Let me tell you a story about our first meeting with President Obama…

It was 2009. J Street was one year old, and I was seated in the White House’s Roosevelt Room next to the leaders of almost every major Jewish group in America.

I remember the looks we got before President Obama entered. According to The New York Times, several right-leaning establishment groups seated next to me had “vehemently protested” Obama’s decision to invite us.

They weren’t happy to see me. They were even less happy with what President Obama was about to say.

One leader said there should be “no daylight” between the White House and the Israeli government and never any public criticism. The President replied candidly: “I disagree.”

Now, my great-grandparents made aliyah to Israel in the 1880s. My grandparents helped found Tel Aviv. My father fought for the country’s independence. I myself lived in Israel through some of the most horrific days of the second intifada.

I founded J Street out of a deep love for the Jewish homeland – and deep anguish over the direction things were heading. I felt nobody at that table was speaking for our mainstream values.

We could see the growing power of right-wing, antidemocratic forces in Israel. A settlement movement laying the groundwork for permanent, undemocratic control of the West Bank. Leaders seeking a narrower, more isolated Israel, forsaking our pluralistic Jewish values, locking in endless conflict. Their answer: To do nothing.

As President Obama said, “no daylight” would ensure no progress toward peace. He articulated a balanced approach – holding fast to ironclad support for Israel’s security, but firmly pushing back on harmful policies like settlement expansion.

The past two years have shown the necessity of that nuanced approach more than ever.

The unspeakable sadism and depravity of Hamas on October 7 shook our entire community. Young people massacred. Hostages ripped from their families. Unrelenting anguish.

Our Israeli staff count friends among those taken hostage. Our team has joined thousands of Israelis on the streets to demand a return to the ceasefire and hostage deal.

Our community’s pain is only made worse by the unbearable suffering in Gaza – families torn apart by a war they did not start and cannot escape from. More than 15,000 children killed. Doctors operating by flashlight, treating catastrophic injuries without anesthetics.

Meanwhile, we endure fringe voices on one side who’ve appallingly sought to excuse Hamas’ brutality as some sort of valid resistance. On the other, those who seem to be using the crimes of Hamas as justification for abandoning our values and inflicting intolerable pain on civilians.

There is nothing more urgent than resealing an immediate ceasefire and hostage deal.

Meanwhile, here in the United States, we face a threat to our democratic future like never before. This administration seems hell-bent on destroying all that has made this country a safe and welcoming home for Jewish Americans for generations.

Political arrests. Disappearances without due process. Attacks on universities, courts and peaceful protesters. Mass deportation plans. It’s authoritarianism 101, and it’s chilling to see parts of this agenda ostensibly enacted in our names.

We’re appalled by President Trump’s cynical exploitation of very real fears of antisemitism as pretext for an anti-democratic crackdown on pro-Palestinian students – intimidating political opponents and trampling due process, free speech and academic freedom in doing so.

As Jews, it’s chilling to see the rights of immigrants and minorities being undercut by state authorities in our name.

We have a special responsibility to speak out. Our history and our values compel us.

In this dark and painful inflection point for our country and for Israel, I want to thank everyone in our community, sincerely, for standing by our side.

Only if we stand together, with each other and with allies across our country, can we win the battle for a free and democratic future – as generations have done so before us.

Unlike other pro-Israel groups, we don’t rely on right-wing mega-donors. We proudly count on Jewish and pro-Israel Americans like you – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thank you, sincerely, to everyone for their support.