Weekly Recap 📥

[J Street Communications]

 

This Week: Stand With the Striking Israeli Hostage Families ✊ | Your Guide to Tough Conversations 🗣️ | What US Leaders Miss on Their Trips to Israel ✈️ | Witnesses to Gaza’s Aid Crisis Speak Out 🌾 | Former IDF Spokesperson on Why Reoccupying Gaza is a Dead End ⚠️ | Help a Violently Expelled West Bank Community Return Home 🏠 | This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more. ✊ Stand With the Striking Israeli Hostage Families: This Sunday, workers across Israel – led by the hostage families – will stage a massive walkout and take to the streets to demand a war-ending hostage deal. Hostage families are saying what the government refuses to admit: Only a ceasefire can save their loved ones – endless war only puts them in greater danger. We must stand with them. On Sunday, we’ll flood social media with the graphic below and join solidarity rallies to oppose Netanyahu’s Gaza occupation plans, end the war and free the hostages. Download and share to show solidarity with the hostage families >> 🗣️ Your Guide to Tough Conversations About Gaza: Our community is facing a painful moment of moral reckoning – one made even harder by the spin, deflections and calculated distractions churned out daily by Netanyahu and his backers and repeated ad nauseam online. That’s why we’ve put together a guide to the misinformation and talking points we hear again and again – with clear, grounded responses to cut through them. Read and share the whole guide here! >> ✈️ Half the Story: What US Leaders Miss on Their Trips to Israel. J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami recently led a J Street delegation of former senior national security and foreign policy professionals to Israel/Palestine. He wasn’t the only one: Speaker Mike Johnson led a delegation, sponsored by an Evangelical group focused on deepening American ties with West Bank settlements, and there were two AIPAC trips, one for Freshman Democrats and one for Freshman Republicans, the week before. Getting the Full Picture: While J Street trips spend equal time on both sides of the Green Line and hear from both Israeli and Palestinian activists, other trips only show one side of the narrative. This has a profound impact on policy. “Members of Congress we bring to the West Bank return home determined to ensure US opposition to settler violence. Speaker Johnson, by contrast, reportedly pledged that when he returns, he will lead efforts to bar the federal government from calling it the West Bank.” Read more >> Reflections from the Region: “Only 8% of Democrats and 25% of Independents support Israel’s policies in Gaza. Israel is as isolated internationally as it has ever been. Yet you wouldn’t know this from talking to the Israeli government or the IDF. During our visit, the Netanyahu government doubled down on plans to occupy nearly all of Gaza,” wrote J Street Chief Policy Officer and Senior VP Ilan Goldenberg, who also joined the J Street policymaker delegation. Read more >> 🌾 The Reality of Gaza’s Man-Made Humanitarian Catastrophe 🎬 Witnesses to Gaza’s Aid Crisis Speak Out: On Thursday, we were joined by courageous Gaza Humanitarian Foundation whistleblower Tony Aguilar and a leading Israeli advocate to get aid into Gaza, Tania Hary of Gisha, for an unfiltered reality check on the devastation on the ground. Watch here >> 🔍 Gaza Humanitarian Aid – Myths and Facts: J Street Policy Fellow Larry Garber fact-checks myths promulgated by the Israeli government and other organizations to show “that widespread starvation was entirely foreseeable, and that flooding Gaza with humanitarian aid would alleviate the starvation, eliminate the killing at or near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution sites and end the looting and reselling of aid.” Read more >> ⚠️ Former IDF Spokesperson on Why Reoccupying Gaza is a Dead End: “Israeli society will have to ask itself, what does it mean to be a Zionist after Gaza?” said former IDF Spokesperson Peter Lerner. “When we look at the consequences of this war on the international community, inside Israeli society, vis-a-vis our relationship with Palestinians and also the relationship with the Jewish diaspora – when you put all of those together – Israel has a very, very big challenge.” Watch the full Word on the Street Live video >> 🏠 Help a Violently Expelled West Bank Community Return Home: On October 12, 2023, Wadi a Seeq residents were told at gunpoint by settlers backed by the army that they must leave within an hour or die. The Israeli Human Rights NGO, Torat Tzedek, is looking for international and Israeli volunteers to provide a protective presence and allow the community to return home. A few people can make a major difference. Learn more, apply to be a volunteer here and spread the word >> 📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens: [Podcast] Recognizing Palestine? 'It May Be a Punishment for Netanyahu, but It's a Big Prize for Israel' J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir joins the Haaretz Podcast to say “that a Palestinian state is first and foremost an Israeli interest. There is no way Israel could remain the homeland of the Jewish people and a democracy if there will be no Palestinian state." [Podcast] When Is It Genocide? Ezra Klein writes, "One reason I have stayed away from the word genocide is that there is an imprecision at its heart. When people use the word genocide, I think they imagine something like the Holocaust: the attempted extermination of an entire people. But the legal definition of genocide encompasses much more than that. So what is a genocide? And is this one?" Don't Be Fooled Again: Netanyahu Is Planning a Full-blown Occupation of Gaza Dahlia Scheindlin writes for Haaretz, "Maybe sealing water wells is someone's idea of security for Israel, but the false separation between security and civilian control – like the temporary, limited, pragmatic and humanitarian occupation of Gaza City – is a lie. Put the Israeli government's words through the filter of reality past and present, and the future becomes painfully clear." 🗳️  Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List:  Download and share this graphic on social media on Sunday to support the striking hostage families >>  Add your name: Oppose Netanyahu’s Gaza occupation plans >>  ✍️Tell Jewish leaders: We must speak out >>  Tell Congress to take action on settler violence >>  American Jews say: Bring them home. End the war >>  Download posters or yard signs to amplify our message >>  Tell Netanyahu to stop blocking aid >>  Call your Member of Congress and tell them you oppose the Gaza war >>  Find pro-Israel, pro-democracy, pro-peace candidates at JStreetPAC.org >> Sign up for J Street’s 2026 National Convention >> Space is filling up quickly! Check out and share the regularly updated Pro-Democracy To-Do List on our website >>  💡 More Resources: Follow us on Social: Instagram Facebook BlueSky Threads X TikTok Watch our Webinars and Listen to our Podcast: YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Read More on Our Website: JStreet.org J Street Policy Center J Street U J Street Israel DONATE © 2025 J Street | www.jstreet.org | in...@jstreet.org 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. This email has been sent to jkef...@larimer.org. Too much email? Change your subscription settings or unsubscribe here. Email not displaying correctly? View here.

