‘Time is Running Out’: A Hostage Family’s Desperate Plea
After her 23-year-old daughter was abducted from the Nova music festival by Hamas militants on October 7, Meirav Gonen’s world was torn apart.
J Street organizes pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans to promote US policies that embody our deeply held Jewish and democratic values and that help secure the State of Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people. We believe that only a negotiated resolution agreed to by Israelis and Palestinians can meet the legitimate needs and national aspirations of both peoples.
Working in the American political system, in the Jewish community and with others with whom we share core values, we advocate for diplomacy-first American leadership and policies that advance justice, equality, peace, and democracy in Israel, in the wider region and in the United States as well.
In a moment of crisis and war for Israelis and Palestinians, and with events on the ground and in Washington moving fast, it is extremely important for J Street to be clear about where we stand, what we are advocating for, and what we are encouraging the Biden Administration and Members of Congress to do.
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To truly protect Jews on campus and across the country, Congress must implement a collaborative and nuanced antisemitism strategy that centers Jewish safety above political gamesmanship.
We urge senators to continue to make the safe return of the hostages a high-priority issue in all meetings with the Biden administration and other interlocutors, and to strongly consider the impact that any US policies and actions may have on the safety of hostages.
After her 23-year-old daughter was abducted from the Nova music festival by Hamas militants on October 7, Meirav Gonen’s world was torn apart.
While it must be said that Palestinians will never gain their freedom through terror, it is equally true that Israelis will never gain security through military force alone.
Not knowing the fate of the person you love the most is a particularly cruel form of torture.
Progressive values should demand that we see this conflict beyond picking a "side" and recognize the shared suffering of both peoples.
US Pushes for Gaza Cease-Fire, Seeing Narrow Window for a Deal Before Israel Launches Rafah Assault, NBC News
Blinken, speaking in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, said that the cease-fire proposal handed to Hamas by mediators from Qatar and Egypt was “extraordinarily generous.” He added that Hamas had to “decide quickly” about the offer and that he was “hopeful that they will make the right decision.” An Israeli official and an Arab diplomat with knowledge of the negotiations told NBC News that the deal on the table would see 33 hostages freed in the first stage in exchange for a temporary cease-fire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
US Determines 5 Israeli Security Units Committed Human Rights Violations Before Outbreak of Gaza War, CNN
The US is still deciding whether to restrict the military assistance to the remaining unit – reported to be the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion. That battalion was implicated in the January 2022 death of an elderly Palestinian American man. According to a source familiar, the Israelis told the US in recent weeks about previously undisclosed actions they’ve taken and the US is reviewing those actions to see whether they are sufficient enough to hold off restricting aid.