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The results of our 2026 Election Night Survey of American Jews are in, and we spent an hour unpacking the results with Jim Gerstein from GBAO Strategies and Tali DeGroot, our Vice President of Political and Digital. Key findings from the national survey include: - 72% of Jewish voters supported Democratic congressional candidates, compared with 24% who backed Republicans, continuing the community’s longstanding Democratic voting patterns. - 76% disapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance, including 74% who strongly disapprove. - Democracy and the economy were the leading electoral concerns. Forty-four percent identified the future of democracy as one of their two most important voting issues, followed by the cost of living and economy at 34%. Israel was selected by 14%. - 76% support sanctions against violent West Bank settlers, and an identical percentage support sanctions against Israeli government ministers who aid and abet settler violence. Fifty-nine percent support sanctions against businesses and individuals involved in building or financing West Bank settlements. - 66% believe AIPAC’s campaign spending against candidates who criticize Israel increases antisemitism in the United States. Separately, 39% said support from an AIPAC super PAC makes them less likely to support a candidate, compared with 13% who said more likely. - 80% believe Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank increase antisemitism in the United States. Sixty percent believe Jewish organizations that condemn harsh criticism of Israel as antisemitic are exploiting concerns about antisemitism to defend unpopular Israeli government policies. The full conversation includes lots of important background, context, and data - give it a listen. You can also find the full results of the poll at jstreet.org/polling.

“I think humanity won yesterday.” That’s how Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, opened our conversation this afternoon on Word on the Street Live about last night’s election. We discussed several key takeaways: Americans do not want to descend into authoritarianism. Voters came out to vote for democracy and made it clear they overwhelmingly want a check on Trump and his disastrous agenda - especially around the war in Iran. J Street is now the political center of gravity on Israel and Palestine in the Democratic Party. When the new Congress convenes, a solid majority of the Democrats in the House and Senate will be J Street-endorsed. These members reflect the mainstream views of the party: a commitment to Israel and its security alongside a commitment to Palestinian rights and self-determination, and the desire for US policy that advances both. As J Street gained traction, AIPAC was losing endorsed candidates so rapidly that it ultimately decided to abandon candidate endorsements altogether. Americans responded to positive visions for how we can all access the American dream. Voters weren’t looking for partisan bickering, but instead for a vision of the future focused on freedom, prosperity, and dignity for all. The full conversation is a must-listen if you want to dig into what last night’s results mean for democracy, for the Israeli and the Palestinian people, and for a future rooted peace and diplomacy and a new approach to the US-Israel relationship. P.S. - Be sure to join us tomorrow at 1 PM Eastern Time live on Substack when we’ll be releasing our 2026 Election Survey - the deepest dive into the voting patterns and opinions of Jewish voters on Election Day. The survey found as a top line that 72% of American Jews voted Democratic. The much-discussed, so-called "exodus" of Jewish voters from the Democratic Party once again did not materialize. We will be discussing that finding and so much more so please join us then.

Israel’s election results have left both Netanyahu’s coalition and the opposition bloc without a parliamentary majority, and the path to a new government is anything but clear. Ilan sat down with Israeli pollster Dahlia Scheindlin and New Israel Fund Acting CEO Mickey Gitzin to break down the results, explore the possible paths to forming a government, and discuss what comes next for Israeli democracy. One of the biggest stories was the historic turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel. But will Israel’s political leaders recognize Arab parties as legitimate partners, or will they continue to exclude them from the political equation even if it means bringing Netanyahu in? We dug into the possibilities of a minority government, a national unity coalition, and the role a new Knesset could play even before a government is formed. There are no easy answers right now, but how Israel navigates this moment will have major implications for its democracy and place in the world.

We just wrapped up a fast-moving conversation with J Street’s own Nadav Tamir and Shimrit Braun Kamin, both on the ground in Israel, about tonight’s election results – and, cautiously, there are reasons to feel optimistic. (Hopefully we’re not biting our tongues tomorrow!) First and foremost, the horrific coalition that has governed for the past four years suffered a stunning defeat, losing 25 percent of its parliamentary seats. While Likud may have won the most seats, there is almost no path for anyone but the opposition to try to put together a governing coalition. Meanwhile, in other good news, Arab voter turnout surged to historic levels with Arab parties likely to hold 17-18 seats in the next Knesset – a historic number. Shimrit shared what she witnessed firsthand volunteering at a polling station in the Negev: Long lines and an extraordinary effort to make sure people could vote, despite real barriers to access. As Nadav reminded us, Jewish Israelis and Palestinians are both part of Israel’s future. Any conversation about Israeli democracy has to reckon with that reality. We also walked through what comes next, from President Herzog’s consultations to the possible paths toward a government or another election. There’s still a lot we don’t know, but tonight’s results have given us plenty to discuss.

