AIPAC’s attack on Tom Malinowski wasn’t just a political misfire. It reflects a strategy that treats good-faith criticism of Israel as disloyalty. Support for Israel is built on shared values, not fear and intimidation, writes @jeremybenami.bsky.social 👇 jstreetdotorg.substack.com/p/what-was-a...

This matters. Eight countries – including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Qatar – are saying clearly: Israeli annexation of the West Bank is illegal and dangerous. Ending occupation and protecting Palestinian self-determination is essential to any just future.

J Street’s Tali deGroot tells @cnn.com: This may have been an epic loss for AIPAC, but the influence of big-money, right-wing groups in Democratic primaries isn’t going away. J Street’s in this fight for the long haul, because democracy shouldn’t be for sale.

As Jews committed to democracy and human dignity, this moment demands honesty. The Israeli government’s decision to expand control over the West Bank means more dispossession, more lives ruled by force and more bloodshed for Palestinians – and Israelis.

This isn’t about false equivalence. It’s about moral clarity. @ilangoldenberg.bsky.social argues that ICE in the US and settler violence in the West Bank are not identical – but both reflect state-enabled dispossession and impunity. A necessary read.https://bit.ly/3Mb3sJm

No matter how many millions of dollars AIPAC spends, it cannot bully or intimidate candidates and voters into supporting unconditional fealty to Israel. 🧵1/3 forward.com/fast-forward...

Mark your calendars! Next week, J Street is proud to partner with @ncjw.bsky.social for #ReproShabbat. Jewish organizations across the country will gather to learn about reproductive freedom as a Jewish value. Learn more and join us: ReproShabbat.org

Judaism demands that we resist injustice. ICE is tearing families apart, and the Jewish community is showing up. On Feb 11, we’re taking action outside ICE HQ in DC to say clearly: This violent system must end @truahrabbis.bsky.social @bendthearc.bsky.social 🔗 truah.org/jewsagainstice

American Jews can’t look away. Israeli soldiers and activists warn that settler militias embedded in the IDF are violently driving Palestinians from their land – with state backing. This threatens Israel’s democracy and moral standing. We demand better. https://bit.ly/3NQTQ79

Unconditional support for the Israeli government has lent support to permanent occupation, democratic backsliding and endless war. Jeremy Ben-Ami argues for a new US–Israel relationship rooted in democracy, accountability and human dignity: jstreetdotorg.substack.com/p/a-rupture-...

Israeli strikes continue, and Hamas flirts with escalation. This is exactly what Netanyahu and Hamas want – to keep the deadly status quo. The United States must fully enforce the ceasefire, and Hamas and Israel must abide by it.

These comparisons hurt, and that’s why they matter. ICE raids in Minneapolis and settler violence in the West Bank aren’t identical. But when state power enables dispossession, terror & impunity, the rhyme is impossible to ignore. From Ilan Goldenberg 👇

Today, we’re thinking of the talented journalists without jobs and of the voices whose stories won’t be told. And at J Street, we’re especially concerned by the gutting of foreign reporting. It narrows our worldview and erodes our shared humanity. 1/2

Settler violence is a moral crisis for Israel and the Jewish people. And confronting Jewish-perpetrated violence isn’t betrayal. It’s a responsibility. From J Street leader Daniel Bral:

The Netanyahu government promised to reopen the Rafah crossing to Palestinians. So far, they have only delivered crossings in tiny numbers and the threat of death-by-bureaucracy. The US must intervene and apply the necessary pressure to reopen Rafah.

A political party “taking over” elections is not reform. It’s authoritarianism. Jews know what happens when power concentrates and minority rights disappear. We know where this goes.

This wasn’t just a protest against violence in Arab society. It was a declaration: Israeli democracy requires Jewish-Arab partnership – or it will fail. J Street Israel Director Nadav Tamir on the power of recent joint protests in Tel Aviv:

Praising Hamas, threatening Jewish people and calling for an end to the State of Israel don’t advance justice for Palestinians. It only serves to feed the cycle of extremism and violence that threatens Israelis, Palestinians and Jewish people worldwide.

Five-year-old Liam Ramos is free. Hundreds of other children are not. Detaining kids – toddlers, cancer patients, students on their way to school – isn’t security. It’s cruelty. Our humanity demands better. Our Jewish values demand we fight back.

Mass suffering was already unfolding in northern Gaza in early 2024. But US officials withheld warnings. 2 years later, tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians are dead. US inaction is a moral stain that we can and must learn from and act differently in the future.

Unconditional support is not a strategy. The US-Israel relationship has reached a turning point, and pretending otherwise only deepens the damage. It’s time to define a new relationship, not defend a failed one. From @jeremybenami.bsky.social: jstreetdotorg.substack.com/p/a-rupture-...

Arabs and Jews are marching together, seeing each other as neighbors, honoring each other’s humanity. We stand with the tens of thousands who took to the streets of Tel Aviv to demand the state protect Arab citizens and end violence and neglect.

Religious freedom shouldn’t disappear when it’s inconvenient or when the religion isn’t Christianity. That’s the floor, not the ceiling.

Trump inherited historic leverage over Iran – and threatens to squander it with his chaotic approach. In @foreignaffairs.com, Nate Swanson and J Street’s @ilangoldenberg.bsky.social lay out a smarter path: Restraint, real diplomacy and support for the Iranian people.

