeland for the Jewish people.
By the end of the trip, we all understood that that vision is being undermined every day by the settlement movement’s efforts to entrench permanent occupation, to build and bulldoze their way to permanent, undemocratic control of the West Bank. Not only does it violate Israel’s founding values, it denies Palestinians their rights, entrenches injustice and puts young lives on both sides at risk.
On this most recent trip we heard again and again -- from Israeli security experts, Palestinian rights advocates and leaders on both sides -- that tensions are nearing another boiling point, heading toward the Spring holidays of Passover, the Holy Month of Ramadan and Easter, all coinciding around the same dates.
Last May, that cycle led to the threat of forced evictions and police violence in East Jerusalem, devastating violence in Gaza and the West Bank, and thousands of indiscriminate rockets terrorizing millions of Israelis.
We must stop this cycle before it escalates further.
We heard from Palestinian rights advocates how the very presence of US Members of Congress puts pressure on Israeli authorities for the better. Demolitions have been put on hold, pro-settlement decisions have been shelved, officials were pressed to answer tough questions about the occupation, settler violence and Israel’s democratic future.
Friends -- Imagine the positive impact if American leaders truly did all they could to help end the occupation, end the violence and injustice, and secure a future of freedom, peace and self-determination for both peoples.
Trip by trip, meeting by meeting, office by office, our movement is transforming American leaders’ understanding of the conflict, and rallying support for the principled leadership necessary to build a better future.
Our advocacy in DC and around the United States remains more important than ever as we push back against right-wing groups and promote principled, effective leadership to help Israelis and Palestinians.
If you’d like to consider a contribution to fuel this important work, please select a donation or recurring donation here.
Your contribution, of any amount, will strengthen our movement and ensure right-wing voices cannot dominate decision-making in Washington.
Thank you, sincerely, for being a part of this work.
Nadav Tamir,
Executive Director, J Street Israel
