What to Expect
Join us for J Street Philadelphia’s 8th Annual Event, featuring an engaging conversation between J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami and former United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, two of the most informed voices on the future of Israel, Palestine, and U.S. foreign policy.
Together, they will offer a timely and incisive analysis of the wars that have reshaped the Middle East, the defining challenges posed by the Trump administration, and how the results of the 2026 midterm elections and Israeli elections will impact the region and American policy. Looking ahead, they will explore how policymakers can navigate these challenges, and how we can work to push the pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy movement forward.
The evening will be a critical forum for the honest, urgent conversations our moment demands. Join us and celebrate the growth and impact of our J Street Philadelphia chapter. We hope to see you there.
All proceeds benefit the J Street Education Fund.
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Wendy R. Sherman, served three presidents and five secretaries of state, retiring as the 21st U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. As Deputy Secretary, Sherman was the point person on China. As Undersecretary for Political Affairs, she led the negotiating team that reached an agreement on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. As Counselor, she led on North Korea and was engaged on Middle East negotiations. President Obama awarded Sherman the National Security Medal for her diplomatic accomplishments. Currently, Sherman is a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a Hauser fellow at the Center for Public Leadership, where she previously served as Director and as a professor of practice. In 2002, along with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Sherman built a global consulting business, serving as vice-chair for a decade. A frequent media commentator, Sherman is the author of “Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power and Persistence”.
Jeremy Ben-Ami is the President of J Street, bringing to the role both deep experience in American politics and government and a passionate commitment to the state of Israel. Ben-Ami’s family connection to Israel goes back 140 years to the first aliyah when his great-grandparents were among the first settlers in Petah Tikva. His grandparents were one of the founding families of Tel Aviv, and his father was an activist and leader in the Irgun, working for Israel’s independence and on the rescue of European Jews before and during World War II. His political resume includes serving in the mid-1990s as the Deputy Domestic Policy Advisor in the White House to President Bill Clinton and working on seven Presidential and numerous state and local campaigns including helping to manage a Mayoral campaign in New York City in 2001. For nearly three years in the late 90s, Jeremy lived in Israel, where he started a consulting firm working with Israeli non-profit organizations and politicians. Ben-Ami received a law degree from New York University and is a graduate of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.