 

[J Street Communications]

This week: Why Smotrich Will Ultimately Fail 🚜 | Ro Khanna on Gaza, Palestinian Statehood and the Democratic Party 🎙️| Netanyahu’s Expansion of the Gaza War 🔍 | A Powerful Show of Dissent in Israel 🇮🇱 | Help José Andrés Serve 1 Million Daily Meals in Gaza 🌍 | This Week’s Must-Reads 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.

This Week: Why Smotrich Will Ultimately Fail 🚜 | Ro Khanna on Gaza, Palestinian Statehood and the Democratic Party 🎙️| Netanyahu’s Expansion of the Gaza War 🔍 | A Powerful Show of Dissent in Israel 🇮🇱 | Help José Andrés Serve 1 Million Daily Meals in Gaza 🌍 | This Week’s Must-Reads 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more. 🚜 Why Smotrich Will Ultimately Fail: This week, Israeli authorities rubber-stamped Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s request to build 3,400 homes in the long-delayed E-1 settlement project in the heart of the West Bank. It’s a deliberate, calculated move – as Smotrich openly admitted – to split the West Bank in two and “bury a Palestinian state.” This Will Not Stop Palestinian Statehood: “Bulldozers, concrete and settlements can’t bury a people’s hopes and dreams for freedom and self-determination. As Jews, it’s a truth we know intimately: 2,000 years of oppression and persecution never destroyed our dream of being a free people in our own land,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes. Read more >> ✍️ In addition to rallying opposition to E-1 and continued settlement growth, J Street is continuing to build support for the West Bank Violence Prevention Act to sanction and defund violent settlers and the groups that support them. Join us in calling on Congress to take action >> 🎙️ Ro Khanna on Gaza, Palestinian Statehood and the Democratic Party: In the latest installment of Word on the Street Live, Jeremy and J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg held a wide-ranging conversation with Congressman Ro Khanna. They discussed his new letter supporting US recognition of Palestinian statehood and the choices facing the Democratic Party. Watch here >> 🔍 Netanyahu’s Expansion of the Gaza War: What You Need to Know. In the face of strong opposition from the IDF, the Israeli cabinet greenlit Netanyahu’s plan to take over Gaza city on August 8. On August 18, Hamas reportedly accepted a proposal from Egypt and Qatar for a temporary ceasefire. Despite initially dismissing it, the Israeli government is reportedly considering the current proposal even as it continues to ramp up for a major new offensive.  Forced Relocation and Annexation: “As Netanyahu himself has admitted, his long-term ambition is the forced relocation of some 2 million Gazans to southern Gaza,” J Street Policy Fellow Frank Lowenstein and J Street Policy Analyst Liam Hamama wrote. “This is part of a parallel effort in the West Bank that includes violently expelling Palestinians from Area C while dramatically increasing settlement growth... Taken together, it becomes clear that Netanyahu and his extremist coalition are implementing a comprehensive plan to advance their messianic vision of creating a Greater Israel." Read the full analysis >> ✍️ Add your name to oppose Netanyahu’s Gaza Occupation Plan. It’s not ‘pro-Israel’ to stay silent in the face of Netanyahu’s pursuit of endless war. American leaders need to wake up and recognize that the only way to end this war and get hostages home is to exert immense pressure on Netanyahu. Sign here >> 🇮🇱 A Powerful Show of Dissent in Israel: On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to demand a war-ending hostage deal. J Streeters across the country showed their support, posting messages of solidarity on social media and rallying in front of the White House and across the country to demand an end to this madness. Jeremy’s