I wanted to make sure you saw Jeremy's email outlining his vision for J Street's work in 2020 and beyond. It's a long email, because we've got a lot of work ahead of us. If you're wondering why we're so persistent in asking for your help to hit our year-end goal, the answers are below. I hope you'll take a moment to read -- and then to chip in to help us close our gap and enter 2020 stronger than ever. - Jess Smith
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.
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.
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.
Can we count on your support?
