J-street

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) speaks at the 2019 J Street National Conference, October 28, 2019. (Photo courtesy of J Street)

For J Street, holding Israel accountable is still a step too far

J Street’s 2019 conference heralded a new willingness to tie military aid to Israel to its human rights record. But the organization was quick to reaffirm a status quo of unconditional aid — despite ongoing abuses. What at first looked like a sea change on the horizon has turned out to be much less. One week…

By Joshua Leifer and Cafe Gibraltar November 7, 2019

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks at the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship at J Street's 2019 National Gala Dinner, October 28, 2019. (Photo courtesy of J Street)

J Street conference confronts America’s ‘blank check’ to Israel

By making U.S. aid to Israel the central theme of its 2019 conference, J Street is challenging bipartisan support for Israel ahead of 2020. Now that the organization is starting to talk the talk, will it walk the walk?

By Mairav Zonszein November 1, 2019

American Jewish activists protest outside the Birthright offices in New York, April 5, 2019. (GIli Getz)

In these dark times, young American Jews are a ray of hope

The recent campaigns taking aim at Birthright and the American political establishment are more than symbolic — they are sowing the seeds of a powerful resistance movement against Israel’s occupation. By Oren Kroll-Zeldin Passover is a celebration of freedom, justice, and liberation. In Hebrew it is referred to as zman heruteynu, the season of our freedom.…

By +972 Magazine April 24, 2019

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the AIPAC Conference in Washington DC, on March 6, 2018. (Haim Zach/GPO)

American Jewish anti-occupation advocacy needs to go global

The Jewish community’s traditional unconditional support for Israel’s occupation is rapidly changing. Now is the time to present an alternative to those who justify a violent military regime. By Frima (Merphie) Bubis Two months after the U.S. Embassy officially moved to Jerusalem, the President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, hosted AIPAC, America’s largest pro-Israel lobby…

By +972 Magazine July 6, 2018

An activist with IfNotNow is carried away by Israeli police during a Jerusalem Day protest, Jerusalem, May 24, 2017. (JC/Activestills.org)

The Israeli Left can learn a thing or two from American Jews

Where was the Israeli Left when the army tore down a joint Palestinian-Jewish protest camp, or when the police broke the arm of a Jewish American activist in Jerusalem? By Amitai Ben-Abba Freedom Camp in Sarura, South Hebron Hills. On May 29, large army and Border Police forces raided the little that was left in Sarura after…

By +972 Magazine June 8, 2017

J Street U students take part in an anti-BDS summit at the United Nations, March 29, 2017. (Gili Getz)

Can J Street coherently fight both boycott and occupation?

After J Street U students were attacked at an anti-BDS conference this week, the lobby might want to reconsider the effectiveness of seeking common ground with extremists. Things got ugly at an anti-BDS conference at the United Nations this week when participants turned on a group of liberal university students in attendance. The conference, organized by…

By Noa Yachot April 1, 2017

IfNotNow activists form a human chain outside the Washington Convention Center to protest the annual AIPAC Policy Conference, Washington D.C., March 26, 2017. (Gili Getz)

American Jews, which side are you on?

Rather than sit uncomfortably within the tired anti- or pro-Israel paradigm, we are building a reality in which American Jews who disagree with the occupation can take comfort in their Jewish identity. By Shira Yudkin Tiffany Rows of police demarcated the sides outside the annual AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington D.C. Two human chains of protestors in matching t-shirts…

By +972 Magazine March 28, 2017

Did AIPAC help fund an Islamophobic group’s attack-ad on J Street?

If an AIPAC spinoff did, in fact, help fund an attack on J Street it suggests the powerful lobby feels increasingly threatened by the upstart progressive Jewish group. By Eli Clifton The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is going to have a challenging time at its annual policy conference this weekend persuading attendees and…

By +972 Magazine March 23, 2017

American Jewish activists take part in an anti-occupation demonstration, Washington, D.C., February 25, 2017. (Daniel McGarrity Photography/CC 2.0)

A Palestinian woman finds hope in American Jewish resistance

At the progressive Jewish conference of the year, a Palestinian politician wins rousing applause and a former U.S. presidential candidate talks of the injustices caused by the founding of the State of Israel — both seeds of hope for someone who wakes up every day to news of home demolitions and land grabs. Several days ago…

By Samah Salaime March 6, 2017

Screenshot of David FriedmanWoodmere, NY on the eve of the election. speaking in

WATCH: Trump Israel envoy praises Israeli leftists — for sending kids to the army

‘I don’t feel the same way about the Israeli Left as I do about the American Left, because the Israeli Left deeply, deeply care about their country,’ Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel is recorded saying. Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next American ambassador to Israel has come under intense criticism for, among other…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 2, 2017

Head of the Joint List, MK Ayman Odeh, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 8, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Could a Palestinian politician best represent American Jewish values?

Progressive American Jews may be willing to stand alongside American Muslims, but are they ready to demonstrate the same solidarity for Arab citizens of Israel? Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint List, is a test case for where ‘pro-peace’ Jews draw the line. Progressive American Jews have had a hard time in recent years finding…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man February 28, 2017

J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami speaks at the 5th J Street Conference, March 21, 2015. (Photo courtesy of J Street)

‘I’m part of a dying breed that believes in two states’

The election of Donald Trump has emboldened fears that the two-state solution will officially be tossed into the dustbin of history. But J Street President Jeremy Ben Ami is undeterred, steadfast in his belief that two states is the only solution.+972 Magazine speaks to him at the annual J Street conference about the rise of…

By Dahlia Scheindlin February 28, 2017

An Israeli settler youth living in a confiscated Palestinian home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah covers his face with the Israeli flag, September 2, 2011. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Trump is the president settlers could only dream of

Although U.S. policy toward Israeli settlements has fluctuated over time, successive American officials have consistently taken a dim view of the settlement movement. Trump and his advisors may change all that very soon. By Derek Davison Although President-elect Donald Trump and his foreign policy team are only beginning to develop their agenda for his coming administration,…

By +972 Magazine November 13, 2016