J Street U at Hunter College

Scared and angry about the new Israeli Unity government, and the upcoming vote on annexation? Want to learn what you can do to help stop it? Want to meet other students interested in doing the exact same thing? Come join us this Wednesday, May 6th, at 1:30pm!
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/96018585013

Israel’s West Bank Settlements Do Not Violate International Law, U.S. Says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the shift, which may doom peace efforts, on Monday afternoon.

Hey friends! Do you hate Trump and right wing politics around Israel and Palestine? Do you like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie? Do you want a very cheap trip to DC to the J Street National Conference from October 26-28?

We're having a registration push where if you and 19 other Hunter students register for the conference by the end of the day tomorrow, you will be refunded for the ENTIRE registration fee. We also offer a very steep discount on travel and housing (and we have financial aid available as well!)

The conference is an amazing opportunity to hear from a wide variety of activists, politicians, and journalists who are engaged in the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES!!!!

You should definitely register today or tomorrow. It's an incredible experience, and is honestly a huge amount of fun. Feel free to either message this page with questions or reach out to Chloe at [email protected].

jstreet.org/conference

Jewish students will no longer be silent as our educational institutions, including Birthright, enable the harmful politics of omission and erasure. Join us as we challenge them to !

J Street to offer competing free trip to Israel for those fed up with Birthright ***

The omission and erasure of Palestinian perspectives and narratives on trips like Birthright creates a political environment that allows home demolitions, settlement expansion, and other destructive policies of occupation to continue unchallenged. These policies harm Israelis and Palestinians.

J Street U collected signatures from over 2,000 Jewish students who asked for Birthright trips to meet with Palestinians who live under occupation and learn about their experiences. But did Birthright listen? Nope. They deflected questions and ignored the problem, telling students that it wasn’t their job to educate young Jews about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

From here on out, I pledge to only participate in trips that include meetings with both Israelis and Palestinians and that show participants how the occupation impacts the daily lives of Palestinians living beyond the Green Line. Join me: https://act.jstreet.org/sign/take-pledge/

As you all probably know, we have spent the last several months working to try and convince Birthright to have Palestinian activists speak on trips about their experiences in the occupation. Through our participation in Hunter Hillel we have seen that our community values complexity, nuance, and the inclusion of a plurality of experiences and narratives. The exclusion of voices of Palestinians and Palestinian citizens of Israel from Birthright runs counter to these core values.

This work isn't limited to Hunter College-- it's a national campaign occuring on campuses all around the country, where over a thousand students (including many of you!) have signed onto a petition urging Birthright to include Palestinian voices and narratives on their trips, and we're still waiting to hear back.

While we await a response, we won't stop organizing. We’re hosting a phone and text banking event at a table on the third floor of Hunter North THIS THURSDAY from 11-1 and 2:30-whenever we decide to pack it in vocalize our ask directly to Birthright reps. We urge you to all come join us and fire a quick phone call or a quick text to a Birthright rep to ask them if they will listen to the demands and interests of the Jewish students they want on their trips!

Hope you will drop by and take action with us! Please reach out for more info!

You don’t have to support the BDS movement to understand that its right to free speech should be protected.

Yesterday, a bill called the Combating BDS Act passed through the Senate that would make it permissible for state and local governments to divest from organizations and entities that participate in BDS—in short allowing the government to punish groups for their political beliefs and actions. While J Street U does not support the BDS Movement and does not think that divestment is the most effective way of addressing Israel’s relationship with Palestine, the Combating BDS Act infringes on the First Amendment right to free speech and threatens the prospect of a peaceful two-state solution. Harmful legislation such as this is not the way to oppose the BDS Movement.

Though this bill passed through the Senate, it has not yet passed the House of Representatives. We encourage you all to reach out to your congressperson and tell them to vote AGAINST the Combating BDS Act, either over the phone or through this form via the J Street website.

Tell Congress: Oppose Free Speech Suppressing Anti-Boycott Legislation The Combating BDS Act has been widely criticized over First Amendment concerns and language that undermines America's commitment to a two-state solution. The bill would authorize states to penalize companies and certain individuals who participate in certain boycotts of Israeli goods -- or even good...

Playing Mad Libs is fun!

J Street U fam taking on ! As we all know, pretzels are an integral part of political organizing.

https://jstreet.org/press-releases/j-street-appalled-terror-attack-near-west-bank-settlement-ofra/?fbclid=IwAR24mETCQarSxaj_lQwx6hYeCTwynkLUhTtgIYbOAR5OyQd2XQndPyl2pnk #.XA6aX5Opn5Y

J Street Appalled by Terror Attack on Israelis Near West Bank Settlement of Ofra We are appalled by Sunday’s terror attack near the West Bank settlement of Ofra, in which seven Israelis, including a 21-year-old pregnant woman, were wounded in a drive-by shooting.