Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
We are Jewish millennial Zionists actively engaged in various facets of the North American Jewish community. We advocate in the halls of Congress for Israel’s security, oppose the BDS movement and other efforts to delegitimize the Jewish state, and fight anti-Semitic and anti-Israel voices on social media and throughout North America. Recognizing our place in the long chain of the Jewish people’s history and as rising leaders within our community, we are and will remain committed to strengthening and advancing Israel’s well-being as a secure, Jewish, and democratic state in the decades to come.
It is becoming increasingly challenging for us to do this important work. To be sure, we face many external challenges, as well as those from within our own community. However, we write today regarding our concerns and discontent with the policies, actions, and rhetoric of the Israeli government. These issues include legislative initiatives that threaten Israel’s democracy, the lack of progress on issues of religious pluralism, and the dangerous rise of Jewish extremism that can be seen through efforts to mainstream the Kahanist Otzma Yehudit party. We are also deeply troubled by Israeli government policies that diminish the possibility of a two-state solution and by the growing calls for Israel to annex parts of the West Bank.
Mr. Prime Minister, we urge you to address these worrisome challenges both in your AIPAC speech to the American Jewish community next week and in your capacity as head of Israel’s government. Specifically, we hope you will work to ensure Israel remains the homeland for all Jews and a state of all its citizens, affirm Israel’s commitment to democratic values and rejection of bigotry, and recognize the significance of the Diaspora community to Israel’s well-being and future. We ask you to articulate your vision for achieving a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state solution and the concrete steps you will take to thwart activity that diminishes its viability.
We hope you receive this letter in the spirit of constructive engagement and recognize how some of your government’s policies both strain our connection to the Jewish State and hamper our ability to advocate for Israel’s well-being. We believe that failing to address these issues in a meaningful way will be to the detriment to both of our communities and could seriously erode support for Israel among our generation of U.S. Jews, thereby threatening the sustainability of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.
Signed,
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Adam Basciano, National Director, Israel Policy Forum’s IPF Atid
Talia Benamy, NYC Communal Engagement Chair, J Street
Benji Bernstein, Board Member, Yahel
Ross Beroff, IPF Atid New York
Ben Birnbaum, Israel Correspondent, The New Republic (2012- 2014)
Sean Blum, Trustee, Union for Reform Judaism
Raphael Brass, Ottawa, Ontario
Meredith Rose Burak, Chair of Public Private Partnerships, The Survivor Initiative
Rivka Cohen, Program Manager, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance
Eli Cohn-Postell, Director of Israel Engagement, JCRC of Greater Boston
Jacob Dockser, Young Leadership Board, FIDF West Region
Labe Eden, Individual Gifts Manager, Union for Reform Judaism
Russell Eida, Writer, Netflix/Showrunner
Adeena Eisen, Program Associate, Israel Policy Forum
Shannon Eli, IPF Atid Los Angeles
Molly Ellenberg, IPF Atid Washington, DC
Cameron Erickson, 2018 Bronfman Convener, IPF Atid
Aryeh Ethan Falk, IPF Atid New York
Leslie Finkel, Chicago, IL
Kathryn Fleisher, College Strategic Leadership Team, Union for Reform Judaism
Peter Fox, Young Leadership Board, A Wider Bridge
Kevin Frankel, Former President, UC Davis Hillel (2004)
Ben Gitles, Israel Sector Chair, University of Pennsylvania Hillel (2014)
Rachel Goldberg, Director of Community Relations, Consulate General of Israel to New England (2015-2017)
Joe Goldman, Public Affairs & Civic Engagement Manager, JCRC of San Francisco (2015-2018)
Miki Golod, National Program Director, Ameinu
Daniel Goodkind, IPF Atid New York
Brianna Goodlin, 2018 Bronfman Convener Co-Chair, IPF Atid
David Goodstone, Public Affairs Director, Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest (2012-2015)
