J Street U Board Calls for Cooperation, Democracy in Wake of Israeli Elections

Washington, DC - Following elections in Israel and ahead of elections in the United States, the J Street U Student Board issued the following statement:

"A week ago, a majority of Israeli citizens rejected Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist coalition at the polls. It was a resounding rebuke of a government that sought to dismantle democracy, enabled settler terror in the West Bank and prioritized a devastating war in Gaza over the return of Israeli hostages.

For Israelis and Palestinians our age, Netanyahu has been the defining political figure of their lifetimes. For young Jewish Americans, he is the only face of Israel we’ve ever known. But his era of extremism does not have to define Israel’s future.

Voters in Israel chose an alternative. Among them were Palestinian citizens of Israel whose historic turnout propelled Arab parties to a record 19 Knesset seats. Without them, Jewish Israelis would have been unable to defeat Netanyahu and his far-right coalition. Their votes sent a powerful message: Israel’s future must be shaped by all its citizens, and democracy cannot thrive when entire communities are treated as outsiders.

It is time for opponents of Israel’s corrupt, extremist government to unite. Jewish leaders must recognize that Arab parties are equal partners in democracy. Netanyahu has long delegitimized Arab voters and parties, trying to make collaboration with them unthinkable. Only by rejecting Jewish supremacy and embracing multiracial democracy, can Israel finally live up to its democratic ideals.

Our generation is often asked whether young Jews still care about Israel. We do. We care enough to demand more of its leaders, just as we demand more of our own. We believe in a future where Israelis and Palestinians can live with freedom, dignity, and security, and where democracy means more than the right to vote - it means equal rights, meaningful representation, and respect for the will of the people. We call on American Jewish communal leaders to speak clearly in support of the equal rights of Arab citizens of Israel and their rightful place in the country’s political future."