I know I speak for all of us at J Street when I say we are shaken and horrified by the attempted assassination of former President Trump on Saturday. We’re pained by the death and injuries of fellow citizens as they gathered with their families for a political rally – something many of us have done before.

For those of us who’ve experienced assassinations and attempts in both Israel and the United States, this moment echoes some of our darkest days. As President Biden said last night: “We cannot and must not go down this road in America.” 

In recent memory, we’ve lived through the shootings of Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Steve Scalise, a savage attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul, threats against election officials, a violent attempted insurrection, and now an assassination attempt against former President Trump. 

None of this violence is remotely acceptable. We condemn it without equivocation.

But condemning political violence does not mean one has to stop speaking out about the stakes of the moment. It does not mean we cannot be clear in our assessment of the dangers posed by one or another political leader or party. 

Indeed, it would be a disservice to all that is at stake – for the democratic future we believe in – if a horrendous event such as Saturday’s attack derailed our country’s ability to have an open and honest conversation about the choice ahead and its implications.

J Street intends to participate vigorously in that discussion.

Today, Republicans will gather in Milwaukee for a national convention in which they will make their case to the country. We applaud those Republican elected officials who are calling on the Party to lower the temperature and hope they will hold at bay those looking to exploit the moment, spread conspiracy theories and fracture our nation further.

At J Street, we continue to believe the party being led by Donald Trump – fueled by the MAGA movement and guided by Project 2025 – seeks to take the United States and the world as a whole down a path that risks the core values and interests that J Street was created to promote. 

While we are not always 100 percent aligned with the policies of the Biden Administration, we also clearly recognize that a second Democratic administration would chart a course that is night-and-day better than the alternative being presented in Milwaukee.  

Saturday’s horrific attack cannot be allowed to derail the vital work of our democracy. If we silence our voices, violent extremism is the only winner.

We can and must continue to make the case for a foreign policy grounded in our shared values, principled diplomacy and negotiated conflict resolution. To stand up for the values and guiding principles that have made this country a welcoming home for our community – an openness to immigration, a process for assisting refugees, a rejection of discrimination of any sort. To advocate that US support for Israel cannot come in the form of a blank check to the Israeli right. 

The election this November is, in fact, about the very soul of our country and poses in stark relief the choice the world faces between democratic values and autocracy. These are the most vital issues of our lifetime.

Healing our nation’s rifts and backing away from the abyss of political violence do not necessitate sacrificing our right to vibrant and necessary debate on these critical issues, a debate we must – and will – continue to engage in, with the civility and respect the moment demands.