Benjamin Gould, IPF Atid Chicago
Alyssa Gorenberg, Emergent Givers Chicago Co-Chair, Union for Reform Judaism
Amanda Guilardi, IPF Atid Washington, DC
Rachel Danielle Gutson, IPF Atid Los Angeles
Alex Hamilton, Rabbinical Student, Jewish Theological Seminary
Omer Hariri, IfNotNow
Chris Harrison, Writer/Editor, Union for Reform Judaism
Isaac Hasson, 2018 Bronfman Convener Co-Chair, IPF Atid
Andrew Hirsh, Senior Copywriter, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston
Rabbi Rachel M. Isaacs, Assistant Professor, Colby College
Daniel Jeydel, Trustee, Union for Reform Judaism
Mallory Kahn-Johnston, Philanthropy Associate, Women of Reform Judaism
Jonathan Kamel, Chair, IPF Atid Chicago
Lee A. Kaplan, Los Angeles, CA
Andrew Keene, Board of Governors Member, Jewish Agency for Israel
Tara Khoshbin, Communications and Project Coordinator, Creative Community for Peace (2015- 2018)
Joshua Krug, Instructor, New York University
Ethan Lane-Miller, Assistant Camp Director, Union for Reform Judaism
Julien D. Lederman, Chair, IPF Atid New York
Alexander Leopold, Student Foreign Policy Lead, Roosevelt Institute
Shaya Lerner, Assistant Director of Middle Eastern Affairs, ADL
Amanda Levine, Program Officer, Chasbro Investments
Jonathan Lipton, Area Director, AIPAC (2014-2017)
Alyson Malinger, Advocacy and Communications Associate, Women of Reform Judaism
Michelle W. Malkin, Manager of Philanthropy, Women of Reform Judaism
Adam Moscoe, 2018 Bronfman Convener, IPF Atid
Rabbi Danny Moss, Assistant Rabbi, Temple Israel of Westport
Elad Nehorai, Co-Leader, Torah Trumps Hate
Adena Philips, National Chair, Israel Policy Forum’s IPF Atid
Daniel Pincus, New York, NY
Noah Podolnick, College Task Force Member, Union for Reform Judaism
Samantha Pohl, Development Director, Israel Policy Forum
Rabbi Aaron Potek, Washington, DC
Shanie Reichman, Strategic Initiatives Associate, Israel Policy Forum
Ian Roozrokh, URJ College Leadership Team
Zev Rose, IPF Atid New York
Daniel Rosove, Program Director, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Emily Rothstein, Graduate Student, USC
Sam Rubin, Presidential Fellow, Union for Reform Judaism
Adam Rubenfire, Young Adult Division Co-Chair, Anshe Emet Synagogue
Jeffrey Rum, National Young Leadership Cabinet Co-Chair, JFNA (2017-2018)
Zak Sawyer, Assistant Director, AIPAC (2014-2017)
Zachary Schaffer, Jewish Caucus Chair, Brooklyn Young Democrats (2017-2018)
Zach Schenk, IPF Atid Washington, DC
Hannah Schlacter, Resident, Moishe House SF Dolores
Coby Schoffman, Founder & Executive Director, The Nation Foundation
Bari Schwartz, Special Events and Operations Director, Israel Policy Forum
Joshua Schwartz, Board Member, Ameinu
Rabbi Rami Schwartzer, Washington, DC
Russell Semmel, Attorney, Arent Fox LLP
Zach Shartiag, Israel Education Professional, Boston, MA
Jenna Shaw, Rabbinical Student, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
J. Micaela Sheinhait, Program Associate, Women of Reform Judaism
Yaniv Shmukler, Member, Indianapolis JCRC
Tema Smith, Director of Community Engagement, Holy Blossom Temple
Alexandra Stabler, Chair, IPF Atid Los Angeles
Nick Stabler, MBA Student, UCLA
Aaron D. Stein, Member, Anshe Emet Synagogue
Illana Stern, Board Member, JCRC/AJC of Detroit
Rabbi Josh Strom, Congregation B’nai Yisrael
Rachel Sumekh, Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs (2017)
Kyle Sussman, IPF Atid Chicago
Jack Sztrigler, National Outreach Director, Embassy of Israel to the United States (2014-2017
Ben Tannenbaum, IPF Atid Chicago
Jason Taper, Student Executive Cabinet Campus Relations Chair, Texas Hillel (2017-2018)
Aaron Torop, Legislative Assistant, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Jake Velleman, Lay Leader/Professional Staff, Birthright Israel North America
Rebecca Voorwinde, Executive Director, The Bronfman Youth Fellowships
Scott Weiner, Middle East Discussion Group Chair, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy
Aaron Welcher, Communications Director, Indianapolis JCRC
Jordan Z. Weiss, Board Member, JCRC/AJC of Detroit
Alex Willick, Regional Assistant Director, J Street (2014-2017)
Casey Wright, Teen Israel Program Recruiter, Union for Reform Judaism
David A. Yarus, Founder, JSwipe
Rachel Zaurov, Development & Communications Associate, The Abraham Initiatives
