NEW YORK – J Street’s president Jeremy Ben-Ami began a press call Monday morning, previewing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Congressional address by announcing the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris and thanking President Joe Biden for his “incredible statesmanship” and for dedicating his life to public service.
J Street was proud to endorse Biden’s campaign and support his efforts to try to bring the Israeli-Hamas war to a close, Ben-Ami said.
He called Harris a “longtime friend of J Street” and a leading voice in the administration for the kind of approach to Israel and Palestine that the group supports.
“She’s not in favor of what she called a ‘binary approach’ to the conflict,” he said. “She appreciates the nuances and the complexities, and that is exactly why she aligned so closely with J Street.”
Ben-Ami said Harris has consistently supported a two-state solution while being clear on Israel’s right to defend itself.
She has also been a powerful voice calling for greater protection of Palestinian civilians in the wake of October 7, speaking out about the humanitarian crisis, and pressing for an urgent ceasefire to free the hostages and end the devastation, Ben-Ami added.
“We are very excited about this turn of events, and we’ll be throwing our full weight behind her candidacy over the course of the next 100-plus days,” he said.
Bibi, go home
Switching gears, Ben-Ami called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation to address Congress this Wednesday an “undeserved reward” for a leader who has demonstrated an ongoing lack of gratitude for the United States’ assistance during this critical time.
Netanyahu has repeatedly disregarded the advice and requests of the Biden administration regarding the conduct of the war, even after Biden has proved himself to be such a consistent and strong friend of Israel, Ben-Ami said.
He called Netanyahu’s invitation a disservice to the US-Israel relationship and the latest example of how Republican lawmakers and Netanyahu turned Israel into a “partisan political football,” saying that speech is an “act of gamesmanship.”
“It’s not an act of statesmanship, designed by Republicans to drive a wedge in the Democratic Party and by Netanyahu and his allies to help his political standing in Israel,” Ben-Ami said. “The continuing politicization of the US-Israel relationship is not in the best interest of Israel.”
Ben-Ami hopes Biden’s message to Netanyahu during their one-on-one meeting on Tuesday will be that it’s time to end the war and make the agreement now that ends the fighting, frees the hostages, and surges humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Netanyahu has to stop moving the goalposts and creating obstacles, he said.
Biden and members of Congress should use any interaction they have with Netanyahu to express unequivocal acceptance of the ceasefire framework that Biden has put forward and “Do whatever is necessary to get the deal done.”
It’s also important for those in the US to remember that Netanyahu doesn’t speak for all of Israel, as over 70% of the country wants him to resign, Ben-Ami added.
Maya Roman, the cousin of released hostage Yarden Roman-Gat, joined Ben-Ami on the call and said that her family, along with many other hostages’ families, are in close contact with Israeli military officials who say they are certain a deal can be reached that doesn’t risk Israeli security – and that now is the time to do it.
“And it appears that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the one currently standing and preventing that from happening,” Roman said. “That is why we are coming to Washington this week, to remind him that it is his duty to sign a deal to bring back all of our loved ones, all of these people.”
Roman said the hostages’ families have asked members of Congress to again pressure Netanyahu on this.
She called Biden an “amazing source of hope for us” as he navigated the complexity of pressuring Netanyahu to sign a deal, remembering that Israel is fighting a terrorist organization and not letting Netanyahu’s problematic actions control the conversation.
“We just hope that the rest of Congress can continue to follow along. We really want all members of Congress, when they meet the prime minister, to ask him to sign a deal, to beg with him, to pressure him to do everything that they can,” Roman said. “Because time is running out.”