I’m writing to share important updates from the region as well as J Street’s statements and resources from this past week. As a reminder, you can always find our most recent statements here.

I invite you to reach out to your J Street Public Affairs staff with any questions.

All the best,
Lily

—
Lily Adelstein
She/Her
Deputy Director of Government Affairs, J Street
Cell: 202-699-2701

This week on j street

Statement

J Street Statement Condemning Attack on Temple Israel

Word on the Street

Pro-Israel and Against This War

Expert Analysis

Arab Israeli Politics and Society Ahead of the 2026 Israeli Election

Word on the Street

Why Netanyahu and AIPAC Are Losing the Democratic Party

Word on the Street LIVE

ICYMI: Rahm Emanuel Pulls No Punches on Netanyahu

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What we’re reading

US intelligence says Iran government is not at risk of collapse, say sources

U.S. intelligence indicates that Iran’s leadership is still largely intact and is not at risk of collapse any time soon after nearly two weeks of relentless U.S. and Israeli bombardment, according to three sources familiar with the matter. A “multitude” of intelligence reports provide “consistent analysis that the regime is not in danger” of collapse and “retains control of the Iranian public,” ‌said one of the sources, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss U.S. intelligence findings… The intelligence reporting underscores the cohesion of Iran’s clerical leadership despite the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, the first day of the U.S. and Israeli strikes. Israeli officials in closed discussions also have acknowledged there is no certainty the war will lead to the clerical government’s collapse, a senior Israeli official told Reuters.

Exclusive: Trump’s Gaza plan on hold as Iran war pauses disarmament talks, sources say

Talks to advance President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war have been on hold since last week when the U.S. and Israel jointly attacked Iran, sparking a broader Middle East war, three sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations said. The pause threatens to stall implementation of Trump’s flagship Middle East peace initiative, which ‌he has cast as a major foreign policy objective. It comes less than a month after he secured billions of dollars in pledges for Gaza from Gulf Arab states – countries that are now facing Iranian attacks as the conflict widens. Trump’s Gaza plan has hinged in part on whether Hamas militants would lay down their arms in exchange for amnesty, a step intended to pave the way for reconstruction and further Israeli military withdrawals. White House mediators have been backchanneling between Israel and Hamas on the disarmament question. Negotiations on this and other issues were paused when the Iran war began on February 28, the three sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks. A pause in disarmament talks has not been previously reported.

The U.S. Built a Blueprint to Avoid Civilian War Casualties. Trump Officials Scrapped It

Images from the missile strike in southern Iran were more horrifying than any of the case studies Air Force combat veteran Wes J. Bryant had pored over in his mission to overhaul how the U.S. military safeguards civilian life. Parents wept over their children’s bodies. Crushed desks and blood-stained backpacks poked through the rubble. The death toll from the attack on an elementary school in Minab climbed past 165, most of them under age 12, with nearly 100 others wounded, according to Iranian health officials. Photos of small coffins and rows of fresh graves went viral, a devastating emblem of Day 1 in the open-ended U.S.-Israeli war in Iran… Trump and his aides lowered the authorization level for lethal force, broadened target categories, inflated threat assessments and fired inspectors general, according to more than a dozen current and former national security personnel. Nearly all spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “We’re departing from the rules and norms that we’ve tried to establish as a global community since at least World War II,” Bryant said. “There’s zero accountability.”

IDF Drops Indictment Against Troops Charged With Abusing a Palestinian Detainee From Gaza

The Israeli army’s senior legal adviser announced Thursday that he has ordered the dismissal of charges against IDF reservists accused of abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility. Military Advocate General Itay Offir cited several reasons for his decision, claiming abuse of process due to “the conduct of senior officials in the Military Advocate General’s Corps and the IDF’s law enforcement system in this case, and its exceptional and unprecedented circumstances.” In February last year, five IDF reservists were charged with aggravated abuse and causing severe bodily injury to a Palestinian detainee. According to the indictment, the five beat the detainee, dragged him along the floor, stepped on his body, and shocked him with a taser. The alleged assault resulted in broken ribs and a punctured lung. The charges also state that one of the soldiers stabbed the detainee in the buttocks, causing rectal injury.

EU and UK demand Israel stop surge in West Bank settler violence since Iran war

Six Palestinians have been killed during attacks by settlers across the occupied West Bank since the war against Iran started, according to the United Nations. While the Israeli military said it condemned the violence, the British consulate-general in Jerusalem urged the IDF to match its statements with “swift, thorough investigations and accountability for those responsible.” “Settler violence, which terrorises communities, must be stopped,” it added. An EU spokesperson also urged the Israeli government to “abide by its obligations under international law.”

What if we’re left with ruins?’: Doubts creep in for Iranians who supported war

For some Iranians who oppose their country’s leadership, the war they initially hoped might accelerate political change is now forcing a painful reassessment, and they are beginning to question whether the cost of the conflict could ultimately outweigh any political outcome. Others, however, still argue that outside military pressure may be the only realistic way to weaken the system. Many Israeli and American officials have framed the campaign largely as an effort to degrade Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities and threats. But some, including US President Donald Trump, have also hinted that the ultimate objective could be regime change. For some critics of Iran’s clerical establishment, that suggestion initially raised hopes that external pressure might significantly accelerate that change. Yet conversations with some Iranians inside the country suggest the picture is now far more complicated.

Lebanon appeals to Israel’s allies to stop strikes as death toll rises

The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has engulfed Lebanon, pushing the beleaguered country to a new precipice as Israel expands a ferocious bombing campaign and threatens an invasion of south Lebanon in response to strikes by Hezbollah, Tehran’s most powerful proxy. More than 680 people, at least 98 of them children, have been killed in Lebanon in the past week, while Israeli evacuation orders and strikes have forced 800,000 people to flee, authorities here say. Lebanon’s government, trying to stave off a disaster that threatens to overwhelm it, has appealed to U.S. and European leaders to intervene, officials said, even offering to engage in once-taboo talks with Israel. Israel rejected the proposal, according to two people familiar with the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

Opinion: Kelsey Davenport | US Negotiators Were Ill-Prepared for Serious Negotiations with Iran

“Less than 48 hours before the U.S. and Israeli coordinated strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva for a third round of Omani-mediated talks aimed at reaching a nuclear agreement. Despite Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi’s assessment that the United States and Iran made “substantial progress” toward a nuclear deal during the Feb. 26 talks and the agreement to meet again on March 2 for technical talks, Trump said he was “not happy” with the progress or the “way they’re negotiating.” The following day, the United States and Israel illegally attacked Iran, using Tehran’s nuclear program as one justification for the attack. By the time the third round of talks ended in Geneva, Trump had likely already made the decision to go to war. It is unlikely that any outcome short of complete Iranian capitulation to U.S. demands at the negotiating table would have averted the strikes.”

Opinion: Richard Haass | Epic Folly

“After close to two weeks, the costs of this war far outweigh the benefits. The conclusion is clear: this war of choice was ill-advised… The debate over the wisdom of launching this war is a worthy one, but one that needs to be deferred for now. The immediate questions are: 1) whether to end it and 2) how to end it.”