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Friend --

I’ve spent the last few weeks on the road, meeting with J Street chapters
across the country.

If there’s been one unifying thread of this trip, one thing I’ve heard
from one supporter after another, it’s that people are looking for hope.

Everywhere I go, people are anxious about the future -- of this country,
of Israel, of the world. They're searching for the light that leads out of
the present darkness.

I often say that I'm neither an optimist nor a pessimist; neither a
glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty kind of guy. My mantra is: Know
where the pitcher is so you can fill the glass!

That’s my take on hope. We have to make it.

And that’s J Street’s vision for 2020 and beyond.

Below, I’m going to outline that vision -- our plan for shifting the
politics in this country in the coming year, and then transforming
America’s policies in the coming decade. [ [link removed] ]And I’m going to ask for you
to chip in to help build that future by making a donation to J Street
today.

Our core work takes place in political and policy arenas where we fight on
behalf of democracy, freedom, justice and equality against those who
promote autocracy, racism and ethnonationalism.

It’s why we stand -- as supporters of Israel -- against occupation. It’s
why -- as proud Americans -- we use our voice and power to support
immigrants, refugees and those who face discrimination in our own country.

In our first decade, J Street has built real political power with which to
advance our goals.

When we started, we couldn’t conceive that our movement would be
instrumental in helping get legislation passed through Congress that
rewrites the pro-Israel playbook. Yet this week, 98 percent of the
Democrats in Congress (and a handful of Republicans) rallied around Rep.
Alan Lowenthal’s resolution opposing annexation and settlements and
supporting two states.

As one member of Congress told me in the wake of the vote, “The center of
gravity on your issues has really moved dramatically in just a decade.”

My response: Wait till you see what we do in the next decade.

I think you know the stakes.

Sometimes, people too narrowly define J Street as concerned only about the
two-state solution.

While that's of course a long-term vision to which we remain committed,
what’s at stake are the values and beliefs that underpin the United States
and on which Israel was founded.

That's why our immediate priorities are defeating a President of the
United States who traffics in white nationalism and racism and partnering
with Israelis who object to occupying millions of Palestinians and their
land without providing political rights.

We can and we will defeat those toxic politics in the coming years.

Envision with me, post-2020, a President committed to democracy, human
dignity and justice for all. Imagine a Congress where the majority of both
chambers supports diplomacy, human rights and the rule of law.

Now, recognizing that the post-Netanyahu era is drawing ever closer,
envision a new Israeli government that – in its own national interest --
recognizes the existential threat posed by never-ending occupation and
creeping annexation.

Envision a Palestinian Authority and Arab leaders who -- with the US and
Israel both moving in the right direction -- have the trust and capacity
to move forward toward an end to the conflict and a normalization of
relations with Israel.

Imagination and hope won’t make that the reality of the 2020s. But
building political power and winning will.

And that’s what J Street intends to do in the 2020s: Build power, grow and
win.

With your support, in the 2020s, this movement will be the center of
gravity in American policy and politics on the issues that concern us,
whether they relate to Israel and the Middle East or to the way our own
country treats immigrants and minorities.

Our plan is to double our budget. To establish our presence in more
communities and on more campuses. To open up more eyes with expanded
travel programs to the Middle East and educational programs here at home.

Where this year we had 4,000 people at our national conference, in the
coming decade we’ll have 8,000. Where today we have 200,000 supporters, in
the coming decade we'll double that.

How do I state this with such certainty? Because ours are the views and
values of the overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans and because so
many in other communities are ready to work in partnership with us toward
our shared goals.

[ [link removed] ]If you’re ready -- if the future I’m outlining is the future you want
to help build -- then I ask for your support.

If we’re going to grow, if we’re going to defeat the hateful politics and
policies of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, we need your help.

Join us in this vital fight. Take part in building hope and a better
future.

I thank you for all you do and wish you and your family the very best as
we head into the holiday season,

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street

We need to raise $200,000 in December to continue standing up against the
Trump-Netanyahu agenda, and ultimately defeat President Trump next
November.

[ [link removed] ]Can we count on your support?


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© 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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