The occupation of the West Bank, once a military and political reality that dominated the lives of Palestinians, has become concretized: with massive housing projects connected by ribbons of highways; a wall and barbed wire barrier wending its way from North to South, cutting through villages, encapsulating others; and hundreds of checkpoints – all overtaking and transforming the once open terrain.

J Street, which defines itself as “the political arm of the pro-Israel and pro-peace movement,” states that it was founded “to promote meaningful American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts peacefully and diplomatically … [and] support a new direction for American policy in the Middle East.” In what they refer to as their “family of organizations,” J Street will include: a lobbying arm that will advocate for peace on Capitol Hill, and an “unconnected” political action committee that will endorse pro-peace candidates for public office.