Dear Friends,
It’s been nearly a year since I launched Word on the Street as a place to share personal thoughts in real time on the issues of the day – distinct from the press releases and policy papers of J Street.
I wanted a space to write candidly, process events and push back against the flood of Israel-related commentary that so often comes only from polarized extremes. Between those poles, I saw an opening: A wide, underrepresented middle hungry for serious, principled, nuanced conversation. That’s the space I’ve tried to carve out with Word on the Street.
Today, I’m excited to share how our community on Substack has been growing, and I want you to be part of it 👇
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What began as a personal Substack is becoming something larger: A home for voices across the J Street organization. Going forward, you’ll not only hear from me, but also from other members of our senior team – including Ilan Goldenberg, our Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer – as well as our Policy Center Fellows and occasional guest voices.
We’ve added a weekly Word on the Street LIVE feature, where Ilan and I dig into current issues and interview key figures in politics and policy. You’ll also find our short policy briefing memos from J Street Policy Fellows Frank Lowenstein, Jen Gavito, Yael Patir and Larry Garber, along with regular writings from Nadav Tamir, Director of our Israel Team. This is becoming a one-stop shop for ideas and insights from across J Street.
As we launch this next phase of Word on the Street, I want to restate a few commitments that guided my earliest posts and continue to shape J Street’s mission and work on Substack:
- Beyond the binary. It is both possible and necessary to be pro-Israel and pro-Palestine – to affirm Israel’s right to exist and defend itself while insisting Palestinians deserve freedom and dignity in a state of their own.
- The “two-state solution” is too small. I’ve argued that resolution of this conflict requires bigger thinking – a “23-state solution”: A regional, comprehensive vision that recognizes the interlocking interests of Israel, Palestine and their Arab neighbors.
- The case for the middle of the road. In my first post, I rejected the old line that the middle of the road is only home to yellow stripes and roadkill. In politics, the center is where deals are made, compromises forged and progress secured.
- Unity is not uniformity. Too often, calls for Jewish “unity” are wielded as a cudgel to silence dissent. A healthy Jewish community can – and must – embrace vigorous debate about Israel. Criticizing government policy is not a betrayal of Jewish identity; it is, in fact, an expression of it.
- The next generation gets it. Some older Jewish leaders view young people’s critiques of Israel as rebellion. I see the opposite: A generation that has deeply absorbed values of justice and human dignity – and is now challenging us to live up to them.
Through it all, I’m committed to keeping the candor and honesty that have defined my posts so far – while enriching them with more perspectives and more frequent updates on the issues we know our community cares most about.
In the months ahead, you’ll see more regular updates on the issues that matter most – from the US election, to the war in Gaza, to the growing international push to recognize Palestinian statehood. Some posts will carry my personal voice; others will bring in colleagues whose insights sharpen and deepen our work.
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I’m deeply grateful to all of you who have read, shared and debated these posts over the past year. Now, I hope you’ll join me – and all of us at J Street – in this next phase.
Thank you for joining us,
Jeremy Ben-Ami
J Street President
