When we founded J Street, we set out to change American policy toward Israel and the Middle East – to fight for peace, equality and democracy for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

We did so because we believe those values, which are so meaningful to us as Jewish Americans, need to apply in Israel as well.

Today, our commitment to those values demands something more. The threat we recognized abroad nearly two decades ago has found us here at home.

Over the past decade, Donald Trump and the MAGA movement have shattered democratic norms and embraced alarming rhetoric we know all too well.

In recent weeks, senior officials have begun echoing language lifted straight from the American neo-Nazi fringe.

President Trump calls Somali immigrants “garbage.” JD Vance warns of “stolen dreams” and replacement by migrants. Stephen Miller talks of danger in bloodlines. The new National Security Strategy reads more like a right-wing manifesto than a defense of American interests and values.

This is how authoritarian movements grow. They dehumanize. They divide. And they erode the very foundations of democracy. History teaches us where that road leads.

We were once immigrants. Refugees. Outsiders.

Our tradition commands us to help and protect the stranger – and our own safety and survival depends on resisting those who would strip people of dignity and belonging.

From the beginning, J Street was built around this idea: that our values must shape the world we build. And, as we fight to protect Israel’s democratic future from leaders like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, we must fight the forces of fascism taking root in America.

Jeremy wrote earlier this year about Fascism Rising. The threat is no longer distant. It’s here. And we need everyone to join our fight against it – in Israel and at home.

Welcoming those seeking opportunity, liberty and equality isn’t just a poem at the Statue of Liberty’s feet. It’s the American ideal – one that made our families’ lives here possible. We’ll work with our partners to stop xenophobia, ethnonationalism or hate from dismantling it.

Not in Israel. Not in America. Not on our watch.