J Street gave my family a pro-Israel home – and hope for tomorrow

There is no lack of issues to worry over for the American Jewish community today. The trauma of October 7 is still fresh for us, especially with hostages still being held in Gaza. Acts of antisemitism have spiked with extremes on both ends of the political spectrum deeming it now socially acceptable to spew such bigotry in plain view. Israel has a government that appears more interested in its own political survival and dragging the country away from its democratic character than it is in saving the hostages. And Americans are having to adjust to the whiplash of a new president who is hellbent on currying favor with despots and targeting minorities and vulnerable communities, all while chipping away at our democratic safeguards — none of which has historically served Jews well.

And yet, this week I am kvelling. I am beaming with pride as a father, a rabbi, and a Jew. My daughter, Meirav Solomon, a junior at Tufts University, had the unique opportunity to testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing on antisemitism. She was the only current student among the witnesses, and she superbly and confidently represented the mainstream Jewish student experience on campus today.

A daughter of Conservative and a Reform rabbi, Meirav has always had a strong moral compass and Jewish identity, but I credit J Street U — the college arm of the pro-Israel advocacy group J Street — with giving her the tools to both hone her voice and embrace the power that comes with it. Moreover, J Street U has given my daughter the home and community to discover what it means for herself to be a proud Jew who unapologetically advocates for an Israel that reflects her Jewish and democratic values.

At a time when Jewish leaders and institutions are raising concerns over the strength of younger generations’ Jewish identity and connection to Israel, the commitment and perseverance I’ve witnessed from my daughter and her J Street U peers — the kind that was on display in Wednesday’s Senate hearing — in these intense environments during such a challenging time gives me hope for the future of Jewish peoplehood. I invite those invested in engaging Jewish youth to ditch conventional thinking and examine the successful model J Street U has developed.

While my daughter’s involvement with J Street U was of her own accord, none of the college enrichment she has enjoyed or affirmation of her beliefs she has discovered from it surprises me.

My wife and I  have each been part of J Street’s Clergy Cabinet — which has now surpassed 1,100 members — for well over a decade and have observed how effective the group is at engaging Jews who want to see an Israel that lives up to its Declaration of Independence. We were excited to support an organization that recognized supporting Israel had to go beyond platitudes. We were excited to see an organization giving voice to our own principles — that ensuring Israel’s long-term security and democracy also required fighting for Palestinian self-determination and an end to the occupation.

And now, in this era of Trump and Netanyahu when both leaders are respectively testing the strength of US and Israeli democracies, we proudly continue belonging to J Street, an organization that knows those who undermine the democratic norms and institutions of these two countries threaten the foundation of the US-Israel relationship.

So while the problems of the world feel like they are rapidly piling up and can be suffocating at times, for now, I am breathing a little easier knowing that there are groups like J Street doing the hard work of standing up and giving thousands of Jewish Americans like me and my daughter a home to put our values into action.