In this special edition of Word on the Street Live, we’re coming to you from Atlanta to talk about two major elections alongside repeat podcast guest, Daniel Biss. Later today, we’ll get our first indications of where Israel’s election is headed, so we sat down to discuss what’s at stake. And this time next week, polls will be closing across the United States, with big implications for our democracy and also the US-Israel relationship. Tune in to hear where we’re at in this exact moment.

Yesterday, we planned to talk with Rabbi Nikki Golomb and her fiancé Sam Stein about Nikki’s firing from Emory Hillel and the questions it raises about who belongs in Jewish institutions. But with Sam directly caught up in the day’s news, we switched up where we began. Sam was among the rabbis and advocates detained by Israeli authorities while helping Palestinian farmers harvest their olives in the West Bank. The group was accompanying a family that, for the first time in three years, was finally able to harvest the olives on their land. Sam took us through his long day, step by step, and now we’re glad to report that everyone detained has been released. Today’s conversation was also a reunion of sorts for Nikki and Sam. They’d been texting during his detention, but this was their first time seeing each other since. From there, we turned to Nikki’s own story. She talked about how Sam’s activism for Palestinian rights played a central role in her firing from Emory Hillel. Having been involved with Hillel as a student leader, fellow and intern before becoming a rabbi, Nikki knows how important these institutions can be in shaping young Jews’ lives. We talked about what Hillel should offer students navigating complicated relationships with Israel and Zionism, and what happens when ideological litmus tests determine who belongs in Jewish communal spaces. There’s plenty more in this conversation, but one question stuck with us: When the anger directed at a young rabbi is greater than the outrage over violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, what does that say about our community?

[Recorded on October 14, 2026.] Last week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood behind police barricades as counterprotesters shouted accusations at him during an October 7 vigil in Union Square. The gathering, organized by Israelis for Peace, was meant to mourn Israelis killed on October 7 and Palestinians killed in the war that followed. Instead, it became a flashpoint in the divisions within the movement for Palestinian rights and raised a difficult question: Can we make space to grieve for both peoples? On this week’s Word on the Street Live, we sat down with vigil organizers Tamar Glezerman and Gili Getz, alongside attendee and author Ami Fields-Meyer, to hear what happened from where they stood, why the organizers chose to continue, and what it means to insist on shared humanity. What emerged was a remarkably honest conversation about the loneliness of trying to hold space for both Israeli and Palestinian pain. Ami spoke about searching for a Jewish community where acknowledging October 7 doesn’t require erasing what came after. Tamar and Gili described the difficult, deeply intentional work of building that space, even when doing so invites condemnation from every direction. We also talked about what gets lost when American discourse flattens the realities of Israelis and Palestinians on the ground, and how events like these counterprotests can be weaponized to undermine the very possibility of peace. Perhaps most movingly, our guests reflected on what it meant to find one another, stand by their values, and refuse to surrender the possibility of a different future. We hope you’ll listen.

Three years after October 7, where does Israeli society – and those communities most closely affected by the attack and the war that followed – stand today? Israeli writer and pro-democracy activist Mika Almog and hostage father Yehuda Cohen joined us for a personal conversation about the hostages, the 2025 ceasefire and hostage deal, and the profound impact of the past three years on Israeli society. They also discussed what comes next, from Israel’s political future and the search for a path to peace to accountability and the role American Jews can play.

This week on Word on the Street Live, we dug into Netanyahu’s latest fights – with world leaders, with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and increasingly with American Jews – and what they tell us about the road ahead. At the UN, Netanyahu used the global stage for a speech that sounded more fit for a campaign event at home than something made for diplomats in the room. And we talked about the sad irony that every time Netanyahu comes to the US, he seems to deepen the political and communal rifts here – even as he insists that Americans have no place weighing in on Israel’s future. Shifting then to Israeli elections, the latest polling still gives Netanyahu a real path back to power. The numbers also point to a pretty complicated picture for folks in the J Street world who care deeply about both Israelis and Palestinians, as even an anti-Netanyahu government could have a large right-wing bloc in the Knesset. Meanwhile, something important is shifting in Washington. We talked about the Senate vote to investigate human rights abuses in the West Bank, and some potentially groundbreaking legislation in both the House and Senate that would put consequences on settlement construction. Tune in to hear the rest because we sure covered a lot of ground.

