[ ]J Street [ ]
Friend,

Last night, we celebrated thrilling victories for J Street allies Jerry
Nadler and Jamaal Bowman in two of New York’s most hotly-contested
primaries.

With vanishingly few swing seats in the House and Senate, primaries in
2022 became ever more crucial battlegrounds for shaping the direction of
American politics and policies on the issues we care about.

At stake in many of these races was the question of whether we will have
leaders with the courage to fight for democracy, diplomacy and principled,
values-driven American leadership. Or whether we have representatives who
fall back on the same tired political playbook that has failed us for far
too long.

Thanks to you, we scored some really important victories this primary
season.

The return of Reps. Nadler and Bowman. Wins in tough races for newcomers
like Summer Lee in Pittsburgh, Delia Ramirez in Chicago, Greg Casar in
Texas and Andrea Salinas and Jamie McLeod Skinner in Oregon.

There have also been difficult losses. Jessica Cisneros coming up just 300
votes short in Texas. Donna Edwards’ loss in Maryland and Andy Levin’s in
Michigan.

Even with those losses, the outlook for progress is brighter than ever.

More politicians now understand that support for Israel is no longer
synonymous with support for the settlement movement or Netanyahu’s allies
on the Israeli right. They recognize that the best route to security is
through diplomacy.

Our community has so far raised over $6.6 million to support pro-Israel,
pro-peace candidates. Of the 131 candidates J Street endorsed this cycle,
126 were victorious in their primaries.

Despite pumping over $30 million (solely into Democratic primaries and
with millions contributed by GOP mega-donors) AIPAC, DMFI and affiliated
Super PACs took losses in Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania
and elsewhere.

No matter how much they spend, they won’t be able to stop the growing
shift we’re enabling toward a more principled vision of pro-Israel,
pro-peace leadership. And they can’t stop the growing recognition that
safety, freedom and self-determination are rights deserved equally by
Israelis and Palestinians.

They can’t defeat the growing cohort of leaders unafraid to give voice to
their values, to support a just, democratic future for Israel, and to
reject a future of ever-expanding settlements, permanent occupation and
endless violence.

And they can’t overcome the overwhelming majority of Jewish Americans who
know that our values of equality, justice and democracy must be central to
our vision for Israel’s future -- not cast aside for political expediency.

Now, as we race toward November 8, we turn our focus toward the battle
ahead.

According to Howard Kohr, AIPAC’s President, nothing else matters in
choosing our elected representatives than whether they “support Israel.”

At J Street, we understand that everything else matters. A lot.

Our very democracy is at stake in the years ahead. The direction of
American foreign policy. Our fundamental freedoms and rights. Our
country’s commitment to resolving conflicts through diplomacy.

That’s why the next eleven weeks will be focused on electing and
reelecting as many of our pro-democracy endorsees as possible -- including
Senate majority-makers like Mark Kelly, Catherine Cortez Masto, Raphael
Warnock, Cheri Beasley, John Fetterman and Mandela Barnes.

Together, we will reflect the true will of our community and commit
ourselves to defeating Trump Republicans who threaten our safety, our
democracy and our freedoms. Who spread antisemitic conspiracy theories,
traffic in white nationalism and thrive on division and hate.

Friends -- I want to thank you, sincerely, for joining us in this
work.

As we continue our work to protect our freedoms and transform our
politics, I’m so grateful we can count on your support.

[ [link removed] ]To be a part of that political fight -- and to donate or volunteer for
J Street backed candidates -- become a J Street member here >> >>

Yours,

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street


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© 2022 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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