Benjamin Linder @benjamin_linder

@RoKhanna Need look no further than the Washington Post for the real views of most Jewish Americans. Thank you Ro for daring to expose the reality of life for Palestinians under the boot of Israel's occupation. washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/…

This weekend, J Street U co-sponsored the College Democrats of America convention. Since it was announced that Hasan Piker would be speaking, some have sought to portray our participation as an endorsement of his views. That is simply false. J Street disagrees with much of what Hasan Piker says and with the way he says it. We won't hesitate to say so. But we also reject the notion that the right answer to his invitation is to abandon the very spaces where the next generation of Democratic leaders is debating these issues. Our mission is not to preach to the converted. It is to ensure that a pro-Israel, pro-peace voice is heard wherever the future of American politics is being shaped. If we leave those conversations to others, we shouldn't be surprised when the loudest and most polarizing voices dominate them. Let's also dispense with the misinformation. J Street U was one of many conference sponsors. Our sponsorship amounted to a couple thousand dollars for an exhibit table. We had no role in choosing speakers, no approval over the program and no say in who was invited to address the conference. Suggesting otherwise is either uninformed or intentionally misleading. Some of our critics don't object to this particular conference. They object to J Street. They have spent years trying to convince people that there is no room in American Jewish life or Democratic politics for a pro-Israel movement that also insists on Palestinian rights, opposes the occupation and believes diplomacy is stronger than perpetual war. They won't succeed. Too many people want young Americans to believe there are only two choices: defend every action of the Israeli government or reject Israel altogether. That is a false choice, and it is one J Street was founded to reject. We will continue to show up. We will continue to engage. We will continue making the case for a future in which Israelis and Palestinians can both live in freedom, security and peace. And we won't be intimidated into surrendering that conversation to voices we disagree with – or to critics who would rather see us stay home.

Josh Kraushaar @JoshKraushaar

3 weeks ago

BREAKING @jewishinsider via @HaleyCohen19: "College Dems’ conference, co-sponsored by J Street U, is featuring Hasan Piker" "J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said his organization is ‘proud’ to sponsor the event" jewishinsider.com/2026/07/colleg…

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One more thought about @RoKhanna's trip to the West Bank. Some in the pro-Israel advocacy world are expressing outrage that the Congressman spent this visit hearing only the Palestinian side of a complex story. That's a curious criticism. For decades, AIPAC and other organizations have sponsored trips to Israel that exclusively presented the Israeli narrative. Rarely if ever did participants spend any time in Palestinian communities in the West Bank or engage seriously with the realities of occupation. At @jstreetdotorg, we've long believed that's a mistake. The only way to understand this conflict is to hear from both peoples: Israelis living under the threat of terror and war, and Palestinians living under occupation. That's why our delegations meet with leaders and communities on both sides of the Green Line. If you believe every trip should present a balanced picture, I agree. But that standard should apply consistently - not only when someone chooses to spend one trip listening to Palestinians after decades in which the Palestinian experience was too often left out altogether.