Reflections: In his Word on the Street Substack, Jeremy voiced his support for the Israeli protests and shared reflections and resources on issues he’s recently discussed: genocide, the disastrous Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and the skewed picture Members of Congress receive on AIPAC trips to Israel. Read here >> 🌍 Help José Andrés Serve 1 Million Daily Meals in Gaza: World Central Kitchen Founder Chef José Andrés visited Gaza and Israel last week to call for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid to Palestinians to stave off starvation. World Central Kitchen is working on expanding its operations, building more field kitchens, securing more aid, and we can help. ❤️ Eleanor, we can help save lives. Donate to World Central Kitchen here >> 📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens: Trump Will Not Save Israel from Netanyahu Ilan Goldenberg writes for The Contrarian, “Trump was never going to be the ‘Nixon goes to China’ peacemaker. What we are seeing instead is a blank-check policy for Netanyahu and his most extreme allies. The results are clear: a strategic catastrophe for Israel, a humanitarian tragedy for Palestinians, and a further erosion of U.S. credibility.” The West Bank Is Sliding Toward a Crisis (Gift Article 🎁) Jon Finer writes for the Atlantic, “I spent the past week traveling across Israel and the West Bank, meeting with officials from the Israeli government, military, and opposition, as well as Palestinian political leaders and activists. I left believing that Israel is closer to triggering a second war with West Bank Palestinians than it is to ending the disastrous conflict in Gaza.” Why Israel – And Trump – Should Support Palestinian Statehood Ami Ayalon, Gilead Sher and Orni Petruschka write for Time, "Recognizing Palestine as a state presents a peaceful and realistic pathway that undermines the narrative of violent resistance and gives hope to Palestinians seeking a diplomatic solution." Israel's Largest Protest in Over a Year Was a Clear Warning to Netanyahu. Will It Matter? Amir Tibon writes in Haaretz, "This decision, if executed despite the military's initial objections, will lead to a 're-run' of the Rafah incident from last year, and cost the lives of hostages like my neighbor Omri Miran from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, who can still be saved if a deal to end the war is achieved." Netanyahu Declares War on the World, Dragging Israel and Global Jewry Toward the Abyss The Haaretz Editorial Board writes, "There are two options: either Israel finally pulls into its defensible and normal borders, or the circles of condemnation will widen, culminating in the inclusion of all Israelis in the maligned group, indiscriminately." 🗳️  Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List: Add your name to oppose Netanyahu’s Gaza occupation plans >>  Tell Jewish leaders: We must speak out to end the war >> Ask your Member of Congress to cosponsor the West Bank Violence Prevention Act >>

Tell Congress to take action on settler violence >> American Jews say: Bring them home. End the war >>

Order or download posters or yard signs to share our message >>

Find pro-Israel, pro-democracy, pro-peace candidates at JStreetPAC.org >> Sign up for J Street’s 2026 National Convention >>

Use code ‘weeklyrecap’ for 10% off any general admission ticket!

[J Street Communications]

This week: House Democrats Take Action to Save Children in Gaza 📣 | Every Bomb is a Choice 💣 | Time for Jewish Institutional Leaders to Get Off the Sidelines ✡️ | The Message from Israel: End the War. Bring them Home ✊ | Israel’s Breaking Point, Washington’s Turning Point 🧭 | The Danger of Conflating Antizionism with Antisemitism 🇮🇱 | This Week’s Must-Reads/ Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.

