[ ]J Street[ ]
[ [link removed] ]End the War | Free the Hostages | Surge Aid

This Week: Jewish Leaders Speak Out 📣 | Pressure Builds in Washington 🏛️ |
J Street Mourns Killing of Palestinian Activist Awdah Hathaleen 🕯️ |
Public Calls, Rallies and Conversations 🎥 | J Street Welcomes French and
British Pledges to Recognize Palestinian Statehood 🇵🇸 | This Week’s
Must-Reads 📖 | Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List 🗳️ | And much more.

Friends, 

It feels as if a dam is beginning to break. 

Since we wrote our call to action last week, we’ve seen a flurry of
initiatives in Congress and a growing number of influential people and
organizations are speaking out against the horror in Gaza and the need to
stop mass starvation and seal a war-ending hostage deal. 

📣 Jewish Leaders Speak Out: In recent days, more and more Jewish leaders
and institutions are calling for an end to the war, a hostage deal and a
surge of aid to Gaza.

* The Reform Movement – the largest Jewish denomination in America
– released a [ [link removed] ]powerful statement saying that “denying basic
humanitarian aid crosses a moral line.”

* The Conservative/Masorti Movement [ [link removed] ]called for “urgent action to
alleviate civilian suffering and ensure aid delivery, as leaders
continue to focus on returning the hostages and ending this war.”

* Over 1,000 rabbis from around the world [ [link removed] ]released an open letter
calling for Netanyahu to “stop at once the use and threat of
starvation as a weapon of war.” ([ [link removed] ]ask your rabbi to sign it here)

* [ [link removed] ]The National Council of Jewish Women, [ [link removed] ]Jewish Democratic Council
of America and [ [link removed] ]Israel Policy Forum have also spoken out. 

We have to keep the momentum going. [ [link removed] ]Share our petition here >>

🏛️ Pressure Builds in Washington: We’re seeing a really significant shift
in DC as the pressure mounts to end this horrific war, get hostages home
and surge aid into Gaza.

* Senators Vote on Joint Resolution of Disapproval: An unprecedented
majority of Democratic senators voted to disapprove of two offensive
weapons transfers, sending a strong message of opposition to the
Netanyahu government.

* The fact that 27 senators – all long-time supporters of Israel
– took such a tough vote is a sobering and significant milestone.
These were votes of courage and conscience which have already
prompted right-wing attacks and disinformation. J Street is
committed to defending and supporting these Senators going
forward. [ [link removed] ]Read more >>

* Overwhelming Majority of Senate Democrats Join Gaza Outcry: A total of
44 Senate Democrats, led by Senators Adam Schiff, Brian Schatz, Jacky
Rosen, and Leader Chuck Schumer – have [ [link removed] ]called for urgent US
pressure to end the war, surge aid into Gaza, get hostages out and
draw a red line against forced displacement. 

* House and Senate Democrats Demand Action on Humanitarian Aid: J Street
champions in the [ [link removed] ]House and [ [link removed] ]Senate have led demands for action
on humanitarian aid, including calling for funding to be restored to
international aid agencies and requesting investigations into the Gaza
Humanitarian Foundation. 

* West Bank Violence Prevention Act Reaches 48 Cosponsors: J Street is
continuing to urge representatives to support the legislation to
codify Biden-era sanctions and provide a measure of justice and
deterrence in the West Bank. [ [link removed] ]Tell Congress to act on West Bank
settler violence >>

🕯️ J Street Mourns Killing of Palestinian Activist Awdah Hathaleen: On
Monday, we received the tragic news that Palestinian peace activist Awdah
Hathaleen was killed by extremist settler Yinon Levi. Awdah was a dear
friend and partner to many in the J Street community and many of us –
including the Members of Congress and staff we bring to the region – have
visited Awdah and his community, Umm al-Khair.

* “This violence is not random. It is the tragic result of an Israeli
government that enables and empowers violent settler extremists and
refuses to hold perpetrators accountable,” we wrote. “Levi was
previously sanctioned by the United States under the Biden
Administration for his role in attacks against Palestinians. On the
very first day of his second term, President Trump made the reckless
decision to revoke sanctions on violent settlers, including Levi.”
[ [link removed] ]Read our full statement >>

🎥 Public Calls, Rallies and Conversations:

* National Mobilization Call: End The Gaza War: On Thursday, more than
1,000 of our supporters joined us for a mobilization call with leaders
from the Reform Movement, Reconstructing Judaism, UnXeptable, T’ruah,
Shalom Hartman Institute, Israel Policy Forum, New Jewish Narrative,
New Israel Fund and Partners for Progressive Israel. [ [link removed] ]Watch here >>