This week, it’s Word on the Street… in Michigan! The Wolverine State has become ground zero in battles over Israel in partisan politics and on campus. Jeremy’s co-host today was Lauren Haines, a 2025 Michigan grad and former national president of J Street U. She’s now a member of the J Street Digital Team and our in-house Michigan expert! Lauren and Jeremy were joined first by Adir Waxman, the current Vice President of J Street U for the Midwest and a sophomore at Michigan, studying French Horn Performance and Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. Adir shared his experience when the J Street U affiliate at the University of Michigan was informed that they had to either disaffiliate from J Street or leave Hillel - an important part of Jewish life and experience on campus at the University of Michigan. Adir shared why remaining a part of J Street U is so important to chapter members and why J Street’s work is important to him personally. The conversation touched on the most difficult generational questions facing younger Jewish Americans right now, how we can build community across divides, and how we can make space for disagreement while also building connection. Next, we welcomed Samuel Bagenstoss and Eli Savit, two leading Jewish Michigan Democrats who helped lead a letter signed by more than 500 Jewish voters in Michigan urging Jews in the state to vote for Abdul El-Sayed. Samuel and Eli shared more about why they chose to be a part of this effort and what the conversation around the Senate race has been in the state’s Jewish community. We talked about the places where there is tension, but also where there is agreement - about our Jewish values, about protecting our democracy and imposing checks on Donald Trump, about how we can build bridges, and about working towards peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Give the full conversation a listen!

This week, we wanted to mark the High Holidays on Word on the Street Live. We knew a conversation with a rabbi about teshuvah, or repentance, would go deep – and Rabbi Zach Truboff did not disappoint. Rabbi Truboff, author of Zionism in Crisis, opened with how October 7 left him both deeply connected to Israel and deeply alienated from parts of what he was seeing. We talked about what national trauma does to our ability to see reality clearly, and what it might mean for Zionism itself to undergo teshuvah. We got into Jewish power and the danger of using religious language to turn our own actions into something righteous and beyond question. We also talked about the much-discussed release of the documentary NAZA, and the questions the filmmakers are forcing Israeli society and Jews from all over to confront about the war in Gaza. We’ll leave you with the passage Emily read from Zach’s book, and encourage you to listen to the full conversation because this write-up simply doesn’t do it justice: “A state built on ethnic purity, even if born out of trauma, will structurally be inclined to view minorities as existential threats. This in turn fuels a cycle of fear, repression, and violence. That is not a prophecy. It is a historical pattern, one that Jews of all people should recognize because they have been on the receiving end of it for the last two centuries.”

Jeremy and Ilan had a fascinating conversation with Congressman Jared Huffman about his new book, No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism. The book is remarkably personal. Rep. Huffman takes us from his childhood in an offshoot of the Mormon Church and his eventual departure from the faith to his years in Congress, where he’s watched Christian nationalism grow into an increasingly powerful political movement. We don’t want to give too much away and would rather have you hear it from Jared himself. But we dug into the history of the movement, what he believes January 6 revealed about Christian nationalism, and the different factions now operating within it. We also talked about Christian Zionism and why Israel plays such a central role in parts of the movement, as well as how Christian nationalism intersects with antisemitism. There’s a lot more in the book and in our conversation, so we hope you’ll tune in – and pick up a copy of No Prophets while you’re at it.

We’re just about through with primary season. In this week’s Word on the Street Live, we took a step back to look at what we learned about the national political landscape – and what it could mean for November. We talked through the House and Senate maps, the races J Street is watching most closely, and why states like Michigan, Georgia and Ohio are already shaping up to be some of the most important (and most watched) contests of the cycle. We also talked about AIPAC: Its growing toxicity in the Democratic Party, the impact of big money on democracy and why JStreetPAC approaches our political work differently. Plus, we shared some of our biggest surprises, toughest losses and favorite wins from the primary season. There’s a lot at stake between now and November, and our team will be doing our best to make sure our candidates have the support they need to win.

Israeli pollster and analyst Dahlia Scheindlin took us from freshman year to senior year, with a crash course into how Israeli elections actually work, the latest polls, Gadi Eisenkot’s rise and the many moving pieces that could determine the next government. One important caveat Dahlia wants us to remember: Don’t count Netanyahu out. Israeli elections have a way of surprising us, and there’s a cautionary tale in assuming today’s party standings will hold. But the bigger question is what a change in government would actually mean. Would it change Israel’s approach to Gaza? To the West Bank? To the United States? And how much should Washington expect from – and press – whichever government emerges? There are a lot of moving pieces to Israel’s upcoming election, and we’ll keep tracking them here on Word on the Street. Give the conversation a listen.

This week on Word on the Street, Ilan spoke with Alia Awadallah, a Palestinian American who served in the Biden Administration, and Rebecca Abou-Chedid, a Lebanese American who has spent her career working in Arab American advocacy and Middle East policy. For too long, there’s been a real imbalance in Washington. I remember when there could be five Jewish voices at the policymaking table on Israel-Palestine for every one Arab or Palestinian voice. We talked about whether that’s finally changing, and what it means when the people with the deepest lived experience have too often been overlooked. We also talked about the attacks Arab and Palestinian American government officials face, including from parts of the Jewish community, and the impossible (and hypocritical) expectation to constantly defend their identities, politics and motives. The biggest takeaway? These are exactly the voices Washington needs at the table. Voices that bring a fuller and more comprehensive perspective to a policy debate that has too often treated Palestinians and Arabs as an afterthought.