This Week: House Democrats Take Action to Save Children in Gaza 📣 | Every Bomb is a Choice 💣 | Time for Jewish Institutional Leaders to Get Off the Sidelines ✡️ | The Message from Israel: End the War. Bring them Home ✊ | Israel’s Breaking Point, Washington’s Turning Point 🧭 | The Danger of Conflating Antizionism with Antisemitism 🇮🇱 | This Week’s Must-Reads/ Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more. 📣 100+ House Dems Join J Street-backed Gaza Letters: A massive thank you to the thousands of J Streeters across the country who signed petitions and called their representatives to rally support for two major congressional letters to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Humanitarian Visas: Representatives Debbie Dingell and Kim Schrier led a letter signed by 142 Members of Congress – more than two-thirds of House Democrats – urging the State Department to reinstate humanitarian visas for Gazans – including children in need of urgent medical care. Get Baby Formula Into Gaza: Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Brittany Pettersen championed a second letter signed by 103 Members of Congress calling for a surge of humanitarian aid – with a focus on infant formula. J Street welcomed these letters, stating: “The United States has the power to save innocent lives by restoring the visa program and ensuring a surge of humanitarian aid. Failure to do so is not an inevitability of war – it is a deliberate policy choice.” Read more >> Tell Secretary Rubio: Stop punishing Gaza’s children >> 💣 Policy Chief Ilan Goldenberg: Every Bomb is a Choice: Earlier this week, Israel struck Nasser Hospital in Gaza, killing 20 people, including five journalists. Netanyahu expressed regret for the “tragic mishap.” The Israeli military later said the target was a “Hamas camera.” Videos verified by the New York Times show journalists regularly filming from that location. “I don’t believe Israel deliberately targeted journalists, but at this point I don’t know if that even matters. The pattern is clear: two years into this war, Israel continues to weigh the marginal value of killing a Hamas operative against the enormous moral, legal, and strategic costs of striking civilian facilities – and keeps choosing to strike.” Read more >> ✡️ National Director of Communal Relations Sam Berkman in The Forward: "Avoiding any acknowledgement of responsibility the Israeli government has in ending the Gaza war, much of Jewish institutional leadership today appears to have reverted back to old tendencies. Placing themselves on the sidelines, they have enabled extremists in Israel to drag the country down a path of endless conflict, occupation and fading democracy that most U.S. Jews are against." Read and share here >> ✊ The Message from Israel: End the War. Bring them Home. J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir writes, "I wish I could convey to you the energy on the streets this past week. I wish you could stand here with me and feel the red-hot anger. Hear the demands from the mothers and fathers of those still held captive by Hamas. See the proud peace advocates holding up images of Gaza’s children, refusing to let anyone look away." Read more >> 🧭 Israel’s Breaking Point, Washington’s Turning Point: In the latest Word on the Street Live, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami and Ilan Goldenberg discuss the situation on the ground: The devastating hospital bombing in Gaza, reports of confirmed famine, and the growing frustration inside Israel itself as hostage families and hundreds of thousands of protesters defy Netanyahu and demand a ceasefire deal. Watch here >> 🇮🇱 The Danger of Conflating Antizionism with Antisemitism: J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, “Some criticism of Israel crosses into antisemitism, just as criticism of any country can spill into prejudice. But declaring that opposition to occupation or even Zionism itself is inherently antisemitic erases legitimate dissent and equates Jewish identity with the policies of a state. And if Jewish identity is tied to Israeli behavior, then when Prime Minister Netanyahu pursues extremist policies — from his judicial coup to de facto annexation — the message to the world becomes: This is what all Jews want.” Read Jeremy’s full Substack here >> 📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens: [Audio] Tamar Ish Shalom in Conversation With Ilan Goldenberg Tamar Ish Shalom speaks with Ilan Goldenberg on the Jewish Crossroads podcast about his work in the Obama and Biden Administrations, his role in the Harris campaign and his perspective on the current moment. What Are 'Snapback Sanctions' and What Comes Next? The latest J Street Policy Center explainer unpacks the implications of the 'snapback' mechanism, which allows any participant in the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) to reimpose the UN sanctions that the deal had lifted. That mechanism will expire on October 18, 2025. The E3 (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) announced this week that they would trigger snapback to reimpose the sanctions due to Iran’s continued violations of its commitments. All of this could have been avoided if President Trump had not withdrawn from the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2018. The Zionist Case for Palestinian Statehood (And Against Fatalism) Yehuda Kurtzer writes for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “A better way forward is for supporters of Israel to embrace – with caveats, and in partnership with the many Israelis and Palestinians who are working to change the status quo – the process of building towards Palestinian statehood by encouraging it to take root under a set of conditions that are in Israel’s long-term interest.” Israel’s Unprecedented Slaughter of Journalists in Gaza Ishaan Tharoor writes for The Washington Post, "As international media has not been allowed by Israel to freely enter or report from Gaza, local journalists have shouldered the burden of covering the war alone – and paid a bitter price. The latest example came Monday when the Israeli military killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, when it struck Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, hitting the facility once shortly after 10am local time and then targeting it again in what’s known as a 'double tap' strike as reporters and first responders gathered at the scene." Israel Needs Women in Leadership J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir writes for The Jerusalem Post, "Every Israeli poll tells the same discouraging story, and not because of the numbers but because of the photos above them. They are all men: the current leaders, the aspiring leaders, the future leaders. Today, not one woman heads a political party or is considered a serious candidate for national leadership." 🗳️  Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List: Tell Secretary Rubio: Stop punishing Gaza’s children >>

[J Street Communications]

This week: Time for Congress to Say No to Annexation and Recognize Palestine ✅ | Red Alert for Annexation 🚨 | Trump’s Petty, Dangerous Palestinian Ban ❌ | Norm Eisen Talks Democracy Under Fire 🎙️ | How Strong is Hamas Today? ⚔️ | In Case You Missed It 🗞️ | This Week’s Must-Reads/ Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.

