[ [link removed] ]J Street Conference 2022

Friend --

The final day of the J Street National Conference featured a series of
important conversations with leaders, advocates and foreign policy
experts.

Together, we focused on how we want to see US foreign policy better align
with our shared pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy vision, and how we
can work together to achieve that goal.

Capping off the conference, J Street supporter Nancy Goroff announced she
would personally match up to $25,000 of new contributions over the next 24
hours. “We need J Street, and J Street needs us,” Goroff said.

[ [link removed] ]There’s still time to take Nancy up on her offer if you’d like to make
a contribution here >>

⬇️ Highlights Below ⬇️

Lawmakers Hail J Street Education Fund Trips to Israel, West Bank

[3]Members of congress on stage

Four top alumni of J Street’s comprehensive, no-holds-barred educational
trips to Israel and the West Bank spoke powerfully about what the
experience meant for them. 

Representatives Melanie Stansbury, Sean Casten, Jennifer Wexton and
Madeleine Dean spoke of how impactful and lasting their J Street Education
Fund congressional delegation’s had been. 

“It changed my perspective on many of the issues that I had thought about
and cared about for many years,” Stansbury said, “and of course, [the
trip] gave me a renewed sense of urgency for the work that we have to do
here in the United States.”

[4]Rep Stansbury.

Dean described the trip as “life-changing” while Casten praised the
balance, care and nuance delivered to participants. “I’ll never look at
the situation there the same,” Wexton said. “It has changed the way I look
at things now -- the way I approach policy and everything.”

Keynote Addresses from Gerry Connolly, Becca Balint and Peter Welch

[5]Rep Connolly

Day three featured powerful keynote addresses from Congressman Gerry
Connolly, Congresswoman-elect Becca Balint and Senator-elect Peter Welch.

Congressman Connolly spoke candidly about the need for more muscular
American leadership to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I
want to see a secure, stable, free, democratic Jewish state,” he said,
“and I also want to see a stable, democratic, free Palestinian state.”

[6]Rep-elect Balint

Congresswoman-elect Balint spoke movingly about our shared fight for
democracy in Israel and the United States, recalling that her grandfather,
Leopold Bálint, was killed on a forced march from Mauthausen Concentration
Camp in the last few weeks of World War II.

“I'm grateful to you for being so clear and so direct about what's at
stake,” Balint said. “We must all do everything that we can to stand
against those who seek to destroy our democracy, and we have to be ever
vigilant and tend to those threats overseas as well -- including in
Israel.”

[7]Sen-elect Peter Welch

Senator-elect Peter Welch capped off the night with a spirited call to
keep up our shared fight for equal measures of justice, freedom and
independence for all. “Our deepest commitment is not to the United States
as it is or to Israel as it is,” he said “Our commitment is to the ideals
upon which America was founded and Israel was founded.”

Leaders from Palestine and Jordan Address Conference

[8]Mohammad Shtayyeh and Ayman Safadi

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Jordanian Foreign
Minister Ayman Safadi both delivered video addresses to the J Street
conference, following earlier conference remarks from Israeli political
leaders.

Prime Minister Shtayyeh called on the United States to engage more fully
in diplomatic processes to encourage peace and equality. Foreign Minister
Ayman Safadi called on all parties to reject extremism. “We cannot allow
radicals on both sides of the divide to determine the future,” Safadi
said.

In a panel discussion, foreign policy experts called for stronger US
engagement, strategic multilateral diplomacy, and for Palestinian
political leaders to truly embrace democracy and reject extremism.

J Street Honors Ilyse Hogue, Amy Spitalnick and Randi Weingarten

[9]the awardees

J Street was thrilled to honor longtime fighters for justice, equality and
empowerment Ilyse Hogue, President of Purpose, Amy Spitalnick, Executive
Director of Integrity First for America, and Randi Weingarten, President
of the American Federation of Teachers, at our 2022 Gala Dinner.

In her comments, Randi Weingarten made a powerful defense of the right to
hold true to a proud, just, equal and democratic vision for both Israel
and the United States.

“I'm not letting people take my patriotism away from me,” Weingarten said.
“You can be a fighter for democracy, a fighter for justice, a fighter for
public education, and criticize the government of the United States, and
we can do the same thing in terms of Israel and still be pro-Israel --
that's why I feel at home with J Street.”

Spitalnick, who led a successful landmark lawsuit against the organizers
of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, spoke of the need to keep
up the fight.

"Fascism, authoritarianism, extremism, it thrives on making us feel
hopeless and helpless. That is their core tactic,” she said. “That is how
it spreads and that’s been true throughout history, and we can't let that
be the case."

[10]Members of congress on stage

Ilyse Hogue delivered a powerful condemnation of right-wing attempts to
silence open debate about Israel

"We're Jews!" she said, lamenting attempts to shut down the conversation.
"We debate, we interrogate, we challenge each other.”

"What we saw this last election cycle was inexcusable,” Hogue said. “We
saw Israel weaponized in service of endorsing election deniers, people who
supported January 6. That is not the Judaism I was brought up with, that
is not the support for Israel that I know to be consistent with Judaism or
democracy, and I am going to speak up on it and I’m going to challenge
each and every one of you to speak up on it.”

Nancy Goroff Announces Matching Donation Challenge

[11]Nancy Goroff

Capping off the conference, J Street supporter Nancy Goroff announced she
would match up to $25,000 of new contributions in the final hours of the
conference. “We need J Street, and J Street needs us,” Goroff said.

Thank you, Nancy, for your moving speech and generous support. [ [link removed] ]There’s
still time to take Nancy up on her offer if you’d like to make a
contribution here >>

Today: Advocacy Day

[13]Advocacy Day

Today, conference attendees from across the country are heading to Capitol
Hill to advocate for our values and priorities directly.

Together, we’ll be pressing for our leaders to show real leadership: To
speak out against demolitions, settlements and human rights violations; to
live up to our commitment to peace, equality and international law; and to
pursue policies that are truly pro-Israel, pro-peace and pro-democracy.

A huge thank you to everyone joining us for Advocacy Day, everyone who
came together to make this year’s conference such a great success, and the
impressive and dedicated hard work of the entire J Street team.

Best,

Logan Bayroff
VP of Communications, 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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