A few thoughts on what happened to @RoKhanna this week in the occupied West Bank. First, despite the claims of Israeli Ambassador Yehiel Leiter and others, @jstreetdotorg had nothing to do with organizing Congressman Khanna's visit. That said, J Street regularly takes Members of Congress and other policymakers to the very same communities Congressman Khanna visited. What he described is exactly what we have repeatedly witnessed: intimidation, harassment, threats of violence from extremist settlers – and when the IDF arrives, too often the response is to chase the visitors away rather than to stop the harassment. These are frightening experiences. They also reflect a deeper reality. The most extreme settlers increasingly operate with impunity, while the institutions responsible for enforcing the law are too often controlled or influenced by the very movement they should be policing. More and more respected Israelis and Americans are seeing this reality with their own eyes. The challenge now is building the political will to change it. Congressman Khanna also described being questioned about his religion and singled out because of his name and appearance. That should concern anyone who cares about Israel's future. Racism and discrimination have become too common a feature of life under occupation, and ignoring that reality does Israel no favors. When Israel's Ambassador responds by attacking an American Member of Congress – and gratuitously attacking J Street as well – he isn't strengthening support for Israel. Israel is losing support across the American political spectrum. The answer isn't to attack critics. It's to address the policies and realities that are driving the criticism. It is essential that American elected officials see the West Bank for themselves and understand how American weapons and taxpayer dollars intersect with the reality Palestinians experience every day. J Street will continue bringing policymakers to witness that reality firsthand. As Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove said this week after visiting the same area: "To be a Zionist is to refuse to turn a blind eye to what is done in the Jewish State's name." It isn't anti-Israel to shine a light on the horrors happening on the West Bank. It's an expression of moral responsibility. The only durable way for Israel to rebuild support among Americans, Jewish Americans, and friends around the world is not through attacking those who criticize what’s going wrong there. It is through a different policy: ending the occupation, guaranteeing security and dignity for both peoples, and putting Israelis and Palestinians back on a credible path toward the creation of an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in the context of a comprehensive, regional solution.

I was there with Rep. Khanna as an expert on settler violence. Armed settlers were the first to arrive, and then, as has become the norm, Israeli soldiers joined them. Together they detained the delegation for over an hour The IDF is lying and not for the first time.

Ro Khanna @RoKhanna

a month ago

Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine. When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention. They made a huge mistake. You will be hearing more soon. nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/…

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This rhetoric is unacceptable and must be rejected. timesofisrael.com/israeli-envoy-… @jstreetdotorg

Tamir Pardo, the former Mossad head, saw the lawless anarchy underway in the West Bank and recoiled in horror: "I feel ashamed to be a Jew." Pardo, who was accompanied by other former security chiefs, described what he saw in the West Bank as reminiscent of "events perpetrated against Jews in the last century." This is a shocking but essential watching experience.👇 @baruchikra @newsisrael13 #Israel #democracy #unxeptable #jewishterror #wearenotourgovernment

@NTarnopolsky @MarcoSermoneta Shame on you. Shame on @zackbodner for allowing and endorsing this.

@ethanagarwal As an Israeli and a Jew I am offended by your narrow minded and idiotic statement.

@sliccardo Thank you @sliccardo for speaking truth to demagogues.

No, having signs in Arabic in our airport does not mean there is no Apartheid. Here are the facts:

Trump and Netanyahu are working to erase hope for Palestinian statehood. The US must choose a different path. Tell Congress: It's time to recognize Palestine ✍️ act.jstreet.org/sign/congress-…

I visited Kerem Shalom, one of the 2 main crossings between Israel and Gaza, where @SenJeffMerkley & I pointed out that the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's delivery system is fatally flawed. People are starving. The Netanyahu government must let more food into Gaza NOW.

Yesterday, @RoKhanna joined us for a wide-ranging conversation, including his new letter supporting US recognition of Palestinian statehood (which J Street is supporting). WATCH: Representative Khanna lays out 3 reasons why NOW is the time to recognize Palestine.

◼️ Israel approves settlement construction plan to divide West Bank ◼️ Smotrich: We are erasing the Palestinian state haaretz.com/israel-news/20…

We are horrified by this cruel and likely deadly action taken by the Trump Administration. We cannot allow such blatant, disgusting bigotry to infect our politics. nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/…

בצלם פרסמו תיעוד חדש של עודה האדלין עצמו, שצילם את רגעיו האחרונים

[1] Israeli Authorities are still holding Odeh Hathalin’s body captive, demanding that Odeh will be buried in the city of Yatta, rather than in his village, Um al Khair, and that the mourning tent will not be held in the village, as well as other conditions. See below.

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We need more people in politics like @RoKhanna Thank you for fighting for Palestine and a Palestinian State 🇵🇸🤝

I asked citizens in a packed town hall in my district how they felt about my leading the call for the United States to officially recognize a Palestinian state. Watch their response.