WASHINGTON — J Street today called on Congress to amend US law to preserve American contributions to the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Those contributions are threatened by provisions of existing law prohibiting such funding following UNESCO member states’ decision today to grant the Palestinians full membership. Read More...

“Chairman Ros-Lehtinen’s bill would essentially force the U.S. Government to defund and disengage from virtually every organ of the United Nations. We agree with Secretary Clinton’s warning that this would spell disaster for America’s standing in the world and our ability to influence events that profoundly impact our national security. It would also imperil Israel’s vital interests if its greatest ally and defender at the UN took our ball and went home,” said Dylan Jacob Williams, J Street’s Director of Government Affairs. Read More...

For many of us, these are days for deep reflection and soul-searching on the past year. How, we ask, as individuals and as a community can we better ourselves and the world? Naturally, our focus turns in part to Israel and how events there impact us as a people. My heart, along with many of yours no doubt, swelled with pride on hearing that among the Nobel Prize winners this year is an Israeli physicist, Daniel Shechtman – another amazing accomplishment for a small country that has done so much to advance global learning. My heart filled as well this past week – but with concern – over other, more deeply troubling news from Israel. Read More...

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WASHINGTON —J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami issued the following statement in response to the speeches of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations today, as well as to the just released statement by the Middle East Quartet. Read More...