Friend,
With Labor Day behind us and the midterms ahead, this week the starting gun was fired on the race to hold and expand pro-democracy majorities in the House and Senate.
As President Biden made clear in a clarion call last week, this marks a high-stakes battle for the future of our nation. The appalling number of election-denying, QAnon supporting, openly white nationalist candidates on the ballot is a warning siren for the future health of our democracy.
J Street is all in on this fight, and we know the overwhelming majority in our community are with us. We know that elevating conspiracy theorists and hate-mongering leaders will end badly for Jewish Americans and other minorities. We know that those who don’t care about democracy and equality at home won’t show the courage to defend it abroad.
A recap of our work this past month is below. If you value strong pro-democracy, pro-diplomacy leadership at home and abroad, please consider a contribution of any amount to fuel our work at this crucial moment >>
Thank you for being a part of this movement,
Ben Winsor
Digital Director
AROUND J STREET
J Street Goes All In to Protect Freedoms, Fight for Democracy
J Street is focused on defeating the threat MAGA candidates pose to our community, our country and our democracy. Unlike AIPAC -- which has endorsed and is fundraising for 109 candidates who voted to overturn the 2020 election results -- J Street will never give a dime to anti-democratic candidates. The stakes are too high. The threat is too great.
As J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a recent email, “We’ve seen the damage these people can do in Congress. From Pittsburgh to El Paso to Buffalo, we’ve seen the danger their far-right rhetoric poses. We cannot afford to let their ranks grow further.”
In recent months, JStreetPAC has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for pro-democracy candidates in key House and Senate races. Working with frontline incumbents like Mark Kelly, Catherine Cortez Masto and Maggie Hassan, and with leading challengers like John Fetterman, Tim Ryan and Mandela Barnes, we’re committed to fortifying and expanding the pro-democracy majority in the House and Senate.
We’ll continue to lead our community in showing the stakes of this election and the importance of voting to protect our freedoms. If you feel able, please consider a contribution to help fuel this campaign today >>
J Street Celebrates Exciting Slate of Old Friends and First-Time Endorsees
With primary season drawing to a close, this moment offers a chance to reflect. Over the course of this primary season, J Street has endorsed 131 candidates, with 126 winning their races.
Our movement recently celebrated the twin victories of both Jamaal Bowman and Jerry Nadler in hotly contested races in New York, capping off a significant strengthening of pro-Israel, pro-peace representation in the next Congress. They will join new endorsed candidates including Summer Lee in Pittsburgh, Delia Ramirez in Chicago, Greg Casar in Texas and Andrea Salinas and Jamie McLeod Skinner in Oregon.
“No matter how much [groups like AIPAC] 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,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “They can’t stop the growing recognition that safety, freedom and self-determination are rights deserved equally by Israelis and Palestinians.” Read Jeremy’s full reflections here >>
Make a contribution to support our congressional advocacy here >>
Petition: Israeli Government Must Reverse Crackdown on Human Rights Groups
With the Israeli authorities continuing to crack down on a number of Palestinian civil society groups on the West Bank, J Street has joined Israeli human rights groups, international rights groups and many governments abroad to make clear that this behavior is deeply inconsistent with Israel’s own aspirations on respect for democratic freedoms.
Rallying with Jewish groups in the Progressive Israel Network, we wrote to President Biden urging for stronger action. "We condemn the recent raids on the West Bank offices of these Palestinian human rights organizations and the detention of the organizations' directors as well as the original decision to brand them as ‘terrorist organizations,’” the letter read.
We’ve also launched a petition so members of our movement can send a message loud and clear: Human rights advocacy is not terrorism. If you agree, add your name to our petition today >>
J Street Welcomes Gaza Ceasefire, Calls for Action To Address Underlying Conflict
As tensions between Israel and Gaza militants escalated into open conflict several weeks ago, J Street pressed for urgent diplomacy and strong American leadership to prevent the situation from spiraling further. We welcomed the swift ceasefire and called for independent and credible investigations into all civilian casualties.
As yet more innocent families fall victim to recurrent bouts of violence, it is clearer than ever that more work needs to be done to de-escalate Israel-Gaza tensions and improve living standards for the people of Gaza -- conditions that inflict needless suffering and foster extremism. The US must show diplomatic leadership to broker a future that alleviates economic restrictions, promotes respect for human rights and enhances security for all Israelis and Palestinians.