This Week: Time for Congress to Say No to Annexation and Recognize Palestine ✅ | Red Alert for Annexation 🚨 | Trump’s Petty, Dangerous Palestinian Ban ❌ | Norm Eisen Talks Democracy Under Fire 🎙️ | How Strong is Hamas Today? ⚔️ | In Case You Missed It 🗞️ | This Week’s Must-Reads/ Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more. ✅ Time for Congress to Say No to Annexation and Recognize Palestine: With the Israeli government intent on taking over Gaza and teetering on the precipice of de jure annexation of the West Bank, J Street is proud to support a landmark letter in the House backing US recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state. Why Now? Need Help Responding to Others? Our communications team has put together a Truth vs Talking Points resource on the push for recognition – explaining our position and responding to common talking points from the other side. Read and share the resource here >> Add Your Name, Call Your Member: J Street is rallying its national grassroots movement behind the push for recognition. You can read, sign and share our petition here >> 🔍 Dig Deeper:J Street Policy Fellow Jen Gavito explains why US recognition of Palestine – done conditionally and in phases – would help push back against annexation, reestablish American leverage over the Palestinian Authority, weaken Hamas and enhance Israel’s long-term security. Read here >> 🚨 Red Alert for Annexation: This week, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly called for Israel to officially annex roughly 82% of the occupied West Bank – a move that would shatter Israel’s democracy, push it deeper into pariah status and implode prospects for peace and regional integration. Deepening Jewish Alienation: “The Smotrich vision undermines the US-Israel relationship, detonates any chance of further regional integration and alienates Israel further from the Jewish diaspora and supporters of liberal democracy abroad. Pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy leaders in Congress and our community must speak out against this plan,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami wrote. Read more >> ❌ Trump’s Petty, Dangerous Palestinian Ban: This week, Trump took the extraordinary step of barring all Palestinians from entering the US and denying their leaders the right to represent them at the UN.  Capricious, Incoherent and Unreliable: “By breaking core American obligations of the UN Headquarters Agreement for narrow political motives – while still honoring them for Russian, Chinese, and Iranian officials – Trump is signaling to the world that we are a capricious, incoherent and unreliable partner with no respect for the rule of law and international agreements,” J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg wrote. Read more >> 🎙️ Norm Eisen Talks Democracy Under Fire in Israel and the US: In the latest Word on the Street Live, Jeremy and Ilan sat down with Ambassador Norm Eisen, who has long worked on the front lines of democracy – from serving as President Obama’s ethics counsel to serving as co-counsel during Trump’s first impeachment. Watch here >> ⚔️ How Strong is Hamas Today? “Hamas no longer has the capability to repeat October 7, but its guerrilla tactics have rendered Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas even more elusive,” write Khalil Sayegh, Executive Director of the Agora Initiative, and Avraham Spraragen, J Street Policy and Research Coordinator. The J Street Policy Center’s latest explainer provides in-depth analysis on topics including: Hamas’ military capability, finances, ongoing human rights abuses, leadership structure, and uncertain status in a ‘day after.’ Read more > 🗞️ In Case You Missed It:  🧑‍⚖️ Judge Pierces Antisemitism ‘Smokescreen’ in Harvard Case: A judge reversed funding cuts and found the White House likely “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”  🛑 Netanyahu Rejects Hamas Readiness for War-Ending Hostage Deal as ‘Spin’: Netanyahu has been advocating a comprehensive deal to end the war lately, but it has become clear that his interpretation is very different from Hamas. ⛓️ Intelligence Data: Militants Account for Only 1 in 4 Gaza Detainees: A classified Israeli army database indicates the vast majority of Palestinians who have been arrested in Gaza and held in detention are civilians, a joint investigation finds. ⚖️ International Association of Genocide Scholars says Israel is Committing Genocide: The vote by the group – which has around 500 members worldwide including a number of Holocaust experts – is a significant moment. Israel has rejected the charge. ⚠️ UAE Warns White House That Annexations Could Unravel Abraham Accords: The UAE was the first Arab country to condemn the October 7 attacks, has maintained relations with Israel and even worked with the Israeli government on a post-war plan. 📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens: A Rogue Force Operates in Gaza Under IDF Cover, Endangering Soldiers and Unarmed Palestinians Yaniv Kubovich and Josh Breiner write in Haaretz, "You can see them across the Gaza Strip, almost everywhere. Teams of people operating heavy equipment for one purpose: demolition. They aren't part of a regular military unit, but rather small groups that form through independent initiatives. They are civilians, many of them settlers, who are mobilized into the reserves through contracting companies. The goal is to destroy buildings and tunnels, or in the common words of those involved: 'to flatten Gaza.'" The Meeting That Haunts Netanyahu to This Day Peter Lerner writes for Jewish News, "Bringing the PA into Gaza after Hamas is dismantled would be a political earthquake for Netanyahu. That’s why he has chosen the path of armed clans and gangs. To bring back the PA to Gaza would be an admittance that his policy of division was a failure. That Hamas was not contained. That the Palestinian Authority, whom he dismissed and derided, was not the problem, but part of the solution." From Scapegoat to Pretext: How Trump Is Weaponizing Antisemitism for Political Gain Sebastien Levi writes in The Jerusalem Post, "As with issues like immigration, crime, or rising prices, Trump does not seek to solve problems but to seize them in order to discredit and trap his opponents. The king of political instrumentalization has found in antisemitism a winning formula." 🗳️  Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List: Tell Congress: Recognize Palestinian Statehood >>

