The American people will not accept Donald Trump outsourcing our foreign policy to Bibi Netanyahu. www.reuters.com/world/us-not...
03.03.2026 17:39
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The American people will not accept Donald Trump outsourcing our foreign policy to Bibi Netanyahu. www.reuters.com/world/us-not...
Shifting blame for American military decisions to Netanyahu is an abdication of responsibility and comes with the dangerous side effect of fueling antisemitic sentiment in the United States.
It’s no secret that Netanyahu wanted this war. But the buck stops with Donald Trump. He is the commander in chief, and if he decides to take Americans to war, he owns that.
Israel, American democracy, and the Jewish community all deserve better. Read my full Substack piece here: 7/7 jstreetdotorg.substack.com/p/memo-to-ai...
Dumping massive sums into competitive Democratic primaries to take down thoughtful pro-Israel Democrats who don’t want to give a blank check to Netanyahu is not the way to build durable bipartisan support for Israel in the US. 6/7
Whatever AIPAC’s motivation, we do know this: As in prior cycles, AIPAC is intervening in a Democratic primary using money primarily contributed by Republican billionaires to attack a candidate on an unrelated domestic issue. 5/7
Given AIPAC’s failure to speak out in opposition to ICE’s shocking deployment and brutal tactics in recent months – or the Trump Administration’s broader assault on democratic norms – its use of this issue for an attack from the left is the height of political hypocrisy. 4/7
But the issue they’re hitting Malinowski on publicly? A 2019 bipartisan vote for a border enforcement bill, which won the votes of a majority of members of both parties in both chambers. 3/7
This move continues a now 5-year pattern: AIPAC deploying vast financial resources – primarily raised from Republican donors – to intimidate, punish, or defeat Democrats they deem insufficiently pro-Israel. 2/7
Over the weekend, AIPAC launched a wave of negative ads attacking former Congressman Tom Malinowski, who is currently running for Congress in NJ-11. 🧵
I am deeply grateful to @amo.house.gov for his leadership in pressing the Trump Administration on these vital questions.
While the ceasefire appears to be holding, it’s not clear that enough humanitarian assistance is getting to those in desperate need, and we know the devastation to be addressed in Gaza is generational.
American aid must reach civilians without delay and requires real oversight.
We’re deeply grateful for @pelosi.house.gov's courage & leadership.
As @jeremybenami.bsky.social said: “Speaker Pelosi’s career embodies the principle that support for Israel and a deep commitment to peace, justice & democracy are – and have always been – compatible.”
Mamdani and J Street Slam ADL's 'Mamdani Antisemitism Monitor' Tracking Incoming NYC Mayor
By @etannechin.bsky.social
archive.fo/2025.11.05-2...
@jstreetdotorg.bsky.social
@jeremybenami.bsky.social
@mauriciolapchik.bsky.social - Ayman quoted 👇
A must read from @jstreetdotorg.bsky.social's @jeremybenami.bsky.social!
My full reflections on Substack here:
🔗 jstreetdotorg.substack.com/p/two-years-...
Right-wing leaders may scoff at peace, and others, on the center-left, may shy away from the word. I can’t accept that. To honor the victims, Israeli & Palestinian, we must reclaim it.
This war must end. The hostages must come home. Aid must reach Gaza. It’s time for peace. 6/6
Peace. In Jewish tradition, it’s not just another blessing – it’s the final blessing. The culmination of the seven central prayers we recite daily and on holidays. As my prayerbook this Yom Kippur noted, there are more expressions lauding peace than any other value in Judaism. 5/6
On a recent trip, a close friend of his told me, “Peace must be the path forward. Gaza’s people must be given something to live for.” His faith, after all he endured, moved me to tears. 4/6
One was Ofir Libstein – the ‘mayor’ of the community who hosted us and other groups with a message of the vital importance of peace with his neighbors in Gaza. Libstein died in the early hours of October 7 defending his community. 3/6
I think today of Kfar Aza – the small, idyllic kibbutz less than two miles from Gaza.
I’ve brought many J Street groups there over the years, and I can picture many of its residents who were murdered that day. 2/6
Two years after the horrors of October 7, I remain as committed as ever to peace – a word stigmatized by too many on the right and abandoned by too many on the center left. My commitment to reclaiming the word is my way of honoring those lost. 1/6
Smotrich will fail. Bulldozers, concrete and settlements can't bury a people’s desire for self-determination. As Jews, we know: 2,000 years never erased our dream of being a free people in our own land. Israel's future depends on assisting Palestinian freedom, not denying it.
You can read more about our delegation – and what other trips are missing here: jeremybenami.substack.com/p/half-the-s...
13/ If US leaders keep looking away from settlement expansion, settler violence & extremist provocation, we’ll remain complicit.
There’s still time to change course – but only if we stop ignoring the parts of the story that don’t fit neatly into a photo op.
12/ Anyone sponsoring travel to the region – especially for elected officials – owes their guests the full picture: Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem.
Anything less is tourism with a security briefing.
11/ For 30 years, the US told Israel: Don’t build E-1. This week, Members of Congress on these other trips were close enough to see the site … but instead, they had dinner with Netanyahu in an illegal settlement.
10/ E-1. A planned settlement east of Jerusalem that would cut the West Bank in half, making a Palestinian state impossible.
This week, the final Israeli hearing on objections to E-1 was held. The decision now rests with Netanyahu.
9/ This is the most explosive flashpoint in the conflict. In 2000, Ariel Sharon’s visit – without praying – helped spark the Second Intifada.
Policymakers need to understand the danger, and that it’s being stoked by leading members of Israel’s own government.