[ ]J Street [ ]
Dear Friends,

For fifteen years, J Street has been warning of the dire threat posed to
the future of Israel -- its democracy, its values and its security -- by
the agenda of far-right ultranationalists and religious zealots. 

We have spoken out about these looming threats because we care so deeply
about the state and the people of Israel who are our family, our friends
and our colleagues. 

We’ve centered our work opposing settlements, demolitions and creeping
annexation precisely on the point that never-ending occupation will
ultimately take a toll on the occupier, not just on the occupied -- and
will lead to the erosion of Israel’s very democracy itself.

Sadly, the far-right -- and the settlement movement at its core -- that
has single-mindedly pursued permanent control over the West Bank and
dominance over the Palestinian people is now firmly in control of the
government of Israel. Since taking office six weeks ago, they are moving
at lightning speed to enact their agenda, threatening to make Israel
unrecognizable to millions of Jews and others in the United States who
care deeply about the country and its people, and who believe in the
democratic values on which it was founded.

The actions now being taken by Israel’s government make its agenda clear
to see: To ensure the coalition’s founding commitment to undemocratic
control over all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean
Sea, they are advancing plans to undermine the very legal and democratic
foundations of the state.

The so-called “judicial reform” package under Knesset consideration should
be understood as part and parcel of the right’s annexationist agenda.

Thankfully, Israelis are taking to the streets to fight for their
democracy and the rule of law. Former Prime Ministers, security chiefs and
Supreme Court justices -- and even the current President of Israel -- are
sounding the alarm. They understand that this is the most vital inflection
point in Israel’s 75 years, one that will fundamentally shape the country
going forward.

The sight of hundreds of thousands of Israelis in the streets, striking
and protesting against the government’s plans, fills us with pride. J
Street stands with the protesters in our commitment to the State of Israel
and the values on which it was founded.

Here in the US, many Jewish communal and pro-Israel leaders have been
slower to respond to these radical developments than we would have hoped.
Perhaps some of these leaders held out hope that the worst would not come
to pass. Some feared their critiques might be counterproductive. Others
said that, even though US support has been vital to Israel’s development
and survival, it is somehow inappropriate -- even now -- for Jewish
Americans to criticize the policies of the Israeli government, or for the
US government to meaningfully oppose those policies. 

There is no longer any room or time for hesitation or excuses.

As Sunday’s cabinet meeting made clear, the government is moving full
speed ahead: Advancing anti-democratic legislation that strikes at the
core of the country’s commitment to the rule of law, legalizing illegal
outposts, planning to expand settlements drastically, and transforming how
the territory occupied in 1967 is administered.

These changes must be called what they are: De facto annexation of
occupied Palestinian territory and a subversion of Israel’s democracy. 

It is the moral and historic obligation of the leaders of American Jewish
institutions to speak out clearly and immediately to challenge the actions
being taken by this government.

Policymakers too must act. The Biden Administration must make clear to
Israel -- as a longtime and very close ally -- that it will no longer
stand in the way when the international community moves to hold Israel
accountable under international law for its actions. Congress and the
President must finally start to exercise far greater oversight to ensure
that no US arms or taxpayer dollars are being used to further Israel’s de
facto and illegal annexation of occupied territory.

To be pro-Israel in 2023 means standing with the hundreds of thousands of
brave Israelis taking to the streets to defend their democracy. It means
fighting to preserve the values that underpin the US-Israel relationship.
It means standing up against the nightmare of permanent occupation and
conflict. 

Most importantly, it means confronting the troubling reality that, today,
one of the greatest threats to Israel comes from the extremism of its own
government.

I’ll be heading to Israel and the West Bank myself this week with a large
delegation of Members of Congress and J Street leaders. I’ll be sure to
share further thoughts with you on how things look from the region -- and
how our movement can continue to struggle for the better future we believe
in. 

Onwards,

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street

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© 2023 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
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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