Jewish tradition demands action when human dignity is under attack. ICE’s policies are tearing families apart. On Feb 11, Jews will gather near ICE HQ in DC to demand an end to their violence. Join us: truah.org/jewsagainstice #JewsAgainstICE @truahrabbis.bsky.social @bendthearc.bsky.social

1/ In the US, horrifying footage shows ICE agents killing civilians and terrorizing communities in broad daylight. In the West Bank, settlers are filmed beating families and burning homes. As Jews, we are obliged to speak out.

The Rafah crossing in Gaza will reopen this weekend, a crucial step after years of near-total closure. Thousands of sick and wounded Palestinians can access medical care, and families can begin to reunite. The relief is real, but still limited. 1/2

There are very few spaces for serious, values-driven conversations on Israel and US politics. This is one of them. Join us at J Street’s 2026 National Convention in DC, February 28 – March 3. Use code ‘JStreet20’ for 20% off. jstreet.org/convention

Dark money from AIPAC’s Super PAC is flooding NJ-11 with negative ads – aimed at tearing down Democrats in a Democratic primary. This op-ed lays out the facts and why this kind of meddling is so dangerous. 👇

This is incredibly alarming: The FBI seized original 2020 ballots in Georgia at the demand of a president who lost and never accepted it. This is an abuse of power – and how election denial turns into acts of authoritarianism by the state.

“Racist, discriminatory and indefensible.” Progressive American Jewish groups, including J Street, are urging Israeli leaders to stop the death penalty bill advancing in the Knesset. This is not justice. It’s a dangerous break from Jewish and democratic tradition.

Liam Ramos is five years old. ICE detained him after school – tiny in his bright blue winter hat, a superhero backpack nearly bigger than him – and shipped him to a Texas detention center with his dad. Now he’s in poor health. This is who our government is terrorizing. 1/2

Palestinian families in Ras Ein al-Auja held on for years. Through daily attacks and constant harassment, settlers made life unlivable – with full state backing. Now the families are gone. This violates every value we stand for.

As Jews, we know where unchecked state power leads. ICE’s campaign of fear – raids, disappearances, family separation – violates the values we’re taught to live by. This is the moment to act, not look away. Tell Congress: End ICE’s fear campaign 👇

We are inspired by Iran’s protesters, and horrified by a regime that responds with brutality. But Trump’s warmongering doesn’t help. US policy should support protesters through diplomacy and pressure, not threats of force that could make things worse.

1/ A Jewish communal statement: We oppose the death penalty bill advancing in the Knesset. Led by @truahrabbis.bsky.social and joined by our partners, we stand for the sanctity of life and against discriminatory, irreversible punishment.

The full scale of yesterday’s settler terror attack across multiple Palestinian villages is now clear: Arson, assaults, stolen livestock, blocked emergency response. All of the Israeli right’s creation. And all done in our names as the Jewish people.

NEW: Jewish communal organizations agree: Israel's proposed death penalty bill is racist and discriminatory by design and indefensible in principle. A new letter from T'ruah and partners--including New Israel Fund, NCJW, URJ, J Street, and others--out today urges Israeli leaders to oppose the bill.

Over 100 rabbis marched in Minnesota to defend refugees and immigrants. The Torah commands us 36 times to welcome the stranger. Jewish values demand moral courage. Today, rabbis showed up. Tomorrow, we all must.

This is what impunity looks like. Reports of settlers burning villages, stealing livestock and beating residents. This violence is enabled by an Israeli government that refuses accountability. As American Jews, we reject terror and dehumanization – whoever commits it. Credit: Matan Golan

This is not who we are supposed to be. Grabbing refugees off the street, separating parents from children and forcing people who were lawfully resettled to buy their own ticket home. America was built on refuge, not fear. We must live up to that promise.

Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Jewish values call us to defend dignity and resist state violence used to terrorize communities. Tell Congress to demand an end to ICE’s campaign of fear:

When journalists can’t enter Gaza, the public – including the Israeli public – pays the price. Today’s decision by the High Court to again postpone its ruling on foreign journalists’ access to Gaza mattered. Journalism isn’t a danger; it’s a safeguard against moral drift.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We remember six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust – and the vibrant Jewish lives, cultures and futures the Nazis tried to erase. 1/4

The guardrails of democracy are cracking. What’s happening in America and in Israel and Palestine are not separate stories. The antidote to despair is engagement. That’s why we’re coming together in Washington.

Minneapolis is grieving again. Alex Pretti was killed by federal immigration agents, less than three weeks after Renée Good. When state power is used without accountability, democracy is in danger. Jewish values compel us to speak out.

A rabbi arrested protesting ICE. A Torah portion about darkness and light. This op-ed connects Jewish memory, moral courage and the urgent need to resist state violence. Worth your time. Worth sharing.

The remains of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza, have been returned. May his memory be a blessing. We grieve with his family and all who have waited in anguish. 1/3

Free speech is not a deportable offense. DHS built dossiers on pro-Palestinian student activists for speech alone. A federal judge called it unconstitutional. As Jewish Americans and supporters of democracy, we reject this dangerous abuse of power.

“Even a targeted strike can open a Pandora’s box.” In @wsj.com, J Street’s @ilangoldenberg.bsky.social – former Pentagon Iran team chief – warns that strikes on Iran are unlikely to provide meaningful support to protesters and just as likely risk chaos and civil war.