Unlocking Growth: Building Thriving J Street Chapters for 2025 led by the SWOT Committee & the RAC
Dive into actionable strategies for growing your J Street community and responding effectively to local challenges in this dynamic session. Featuring a panel of experienced chapter leaders sharing success stories and lessons learned, followed by interactive breakout discussions on engagement, defense of local endorsees and handling attacks, this session is designed to equip you with tools for building stronger, more connected chapters. Leave with practical takeaways, new connections and a clear roadmap for chapter growth in 2025.

Looking Back and Looking Forward: Political Lessons Taken from 2024 into 2026
The 2024 campaign cycle is well over – but the consequences of the results will be felt throughout the 119th Congress and for years to come. Before the 2026 cycle heats up, we will take the time to discuss the dynamics of the new Congress on our issues over the next two years. We will explore how the wins and losses of the 2024 elections could play into legislative and political decisions made over the cycle. Will it be possible to get good bills through the House or Senate? How can the Democrats rebuild to retake the majority? What lessons did winning candidates learn from the 2024 election?

Synagogue Liaison Meeting

The Policy Center Presents: The State of Palestinian Governance
Palestinian governance is in disarray in both the West Bank and Gaza. In the West Bank, support for Hamas is skyrocketing due to the failures of PA governance, and Palestinian militant groups are emerging there, too. In Gaza, Hamas has been considerably weakened by the IDF, leaving a power vacuum while the postwar governance structure remains uncertain. Meanwhile, the US-Palestinian relationship has been strained, especially after the first Trump Administration cut diplomatic ties and aid to Palestinians. Our expert panelists will analyze the state of Palestinian governance by tackling the following questions: Can the PA return to and govern in Gaza? What will be the postwar role of Hamas in Gaza? What will be required of Israel to facilitate effective Palestinian governance in the Strip? What does the reelection of President Trump mean for the future of US-Palestinian relations?

Open Forum with Jeremy Ben-Ami on Strategy in an Era of Fascism Rising
American democracy is facing the gravest challenge of our lifetimes. The US is abandoning the role it has played defending the rules-based international order since World War II. J Street remains focused on establishing ours as the mainstream political voice of the American Jewish community so that US policy in the Middle East isn’t hijacked by the far right. Defending democracy in Israel and at home has become increasingly central to our message and mission in recent years. With the Democratic Party grasping for answers and many in J Street deeply anxious about the future, the Summit is a great time for an open discussion of these and other vital questions with J Street’s President.

The Long Game: Insider Stories of Successful Advocacy
Advocacy is one of the main spokes of our work at J Street, and each region and each chapter engages and builds relationships with their local target Members of Congress through district meetings, Advocacy Day and activations. This is a great opportunity to hear about how those actions affect Members of Congress and their staff over time. How do Members decide to shift their positions? How long does it take for advocacy to make an impact? What is the staff’s role? What creates watershed moments? We will ask former senior Congressional staffers to discuss how they receive, process and react to J Street’s advocacy.

J Street U’s Growth and Theory of Change in this Political Moment
This session will provide an update on J Street U’s activities and achievements so far during the 2024-2025 academic year. Join us to learn about what’s happening on our campuses, from enhanced educational programming, speaking events and the strengthened support systems we’ve been able to provide for students since our program expansion began. We’ll examine how our student leaders have navigated challenging conversations and built meaningful coalitions with their peers. Lastly, this session will discuss the political challenges we face on campuses during the Trump Administration and J Street U’s strategic approach for meeting this moment.

Coming Together for Humanitarian Aid in Gaza
Rebuilding Gaza will require extensive collaboration between Palestinians, Israelis and regional partners. With over half of all buildings in Gaza damaged or destroyed, and critical infrastructure severely damaged, rebuilding efforts must go beyond short-term humanitarian relief. Sustainable solutions will cost billions of dollars – money that the Palestinians do not have. NGOs, therefore, have turned their attention to regional partners, such as Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf states, who they hope will help provide the resources required to undertake these projects. Our panel of experts will present NGOs’ ongoing efforts to rebuild Gaza, focusing on the following questions: How can regional partnerships contribute to rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure and economy? What are the primary political and logistical challenges to collaboration? Can reconstruction efforts lay the groundwork for greater regional stability and peace?

Building a Fundraising Culture in Your Chapter
Does fundraising sound hard? Think again! Anyone can help create a community culture that supports fundraising. And donor support is the lifeblood of J Street. Join this session to hear how anyone can contribute to a culture of fundraising within your chapter. If you’re a development chair, this is a great session to join and hear how you can help motivate leaders to contribute to the art of fundraising. If you’ve never fundraised but are fundraising-curious, this is a great opportunity to learn how you can get started.

Setting the Political Stage for 2026
The 2024 map was a brutal one for Democrats – even before we knew the strength of the red wave, Democrats were on defense in a majority of Senate races. That all changes in 2026 with Trump in office for his second term. With a map nearly as bad for Republicans in the Senate as it was for Democrats in 2024, and a razor-thin House majority, the time has come for us to go on the offensive. In this session, we will discuss the 2026 electoral map and strategies to regain the majority in both chambers. Where should we start? How can J Street support our champions and bolster exciting challengers to usher in a pro-Israel, pro-peace, and pro-democracy majority?

Building an Inclusive Israeli Opposition in the Shadow of War
In response to the Netanyahu government’s attempts to erode Israeli democracy and promote extremist West Bank and Gaza policies, the Israeli political opposition must broaden its electoral coalition to better include the country’s minorities and present a stronger oppositional force. If Israel’s liberal democratic camp is to present a viable alternative and potentially form the next government, focusing on rebuilding the country’s institutions and working towards a diplomatic resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it will need a wider base of support to lean on for representation in the Knesset. Our panel of experts will explore strategies to engage Israel’s diverse population, tackling the following questions: What are the greatest threats to Israeli democracy and their impacts on Israelis and minority populations inside Israel? How can the leading opposition parties re-engage diverse segments of society? What are the greatest obstacles to building an inclusive liberal democratic opposition and how can those challenges be overcome?