[ ]J Street[ ]
This Week:  Ben-Gvir Does Not Speak for Us 📢 | Yom HaShoah 2025 🕯️ |
Trump’s Attacks on Higher Ed Don’t Stop at the Ivies 🎓 | J Street
Champions Lead the Charge against Trump’s Authoritarian Deportations ✊ |
Vote Hatikvah Before Polls Close! ✡️ | Next Tuesday: The Joint
Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony 🕊️ | The People’s Peace Summit 👐
| This Week’s Must-Reads 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much
more.

 📢 Ben-Gvir Does Not Speak for Us: Ben-Gvir's visit to the US included: A
speaking gig at Mar-a-Lago, boasting about taking away prisoner rights and
a trip to the gun store. His extreme vision for Israel has a lot in common
with the MAGA movement here, and it's a danger to us all.

* Add Your Name: We’re making clear that Ben-Gvir does not represent us.
Not when he sabotages the ceasefire and hostage deal. Not when he
slanders hostage families and peace advocates. Not when he supports
anti-democratic crackdowns. Not when he spouts anti-Palestinian hate.
[ [link removed] ]Add your Name >>

* Students Push Back: J Street U student leader and policy intern Liam
Hamama condemns Ben-Gvir’s visit to Yale University, “Those who
glorify violent terrorists should never be treated as if their views
fall within the bounds of acceptable discourse. So, just as we would
never offer a platform or a dinner invitation to Vladimir Putin, a
Hamas supporter or a white supremacist who venerates Dylann Roof, we
should not do so for Itamar Ben-Gvir.” [ [link removed] ]Read the full piece in the
Yale Daily News >>

* Ben-Gvir’s Far-Right Bedfellows Say the Quiet Part Out Loud:
Ben-Gvir’s close ally Minister Bezalel Smotrich [ [link removed] ]said Monday that
returning the hostages was “not the most important goal.” “The only
truth is that for your messianic and psychopathic delusions, you are
willing to sacrifice my Matan and an entire country,” responded Einav
Zangauker, mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker.

🕯️ Yom HaShoah 2025: Wednesday night marked the start of Yom HaShoah. A
time for remembering the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis. Never Again
isn't just a slogan. It's a call to action. Let us honor the memories of
those we lost by standing up for the safety of Jews and targeted
minorities around the world. Together, we must stand up to
authoritarianism and tyranny to create a safe and free future for all.

🎓 Trump’s Attacks on Higher Ed Don’t Stop at the Ivies: While universities
like Harvard and Columbia dominate the headlines, Trump’s attacks on
higher-ed are reshaping campuses across the country, endangering the very
Jewish students Trump claims to be protecting.

* A Student’s Perspective from Iowa: J Street U leader Alliyah Kazan,
shares her experience at the University of Iowa, “Since the new
administration returned to the White House, there has been a
widespread sense of fear on campus among both staff and students. I
have personally seen professors unwilling to post lecture slides for
students to review outside of class, even on subjects like the
Holocaust, out of fear of retaliation from the university.” [ [link removed] ]Read
Alliyah’s full piece in the Des Moines Register >>

* University Presidents Fight Back: Over 200 University Presidents have
signed a letter condemning the Trump Administration's threats to
withhold federal funding to get them to comply with its demands.
[ [link removed] ]Read here >>

✊ J Street Champions Lead the Charge against Trump’s Authoritarian
Deportations: As the Trump Administration deports immigrants to Salvadoran
torture prisons with no due process and ICE agents disappear student
protesters for their political views, J Street allies are fighting back.

* Senator Chris Van Hollen, one of J Street’s staunchest allies, [ [link removed] ]flew
to El Salvador to demand the release of Maryland resident Kilmar
Abrego Garcia. This week, more Democrats are [ [link removed] ]visiting Abrego Garcia
to ramp up the pressure further. 

* Vermont Senator Peter Welch, another strong ally of J Street, [ [link removed] ]met
with detained Columbia Student Mohsen Mahdawi on Monday. Mohsen shared
his deep hope for a “peaceful resolution between Palestinians and
Israelis.”

* We’re grateful to these Senators for treating these cruel deportations
for what they are, authoritarian power grabs that threaten the
foundations of our democracy.

✡️  Vote Hatikvah Before Polls Close! Voting for the World Zionist
Congress closes on May 4. $5 billion is at stake – will it go to promoting
democracy, peace and a ceasefire and hostage deal, or to building
settlements and empowering extremists? We’re proud to support the Hatikvah
Slate to defend democracy, stop annexation and bring the hostages home.
[ [link removed] ]Vote here >>

🕊️  Next Tuesday: The Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony. J
Street is proud to once again sponsor the annual Joint Memorial Day
Ceremony, the largest Israeli-Palestinian jointly organized peace event in
history. The ceremony provides a unique opportunity for Israelis and
Palestinians to grieve together and stand strong in demanding an end to
the occupation and ongoing violence. [ [link removed] ]Learn more and register here >>

👐  The People’s Peace Summit: On May 8-9, 60 Israeli civil society and
peace organizations – Jewish and Palestinian – will host The People’s
Peace Summit in Jerusalem to demand a different future and to transform
the Israeli peace camp into a cohesive and powerful force for change.
[ [link removed] ]Join or host a global solidarity action in your area >>

* [ [link removed] ]Watch a powerful video about last years peace summit 👇[ [link removed] ][IMG]

📖  This Week’s Must-Reads:

* Many Jews say Trump is Politicizing the Fight Against Antisemitism:
“There is a very troubling pattern of codifying into state and local
law — as well as attempts at the federal level — a definition of
antisemitism that includes criticism of Israeli government actions and
policies that would have the effect not simply of chilling speech, but
criminalizing it,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. [ [link removed] ]Read
the full Washington Post article >>

* Democrats, Republicans and Double Standards on Israel and
Antisemitism: “How is it that Democrats are constantly being accused
of being weak in their support for Israel and not tough enough on
antisemitism, when the objective reality is that they have been so
much better than Donald Trump on these issues? This was a deeply
frustrating phenomenon that I experienced during the Presidential
campaign,” J Street Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer
Ilan Goldenberg writes. [ [link removed] ]Read here >>

🗳️ Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List:

[16][ ] [ [link removed] ]Register for the 2025 Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day
Ceremony Next Tuesday>>

[18][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Find Pro-Israel, Pro-Democracy, Pro-Peace candidates at
JStreetPAC.org >>

[20][ ] [ [link removed] ]Vote for the Hatikvah Slate for the World Zionist Congress >>

[22][ ]  Pro-Democracy Actions Near You: Find a local action where you can
make a concrete difference in your community and around the country.
[ [link removed] ]Sign up for in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities here >>

[24][ ] Mark Your Calendar for [ [link removed] ]the People’s Peace Summit, May 8-9, and
[ [link removed] ]sign up to join or host a global solidarity action in your area >>

[27][ ] [ [link removed] ]Sign up for J Street’s 2026 National Convention >>

[29][ ] Share these actions with a friend!

✅ Thank you to everyone who signed our petition and joined us in
protesting Ben-Gvir’s visit!

[ [link removed] ]Check out and share the regularly updated Pro-Democracy To-Do List on
our website >>

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© 2025 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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