* Israeli Voices Against the War: On Tuesday we hosted a call with
Israeli anti-war advocates including a hostage family member, a combat
soldier refusing to return to serve in Gaza and a peace advocate
rallying for coexistence. [ [link removed] ]Watch now >>

* Jeremy Joins Mehdi Hasan and Tommy Vietor: In a wide ranging
conversation hosted by Crooked Media, Jeremy and Mehdi dove into some
of the most contested questions facing the Democratic party: Should
the US cut off military aid to Israel? Should Democrats support
Palestinian statehood? And can the party hold together a coalition
that includes both progressive critics of Israel and liberal Zionists?
[ [link removed] ]Watch now >>

* Jeremy on The Left Hook: J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami and Haris
Tarin, the VP of MPAC, joined The Left Hook host Wajahat Ali, to
discuss their joint statement and standing against Israel’s actions in
Gaza.[ [link removed] ]Watch here >>

* Jen Rubin on Gaza and the Fight for Democracy: J Street Chief Policy
Officer Ilan Goldenberg sat down with Jennifer Rubin for this week's
Word on the Street Live. They discussed how the dam is breaking in the
political world and Jewish community over the suffering of
innocents. [ [link removed] ]Watch here >>

🇵🇸  J Street Welcomes French and British Pledges to Recognize Palestinian
Statehood: “Importantly, as both France and the UK have made clear, Hamas
must not govern Gaza after the war. At the same time, by anchoring this
decision within a broader regional and diplomatic strategy, France and the
United Kingdom are also sending a message to the government and people of
Israel that the only path toward regional integration is through the
23-State solution that J Street has long endorsed – and not through
endless war and mass displacement.” [ [link removed] ]Read more >>



📖 This Week’s Must-Reads:

* [ [link removed] ]J Street and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Say “Enough”
J Street and MPAC wrote, “As we join together from different faiths
and backgrounds, we are united by a moral imperative to protect
innocent lives. As advocates for our respective communities, and as
Americans concerned about global stability and the integrity of US
foreign policy, we cannot remain silent in the face of mass
suffering.”
* [ [link removed] ]Israel Has the Power to End the War in Gaza and It Must
Ilan Goldenberg debunks three myths used to justify the Gaza war: “1.
The Israeli government has done all it can in ceasefire/hostage
negotiations and the problem lies exclusively with Hamas; 2. The
humanitarian crisis is primarily due to Hamas diversion of aid and UN
refusal to deliver aid; and 3. Military operations must continue in
order to defeat Hamas.”

* [ [link removed] ]The Violent Gaza-ification of the West Bank
Nimrod Novik, a former advisor to Shimon Peres, writes in Time,
"Israeli extremists and radicalized Palestinians feed on each other,
using each other to justify violence, killing innocents, vandalizing
property, and risking a major conflagration in the process."

* [ [link removed] ]Answering Ezra Klein’s Challenge: Can Zionism and Liberalism Be
Reconciled?
Jeremy Ben-Ami writes on Substack, "Jews all over the world – in
Israel, the US and globally – will determine whether liberalism and
Zionism are ultimately reconcilable. It’s on us to ensure that
Bibi-ism, Ben Gvir-ism and Smotrich-ism do not define Zionism or – god
forbid - 21st century Jewish identity.

* [ [link removed] ]Is Starvation in Gaza Really Israel’s Fault? The Facts Are Clear,
Emily Tamkin writes in The Forward, “It is not a defense of Hamas, an
extremist and exploitative organization that has held dozens of
innocent people hostage for hundreds of days, to say that Israel bears
responsibility for starvation in Gaza. We know this because Israeli
officials have, for months — indeed, since the start of the war — not
only admitted to working to restrict the aid that makes its way to
Gaza, but bragged about doing so."

🗳️  Our Pro-Democracy To-Do List:

[30][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Tell Congress to take action on settler violence >>

[32][ ]  [ [link removed] ]American Jews say: Bring them home. End the war >>

[34][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Download posters or yard signs to amplify our message >>

[36][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Tell Netanyahu to stop blocking aid >>

[38][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Call your Member of Congress and tell them you oppose the
Gaza war >>

[40][ ]  [ [link removed] ]Find pro-Israel, pro-democracy, pro-peace candidates at
JStreetPAC.org >>

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

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



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

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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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