This Week: Winds of Change in the Democratic Party ⬅️ | A Horrifying Terror Attack on Yom Kippur 🕯️ | The Promise and Peril of Trump’s Gaza Deal 📄 | No Kings, No Silence 👑 | J Street Deeply Disturbed by FBI Director Cutting Ties With ADL ⚠️ | Drumbeat Against Annexation 🚧 | This is a Time of Jewish Reckoning with Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer 🎙️ | This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.
⬅️ Winds of Change in the Democratic Party: J Street was founded to redefine what it means to be pro-Israel. The old definition of “pro-Israel” – blind loyalty and unconditional support for the Israeli government – is collapsing. This week, the New York Times reports we’re building a stronger, more honest, more sustainable vision of how to support a secure, Jewish and democratic Israel. Read and share the story here [🎁gift link] >>
🕯️ A Horrifying Terror Attack on Yom Kippur: This year, we’ve witnessed a terrifying rise in attacks against the Jewish community, and yesterday, on Yom Kippur, we were devastated to hear news of a car ramming and stabbing attack at a synagogue in Manchester, England. We wrote, “We are horrified and heartbroken by this senseless, deadly terror attack. Our hearts are with the victims, their families, and the Jewish community - both in Manchester and around the world - as we watch our greatest fears realized. This hatred must be universally condemned.”
📄 The Promise and Peril of Trump’s Gaza Deal: On Monday, Trump unveiled a 20-point deal in a joint press conference with Netanyahu. "This moment holds both real promise and tremendous peril. We welcome Trump’s plan, which reflects principles long championed by J Street and the international community – hostages released, an end to the war, aid into Gaza, no displacement or permanent occupation, and Hamas disarmed and removed from power," we wrote. Read our statement >>
- What’s at Stake: “This deal only works if Hamas is forced to [say] yes – and if both Netanyahu and Hamas are forced to follow through on its intent. And that will only happen with sustained and unrelenting pressure and vigilance from the United States.” J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg writes, “And there’s the true peril: If this deal falters – if Hamas refuses, if Netanyahu brings it down, if patience wears thin – then Trump has signaled he would give Netanyahu a green light to ‘finish the job’ and all but flatten Gaza.” Read more >>
- WATCH: Reacting to Trump and Netanyahu's Meeting in DC: Following the White House meeting and press conference between Trump and Netanyahu, J Street experts gathered to offer their reactions and analysis. Watch here >>
👑 No Kings, No Silence: J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami writes, "At my synagogue in Washington DC, Rabbi Jonathan Roos delivered a Rosh Hashanah sermon that ended not in quiet contemplation but with a standing ovation. Trust me: that never happens. That it did demonstrates just how deep the thirst is for principled voices willing to confront the dangers we face." Read the full blog post here >>
⚠️ J Street Deeply Disturbed by FBI Director Cutting Ties With ADL: “While we have had our differences with the ADL over the years, the organization has played a central role in combating antisemitism and extremism in the United States for more than a century. Ending the FBI’s long-term partnership with the ADL, while smearing the organization in this manner, will only embolden extremists and make American Jews less safe.” Read more >>
🚧 Drumbeat Against Annexation: Just prior to the Trump-Netanyahu meeting, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Ranking Members Shaheen, Reed, Warner, Coons, Schatz, and Durbin emphasized President Trump’s recent statement opposing annexation, saying: “This statement underscores the long-standing policy of Republicans and Democrats alike to reject unilateral steps in the West Bank that undermine the prospects for peace.” Read here >>
🎙️ This is a Time of Jewish Reckoning with Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer: Jeremy and Ilan sat down with Yehuda Kurtzer of the Shalom Hartman Institute to dive into the themes of the High Holidays – reflection, atonement, forgiveness and renewal – and how they speak to this complicated moment for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Watch the full Word on the Street Live here >>
📖 This Week’s Must-Reads/Listens:
- Israel, Palestine and the Peace Option
J Street Israel Executive Director Nadav Tamir writes in a letter to the editor in the New York Times, “Recognizing a Palestinian state is not a reward for Hamas, as some suggest, but a reward for us, Israel’s citizens. We need a Palestinian state no less than the Palestinians do because it would end the burden of occupation — one that has eroded our society for decades and, over the past two years, dragged us into a moral and political crisis, threatening Israel’s future.”
- Tony Blair’s Long Experience in the Middle East is Both His Strength and His Weakness
Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka write "After leaving office in 2007, Blair was appointed Middle East envoy by the 'Quartet' of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations — a post that began with great promise but which struggled to deliver dramatic changes in its quest to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians."
