J Street & Brit Tzedek: Our Evolving Partnership

The pro-Israel pro-peace movement is at an exciting crossroads, rife with opportunity. Last week, President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said "the status quo is unacceptable because what you do in a status quo is you give the opponents of peace a veto."

We know it's possible to shift the status quo through one-on-one conversations, strong rabbinic leadership, home district and Washington DC advocacy, electoral politics, and the shrewd use of cyberspace.  To shift the status quo quickly, however, requires us to work smarter.

To that end, Brit Tzedek and J Street are in serious discussion about integration of Brit Tzedek into the J Street family, with emphasis on a sophisticated and expanded national grassroots operation. We both share a strong commitment to peace and security for Israel and its neighbors, as well as a common desire to grow and strengthen the muscle of our movement.  Together we can do what is difficult alone.

• Brit Tzedek has built unparalleled grassroots and rabbinic support for a negotiated two-state solution. We have mobilized nearly 50,000 activists in 40 chapters, built and nurtured a 1000-member rabbinic network, developed relationships with numerous synagogues and Jewish communal institutions, and built legitimacy in Congress during the lean Bush administration years.


• J Street, the political arm of the pro-Israel pro-peace movement, founded during the last election cycle built on our grassroots momentum with sophisticated media, policy, Netroots, and lobbying programs. In 2008, J Street's legally independent PAC raised and delivered almost $600,000 in contributions to its endorsed candidates.

We are asking for your help -- first, to sustain our existing program through the end of this year and second, to invest in the future. The funding base of any national grassroots organizing program, even if its home is J Street, is and will continue to be, Brit Tzedek supporters.

If you believe in the crucial work of the Rabbinic Cabinet and chapter organizing, please give generously now. If you are excited about the potential of an expanded grassroots campaign, your help is needed now.

Your support of the grassroots operation we hope to build with J Street is crucial to our success as a movement. To be blunt, the growth and success of this effort depends on your financial contributions. The same-old, same-old -- as good as it has been -- is no longer good enough if we want to win. Please give as generously as you can.

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
11 E. Adams Street, Suite 707
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: (312) 341-1205
Fax: (312) 341-1206
info@btvshalom.org
www.btvshalom.org