WASHINGTON, DC — The pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy group J Street and its student movement J Street U announced today the launch of a new campaign urging the Democratic Party to include in its party platform formal opposition to Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank.
J Street leaders and students activists across the country are asking supporters to sign on to their call to action, which notes that while “past party platforms have rightly stated a commitment to Israel’s security and included condemnations of threats and actions against our ally,” they have “been totally silent on the rights of Palestinians, Israeli actions that undermine those rights and the prospects for a two-state solution and the need for security for both peoples.” The petition asks that the 2020 platform correct this “by expressly stating both a commitment to Israel and its security and a commitment to Palestinian rights. They should include clear opposition to ongoing occupation, settlement expansion and unilateral annexation of territory in the West Bank.”