“There is no military solution to this conflict,” we wrote following the flare-up. “Only a resolution to the conflict that fulfills the legitimate national rights of both peoples can ensure lasting security. Those who care about the lives and well-being of Israel and Palestinians must work with urgency to set out a means -- and a clear political horizon -- for bringing that about.”
Read and share our full statement here >>
J Street Condemns Antisemitism From All Corners
The FBI's search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate unleashed a disturbing torrent of antisemitic attacks and conspiracy theories against members of the FBI and the judiciary.
"Political leaders across the spectrum must loudly and unambiguously condemn these smears and attacks," said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. "It is beyond alarming that right-wing political leaders and media figures continue to traffic in antisemitic dog whistles about 'globalists' and George Soros, and continue to lean into deadly antisemitic conspiracy theories, including the 'Great Replacement' theory."
August also saw Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas make the appalling comparison between Israeli actions and the Holocaust in a speech delivered just blocks from the Berlin Holocaust Memorial. International leaders and Jewish groups around the world, including J Street, immediately condemned the comments and called on President Abbas to apologize. He subsequently attempted to walk back the remarks.
J Street Leads Congressional Staff Delegations to Israel, West Bank
To fully understand the security and human rights situation for Israelis and Palestinians on the ground, there’s no substitute for being there.
This summer, the J Street Education Fund brought dozens of congressional staffers to Israel and the West Bank. The comprehensive itinerary pulled no punches. They met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and peace activists, visited Yad Vashem and heard the story of Israel’s founding, heard first-hand accounts of settler violence and home demolitions, visited Israeli border communities to see the impact of rocket threats, and visited the divided city of Hebron to see some of the sharpest edges of the occupation.
Time and again, we see staff and Members of Congress returning from our trips with a more in-depth, nuanced understanding of the conflict -- ready to push for strong, principled US leadership in Washington.
Grassroots donors help fund our ongoing engagement with congressional offices once participants return. Please consider helping fund this vital work with J Street today >>
J Street Pushes Back On Hawks, Campaigns for Return to Obama’s Iran Deal
J Street is proud to be a leader of the advocacy campaign to repair one of President Trump’s most disastrous foreign policy failures: withdrawing from President Obama’s Iran Deal. The move has allowed Iran to get closer than ever to a nuclear bomb and has been slammed as a “catastrophic mistake” by a slew of former Israeli military and intelligence officials.
As President Biden continues to engage in hard-fought diplomacy to restore the agreement and block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon, the same old right-wing hawks are continuing their campaign to undermine his prospects. From John Bolton to Mike Pompeo to AIPAC, opponents continue to regurgitate hawkish talking points -- and we continue to respond with the facts and messaging necessary to build and maintain political support for the deal.
"We're backing Biden's efforts 100%,” J Street's SVP Dylan Williams told The Jerusalem Post. “J Street is ready to lead the campaign in our community, in Congress and across the country to build support and get this done."
Visit J Street’s ‘Iran Diplomacy Works’ website for more information on the deal and to sign up for updates from our campaign >>
Contribute to our Diplomacy Defense Fund here >>
Israeli Election Heats Up: Register for Updates
With less than two months until Israel’s election -- and polls giving right-wing parties a narrow edge -- competition is heating up as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vies for a return to the top job while a coalition of opposing parties attempt to block his path.
J Street is pleased to offer regular updates on what can be a complex and confusing mix of processes, political debates and parliamentary math with updates delivered directly to your inbox. Subscribe to J Street’s Israeli Election Updates here >>
You're Invited! The 2022 J Street National Conference and In-Person Advocacy Day!
The J Street National Conference is the year's largest gathering of pro-Israel, pro-peace activists -- and one of the most important, talked-about annual events in the world of foreign policy and progressive politics.
We're happy to announce that following this year's conference, we will be hosting an in-person Advocacy Day in Washington, DC on Tuesday, December 6. It will include a full slate of meetings with Members of Congress in the House and Senate as we press our priorities for peace, justice and equality -- and we’d love to have you with us!
This will be our first opportunity to come together in person in three years. With these meetings taking place right after the midterm elections, it will be more important than ever to show that we are there to participate in and protect our democracy.
Reserve your tickets now, and use the code REPRESENT to take 20% off >> >>
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