I’m Joining J Street

Here's Why

Over the past 4 months I’ve thought long and hard about the next step I want to take in my career. Today, I am excited to start at J Street as Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer. Let me tell you why.

Coming off of the Presidential campaign in the fall, I concluded that the Democratic Party, American Jews, and Progressives had a lot of work to do to reunify around a common set of beliefs and values as it pertains to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, countering antisemitism, and protecting our democracy. In the aftermath of October 7th some of the loudest voices in the Jewish community tilted hard right associating support for Israel with support for the extremist government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Some of the loudest voices on the Left began supporting anti-Zionism, which sometimes crossed into antisemitism, violence, and support for terrorist organizations. The result of this fracture was that even as American Jews voted for Kamala Harris with over 70% support because they agree with the Democratic party on so many domestic issues, there is a danger of a real schism on Israel where Jews become increasingly alienated from their natural liberal political home in the United States.

But what I also found and still find was that when I talked to most American Jews and Democratic voters, they were on neither side of the two extreme poles. The overwhelming majority believe that given the history of the Jewish people Israel should exist as a secure, democratic, Jewish state. They believe that Palestinians deserve their rights to freedom, security, and self-determination. They believe that the terrorist organization Hamas started the war in Gaza with the horrific attacks of October 7th and that all of the hostages should be returned now. They are deeply worried about Palestinian civilians and suffering in Gaza and put that responsibility on both Hamas and on this far right wing Israeli government. They believe in a strong U.S.-Israel relationship based on common interests and common values. They recognize that Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu represent a fundamental threat to this relationship and to American and Israeli democracy. They are deeply concerned about the rise of antisemitism in the United States from both the right and the left and believe that universities did not do enough after October 7th to protect Jewish students. They oppose actions being taken by the Trump Administration in the name of fighting antisemitism that threaten higher education and civil rights.

The key now is to elevate voices, which support these values and ideas, but are being drowned out by the extremes. We need to build the center inside the base of the Democratic party and in the American Jewish community. We also need to strengthen relationships with progressives and like-minded Israelis and Palestinians. J Street is an absolutely essential organization for doing this work, which is why I am going there.

Now, as I was considering taking this role I asked many friends what they thought. Most expressed support, but I also heard some surprising things from people I deeply respect and admire. That J Street supports the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It does not. I would never work at an organization that supported BDS, and I don’t believe an organization that supports BDS would be taking members of Congress to Israel over the past year and a half and visiting communities in the South that were attacked on October 7th. I heard that J Street is accusing Israel of genocide. Again no, that has never been J Street’s position.

If you want to understand what J Street actually stands for, I’d read their recently released policy memos on J Street’s agenda in the Trump era and on the way forward in Gaza (Full disclosure. I was the lead drafter on both of these). I’d also look at their recently released booklet on J Street’s definition on what it means to be pro-Israel. The point is that what J Street’s pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy agenda represents is a strand of liberal Zionism that is largely aligned with where many of the protestors out on the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem stand; where many of the hostage families stand; and where the majority of the Jewish community and the Democratic party stand. You won’t agree with everything, but we need a big tent to fight the threat that both Trump and Netanyahu represent, and to rebuild a consensus for a policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that we can support going forward. And if you’ve been enjoying my newsletter, I think you’ll like where much of J Street’s policies are going (especially since I’ll have a significant hand in developing them).

Beyond policy, the other reason I am joining J Street is that at this crisis moment with American, Israeli, and Palestinian rights under attack from both Trump and Netanyahu, I feel the need to DO SOMETHING. J Street has an incredible platform and is unafraid to stand up and fight on all these fronts at a time where it is desperately needed and where many others are pulling their punches. And even during the Biden-Harris administration in which I served, J Street was unafraid to push us on important issues whether it meant pressuring the administration to be more aggressive in pressing Israel to change policies that restricted aid from getting aid into Gaza, pushing for more measures to keep civilians in Gaza safe, or encouraging sanctions against far right extremists like Ben Gvir and Smotrich.

J Street endorsees now comprise 75% of Senate Democrats and 55% of House Democrats. It was the largest Jewish institutional funding source for Kamala Harris in 2024, and it has experienced a 50% growth in budget over the past four years while doubling the size of its core leadership and membership. And it has an incredible network around the country. This is especially true on college campuses where J Street U is a vital convener of nuanced, hard conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that young people need to have, at a time where the atmosphere on campus in particular has become so polarized.

Finally, my hope is that in addition to my policy expertise and years of experience on the conflict, I can also bring my reputation and experience as a bridge builder to J Street. This is a skill I have always prided myself on whether it was at the Center for a New American Security, where I was able to work across the political divide with Republicans, or on the Harris-Walz campaign where I needed to connect with every flavor of Jewish voter from across the community. J Street is already uniquely positioned with its reach both into Jewish and progressive circles. But I hope to help build on that by helping grow coalitions that can fight to bring all the hostages home and end the war in Gaza; prevent annexation and reverse the negative trends of settlements and violence in the West Bank; support progress towards a regional peace that leads to Israel’s integration into the Middle East and the creation of a Palestinian state; prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon while avoiding an unnecessary military conflict; counter antisemitism; and fight for American and Israeli democracy.

I’m incredibly excited about this next chapter. And in the meantime you’ll still be able to read my thoughts on this substack, though as I start my new role, maybe a little less often at first as I take on more responsibilities.