[ ]J Street [ ]
Friends,

I’m Israeli, so excuse me for speaking bluntly, but Itamar Ben-Gvir -- an
extreme-right politician whose ‘Jewish Power’ party could be a key player
in the next Israeli government -- disgusts me.

I’m working toward a future of equality, respect and self-determination
for both Israelis and Palestinians. He is working to pour fuel on the fire
-- promoting Jewish supremacist policies, advocating for the expulsion of
Palestinians en masse from Israel and the occupied territory, and doing
everything possible to block Palestinian statehood.

Ben-Gvir has dedicated his life and career to incitement against
Palestinians and liberal Israeli Jews. He has defended the worst Jewish
extremist criminals with blood on their hands, praising and advocating for
the use of violence.

Just last week, he brandished a handgun while calling on police to shoot
Palestinians in East Jerusalem. His latest incitement comes at a time
when, according to Israeli security officials, Jewish ultranationalist
settlers have committed over 100 acts of violence and vandalism against
Palestinians in the West Bank in the last ten days alone.

Ben-Gvir is one of the greatest threats to Israel’s future as a democracy.
Yet he’s now described as a possible future ‘kingmaker’ ahead of Israel’s
November 1 election, with a frightening chance that his ‘Jewish Power’
party could form part of a Netanyahu-led coalition of right-wing
extremists.

Friends -- This is something that Jewish and pro-Israel groups
around the world may soon be forced to reckon with, and they cannot fall
silent. Unfortunately, some are doing just that.

In 2019, both AIPAC and the American Jewish Committee condemned ‘Jewish
Power’ as “reprehensible” and “racist.” But now that the party might enter
the next Israeli government, these groups -- and several other prominent
Jewish establishment organizations -- are declining to stand up to them.
That’s simply unacceptable.

[ [link removed] ]American Jewish Leaders: We Must Speak Out Against Far-Right Extremism
in Israel
[ [link removed] ]Click to sign if you agree ✍️

J Street is far from alone in sounding the alarm.

One Democratic lawmaker warned that “These extremists undermine Israel’s
interests and the US-Israel relationship.” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of
the Union for Reform Judaism, has implored Jewish leaders to speak out
against racist extremism: “I think that Jewish leaders… must not forget
core commitments of what it means to be Jewish.”

Yet despite these warnings, too few have spoken out against the threat
Ben-Gvir and his allies pose to the values of democracy, justice and
equality enshrined in Israel’s own Declaration of Independence.

As a leading Jewish community newspaper in Great Britain asked on their
front page this week: “Where is the Outrage?”

I firmly believe that Ben-Gvir’s vision for Israel is not a vision shared
by the majority of Israelis, and certainly not by the overwhelming
majority of mainstream American Jews. No mainstream Jewish group is truly
representing their membership unless they’re drawing a line in the sand
against this ideology.

We cannot be afraid to take a clear position. We cannot let this become
our future. We cannot shy from our duty to call this out. Read, sign and
share our petition now.

[ [link removed] ]American Jewish Leaders: We Must Speak Out Against Far-Right Extremism
in Israel
[ [link removed] ]Click to sign if you agree ✍️

Friends, I’m so grateful to stand alongside you as we say no to
hatred and press for a better future of peace, justice and equality.

Thank you,

Adina Vogel Ayalon
Chief of Staff, J Street


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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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