Ilan, thank you for your latest substack point: https://ilangoldenberg.substack.com/. It is so heartbreaking to read today's news from Israel and Palestine, but I wanted to make a point here in response to your latest substack. First, it was great meeting you when you spoke at J Street and the City Club in Cleveland. You may recall my points to you about Iran. Now that your and Jeremy's substacks will be official J Street ones, a couple of points.
First, J Street has always welcomed support from a range of political points of view consistent with its mission. You keep referring to liberal Zionism on your substack and I respect that description of your views. But I never saw J Street as just liberal Zionism. It has also attracted feminists, progressives and others on the democratic left, which historically has supported a two-state solution, an end to the occupation, etc.
Let's not "peg" ourselves in a way that is limited to liberal Zionists. The issue is peace with justice in the Middle East.
This means an Israel which is a safe place of refuge for Jews (immigration preferences). Jews like the one I spoke with recently from France , who who couldn't live with the murder and antisemtism, only to move to Britain, where she is seeing more hatred of Jews specifically and immigrants generally.
It means a democratic Israel as a residence of choice or necessity for Jews who for cultural or religious reasons want to move to Israel. And of course it means a similar homeland of choice or necessity for Palestianians. In both cases, that is a world-historical necessity for the the Jewish and Palestinian peoples at this point. But that does not mean Israel as a "Jewish" state per se, one with supremacy or exclusivity for Jews, nor should Palestine be judenfrei. There are certainly a wide range of political views in Israel itself, including left and religious perspective which are non-Zionist or anti-Zionist ideologically.
There is no alternative but a 23-state solution, and that goal must be first and foremost. J Street and other PIN groups--or so I like to point out to its detractors-- is perhaps the most effective voice in the Beltway against , yes against, making support for BDS illegal, and against making the IHRA definition into some kind of legal standard, which was not its intent.
J Street nearly always takes the most principled and pragmatic positions from what I have seen, acting both under the radar and publicly, but not always first, because it believes in being strategic and effective, not operating in a performative manner.
My substack increasingly relies on J Street's daily news summaries, which I constantly recommend publicly on my social media: https://jstreet.org/news-roundups/
Ilan, thank you for your latest substack point: https://ilangoldenberg.substack.com/. It is so heartbreaking to read today's news from Israel and Palestine, but I wanted to make a point here in response to your latest substack. First, it was great meeting you when you spoke at J Street and the City Club in Cleveland. You may recall my points to you about Iran. Now that your and Jeremy's substacks will be official J Street ones, a couple of points.
First, J Street has always welcomed support from a range of political points of view consistent with its mission. You keep referring to liberal Zionism on your substack and I respect that description of your views. But I never saw J Street as just liberal Zionism. It has also attracted feminists, progressives and others on the democratic left, which historically has supported a two-state solution, an end to the occupation, etc.
Let's not "peg" ourselves in a way that is limited to liberal Zionists. The issue is peace with justice in the Middle East.
This means an Israel which is a safe place of refuge for Jews (immigration preferences). Jews like the one I spoke with recently from France , who who couldn't live with the murder and antisemtism, only to move to Britain, where she is seeing more hatred of Jews specifically and immigrants generally.
It means a democratic Israel as a residence of choice or necessity for Jews who for cultural or religious reasons want to move to Israel. And of course it means a similar homeland of choice or necessity for Palestianians. In both cases, that is a world-historical necessity for the the Jewish and Palestinian peoples at this point. But that does not mean Israel as a "Jewish" state per se, one with supremacy or exclusivity for Jews, nor should Palestine be judenfrei. There are certainly a wide range of political views in Israel itself, including left and religious perspective which are non-Zionist or anti-Zionist ideologically.
There is no alternative but a 23-state solution, and that goal must be first and foremost. J Street and other PIN groups--or so I like to point out to its detractors-- is perhaps the most effective voice in the Beltway against , yes against, making support for BDS illegal, and against making the IHRA definition into some kind of legal standard, which was not its intent.
J Street nearly always takes the most principled and pragmatic positions from what I have seen, acting both under the radar and publicly, but not always first, because it believes in being strategic and effective, not operating in a performative manner.
Keep up the great work. You can always follow one of my Substack "beats", the one on Middle East Peace with Justice: https://michaelalandover.substack.com/p/peace-with-justice-in-the-middle, written as a non-expert on Middle Easten affairs.
My substack increasingly relies on J Street's daily news summaries, which I constantly recommend publicly on my social media: https://jstreet.org/news-roundups/