Tell Secretary Rubio: Stop punishing Gaza’s children >>

Tell Jewish leaders: We must speak out to end the war >> American Jews say: Bring them home. End the war >>

Order or download posters or yard signs to share our message >>  Find pro-Israel, pro-democracy, pro-peace candidates at JStreetPAC.org >> Sign up for J Street’s 2026 National Convention >>

[J Street Communications]

This week: J Street Endorses Full House Democratic Leadership 🏛️ | J Street Responds to Charlie Kirk Assassination 🇺🇸 | Killing the Negotiators Won’t Save the Hostages ⚠️ | No More Blank Checks ✍️ | A Horrific Jerusalem Terror Attack 🕯️| Randi Weingarten on Why Fascists Fear Teachers 🎙️ | Reforming the Palestinian Authority 🔍 | Netanyahu: The Real Patron of Hamas 🎁 | This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.

This Week: J Street Endorses Full House Democratic Leadership 🏛️ | J Street Responds to Charlie Kirk Assassination 🇺🇸 | Killing the Negotiators Won’t Save the Hostages ⚠️ | No More Blank Checks ✍️ | A Horrific Jerusalem Terror Attack 🕯️| Randi Weingarten on Why Fascists Fear Teachers 🎙️ | Reforming the Palestinian Authority 🔍 | Netanyahu: The Real Patron of Hamas 🎁 | This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more. 🏛️ J Street Endorses Full House Democratic Leadership: For the first time, every top-ranking House Democrat is endorsed by J Street. Our endorsees now comprise 60% of the Democratic Members of the House and Senate. Read more >> 🇺🇸 J Street Responds to Charlie Kirk Assassination: The horrors of political violence are tearing at the fabric of our nation and only pushing us further from the solutions we so desperately need. President Trump’s response, which appears to be laying the groundwork for retribution against political opponents and the “radical left,” is a distressing, flashing warning sign. “Whatever one thinks of Charlie Kirk’s views, the murder of the 31-year-old founder of the nation’s leading right-wing youth movement should shock us all. Another brutal, public shooting on an American college campus. A wife and two young children whose worlds have been shattered.” Read more >> ⚠️ Killing the Negotiators Won’t Save the Hostages: Netanyahu’s decision to target Hamas political leaders as they were reportedly meeting to consider the ceasefire proposal is the latest sign that his government is putting endless war above the wellbeing of the hostages and Israel’s own future.  J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg: “You can vehemently oppose Hamas’ commitment to terror and its vile leadership and also recognize that by targeting negotiators, this strike will undermine what should be the top priority – getting hostages home, ending the war and surging aid into Gaza.” Read more >> Briefing on the Impact of Israel’s Qatar Strikes: In the hours after the attack, Jeremy, Ilan and J Street Policy Fellow Frank Lowenstein discussed what the implications could be for the hostages, for the US’s international standing and for Israel. Watch here >> ✍️ No More Blank Checks: In just the past few weeks, Netanyahu’s government has launched its reckless Gaza City offensive, brazenly published maps signaling imminent plans to annex much of the West Bank, and stood by as violent settlers attack Palestinian communities and force them from their homes. The time has come for Congress to set clear boundaries on arms sales and transfers to send a clear message: Prime Minister Netanyahu, no more blank checks. No more military support for the war in Gaza and no support ever for annexation. Read more >> 🔍 Dig Deeper:The J Street Policy Center lays out why the US should place restrictions on offensive arms sales to Israel. Read here >> 🕯️ A Horrific Jerusalem Terror Attack: On Monday, there was a deadly shooting in Jerusalem, which killed six people and wounded several more. On Friday, there was yet another attack, severely injuring two (as of writing).  J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami: “We’re absolutely horrified and devastated by this attack. Our hearts are with the victims’ families as we hope for a full recovery for the injured. We’re grateful the attackers were stopped before more lives were taken. Hamas’ statement ‘welcoming’ this atrocity is grotesque and underscores why the group must never again hold power in Gaza.” Read more >> 🎙️ Randi Weingarten on Why Fascists Fear Teachers: On Wednesday, Ilan spoke with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers and Vice Chair of J Street’s Board of Directors. They spoke about her work countering right-wing authoritarianism and the Trump Administration’s efforts to target education and free speech under the guise of fighting antisemitism. Watch the full Word on the Street Live>> 🔍 Reforming the Palestinian Authority: J Street Policy Fellow Larry Garber writes, “A principal concern for Palestinians has been the absence of regular elections, which has left political leaders largely unaccountable.” Read more >> 🎁 Netanyahu: The Real Patron of Hamas. Ilan debunks the argument that recognition of Palestinian statehood would be a “gift to Hamas.” He writes, “The truth is the opposite: recognition is meant as a direct counter to Hamas. And if anyone has consistently empowered Hamas over the past 15 years, it is Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies.” Read more >> 📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens: Encased in Amber: Biden’s Wars and the Unmaking of Liberal Foreign Policy Matt Duss writes in the Nation, “Woodward wants us to believe that, despite the evidence of our lying eyes, the Biden administration’s commitment to process was enough. But Trump’s reelection represents a refutation of that dodge. He is the consequence that the elites running the Democratic Party are now forced to confront—along with the rest of us.” Homeless and Hungry, Gazans Fear a Repeat of 1948 History Raja Abdulrahim writes in The New York Times, "Mr. Abu Samra, now 87 and frail, has been stuck in southern Gaza, in a tent of tarps, a curtain and blankets. Once again, he is scared, hungry and separated from most of his family, just as he was as a boy. 'I always think, talk, and dream' of going home, he said." Another Bloody Day Reminds Israelis That Netanyahu Has Failed as 'Mr. Security' Amir Tibon writes in Haaretz, "Netanyahu is trying to distract Israelis from the endless list of failures he presides over by highlighting tactical stunts that have little impact on reality. Just minutes before the army announced the deaths of the soldiers, he released a bombastic statement about 'collapsing Gaza's skyscrapers.'"

