American liberal advocacy group J Street will hold it's 6th annual conference this weekend, February 25-28th, in Washington D.C. Speakers include senator Tim Kaine, former secretary of state Madeline Albright, senator Bernie Sanders, PLO chief negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat, New York Time's columnists Tom Friedman and Roger Cohen, former house speaker Nancy Pelosi, among many other prominent figures. Trump's election marks the first time since J Street's establishment in 2008 that the group has not had favorable allies in the White House and State Department. The pro-Israel and pro two-state solution advocacy group has strongly contested Trump's appointment of David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel. On February 16th, J Street published a press release stating:
"J Street continues to strongly urge Senators to reject Friedman’s confirmation, and to insist that President Trump put forward a new nominee who is suitable to hold such an important position as a representative of our country."
After years of heavily influencing president Obama's middle-eastern policy, J Street now find itself in the "political wilderness". This, however, is an opportune time for the group to grow its support among the American Jewish community which voted overwhelmingly against Trump in the 2016 election. J Street's advocacy has never been needed more in Washington. The conference is expected to host over 3,500 participants, the most in it's history. Presentations include "Tribal Nation: Identity Politics in Israel", "Between the Lines: Deciphering a New US Approach to the Broader Middle East", "US Politics and Israel: Adding Allies, Building Bridges, Pursuing Peace", "Fighting for Our Future: Harnessing Our Power in the Age of Trump", "Building an Effective Alternative to the Israeli Right", "Ripping Up the Iran Deal?","Combating Islamophobia", "Trump, Putin, Brexit and Bibi: A New World Order?", and "The State of Jewish Peoplehood: 1917, 2017 and the Transformations of Jewish Nationalism" to name a few.
The Gala dinner will begin Monday night at 7:30, and participants will head to Capitol Hill on Monday to participate in Advocacy Day.It's not to late to register! Visit jstreet.org/conference/registration/ If you can't make it, watch the conference live at jstreet.org/conference .
J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the Jewish people.Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we advocate for policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.