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 This week: Netanyahu Launches Gaza City Ground Invasion ⚠️ | Raising the Alarm Over Rampant West Bank Violence 🚨 | The New York Times on Trump, Netanyahu and an Israel Without Restraint 💰| We Must Reject Political Violence ☮️ | Are Campuses Antisemitic? 🎙️ | Has Israel Become a Pariah State? 🇮🇱 | This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.

This Week: Netanyahu Launches Gaza City Ground Invasion ⚠️ | Raising the Alarm Over Rampant West Bank Violence 🚨 | The New York Times on Trump, Netanyahu and an Israel Without Restraint 💰| We Must Reject Political Violence ☮️ | Are Campuses Antisemitic? 🎙️| Has Israel Become a Pariah State? 🇮🇱 | This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more. ⚠️ Netanyahu Launches Gaza City Ground Invasion, Deepens Israel’s International Isolation: On Tuesday, the Israeli government launched a full ground invasion into Gaza City – which has put hundreds of thousands in grave danger and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee. Over 100,000 reservists have been called up for what may be a months-long operation. Defense Minister Katz proclaimed that ‘Gaza is burning’ – continuing a string of appalling comments. We share the alarm of hostage families who fear this will place their loved ones in mortal danger. Finance Minister Smotrich described Gaza as a "real estate bonanza," saying that a “business plan is on President Trump's desk.” Joking to a live audience, he said "we've done the demolition phase... now we need to build.” Prime Minister Netanyahu boasted that Israel will become “Super Sparta” – a hyper-militaristic, self-reliant society, isolated from the rest of the world. “This is not a vision for Israel’s future that its supporters in our community can recognize,” we wrote in response. “It’s a plan only to deepen Israel’s path to pariah status and accelerate its moral and political decline.” When Israeli stocks immediately dipped after his speech, Netanyahu was forced to clarify he had “full confidence” in Israel’s economy. Our Response: “It has become inescapably clear that for the extremists at the helm of the Netanyahu government, the goal is not the release of hostages nor the defeat of Hamas, but the destruction of Gaza and indefinite occupation of the Strip [...] The US must stop fueling this destruction, prohibit our weapons from use in Gaza and press urgently for negotiations that can free the hostages and bring this nightmare to an end. Read and share the full statement>> 🚨 Raising the Alarm Over Rampant West Bank Violence: On Thursday, we held a briefing on the situation in the West Bank, where the rate of settlement construction, home demolitions and rampant settler terrorism is worse than we’ve ever seen.  We were joined by Eid Hathaleen, a peace activist from Umm al-Khair whose cousin was murdered by a violent settler in July, and Yehuda Shaul, a former IDF soldier and leading Israeli anti-occupation policy expert. Watch and share >> This week, J Street leaders were on Capitol Hill calling attention to the spiral in the West Bank and demanding action – including by rallying support for the West Bank Violence Prevention Act. Sign our petition, share with your friends and call your senators here >> 💰 The New York Times on Trump, Netanyahu and an Israel Without Restraint:  Trump’s Laissez-Faire Stance Gives Netanyahu Free Pass for Gaza Escalation [🎁 Gift Link] “At the start of the Trump Administration there was real hope that he would pick up on the cease-fire that he and Biden negotiated together and use his leverage to end the war in Gaza,” J Street Policy Chief Ilan Goldenberg tells the New York Times. “Sadly that has not happened. Instead, at every step of the way he’s given Netanyahu a blank check.” Netanyahu and an Israel Without Restraint [🎁 Gift Link] With the assault on Gaza City, Netanyahu has piled defiance on defiance and thumbed his nose at the international community and the moral consensus, writes Roger Cohen. “He’s lost it,” Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States told Cohen. “There are no more red lines.” In the West Bank, Trump Is Not Standing in Israel’s Way [🎁 Gift Link] Dr. Phillip Gordon, former national security adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, calls for greater international pressure to stop West Bank annexation. “The government of Mr. Netanyahu should know that it can have flourishing relations with the rest of the world, or total control of the West Bank – but not both.” ☮️ We Must Reject Political Violence: Jeremy Ben-Ami reflects on the uptick of political violence in his latest Substack piece. “We must refuse to join the loudest fringes in the gutter. We must insist on civility, on moderation, on the possibility of community even in the face of division. We must remember to always acknowledge the humanity of those on the other side of our debates. The survival of our democracy depends on it.” Read more>> 🎙️ Are Campuses Antisemitic? In the latest Word on the Street Live, Jeremy spoke with three college students from the University of Michigan, Harvard University and Princeton University. They discussed the debate over campus antisemitism, rollbacks of DEI programs and student efforts to protect free speech. Watch the full Word on the Street Live>> 🇮🇱 Has Israel Become a Pariah State? Israeli chess players withdrawing from a tournament in Spain because they couldn’t compete under their flag; the Netherlands threatening to boycott Eurovision if Israel participates (five countries have now announced they won’t participate if Israel does); a Belgian festival boycotting the Munich Philharmonic over its incoming Israeli conductor; an international cycling team abbreviating its name to avoid the word “Israel” and the protests it triggers. Europe – Israel’s largest trading partner – is starting to consider official economic measures. “The government’s response – usually a tweet or statement from the foreign minister accusing longtime partners of aiding Hamas, falling for propaganda, or being antisemitic – is tone-deaf. Punitive measures like threatening to close consulates in Jerusalem or suspend diplomatic ties are even worse,” J Street’s Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg writes. Read more >> 📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens: Israel’s War in Gaza Must End: For Israel’s Future and Our Shared Humanity, We Only Need Apply US Law J Street Rabbinical Cabinet member Rachel Timoner writes in New York Daily News, “Precisely because we care deeply about Israel’s existence, precisely because we want Israel to have a future, precisely because we care about the safety and well-being of Israelis, American Jewish leaders must change our position. There must be consequences for the Netanyahu government.” Israel's Qatar Attack Was a Costly Failure Barak Ravid writes in Axios, “A week after Israel’s missile strikes in Qatar, it’s clear not only that the assassination attempt against Hamas leaders failed, but that it backfired. The strike increased the feeling inside the Trump administration and around the world that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is reckless and has become a destabilizing force in the region.” Israel Is Orchestrating an Economic Collapse in the West Bank Foreign Policy’s Jessica Buxbaum writes, “As the West Bank’s economic trajectory plummets, there’s likely little that can be done to prevent a total collapse.” Tony Blair’s US-Backed Proposal for Ending the Gaza War and Replacing Hamas Jacob Magid writes for the Times of Israel, “US President Donald Trump has authorized Tony Blair to rally regional and international stakeholders around the former UK prime minister’s proposal to establish a postwar transitional body to govern the Gaza Strip until it can be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, four sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.” 🗳️  Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List:  NEW! Tell Congress: Support the West Bank Violence Prevention Act >>  NEW! Find a No Kings Rally to attend on October 18 >>

Tell Congress: Recognize Palestinian Statehood >>

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