As she announces that she will retire from the US Senate at the end of her current term, J Street congratulates JStreetPAC endorsee Senator Dianne Feinstein on her incredibly distinguished political career and three decades of service as a United States Senator.

“Throughout her time in Congress, Senator Feinstein has been a leader in promoting strong diplomacy and pro-Israel, pro-peace policies that advance the true interests of both the United States and Israel,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “The Senator has long championed Israeli-Palestinian peace and was an important advocate for the passage of JCPOA nuclear agreement, which successfully blocked all Iranian pathways to a nuclear weapon. As liberal democracy has faced dangerous threats both at home and abroad, she has been a stalwart defender of the democratic values and freedoms that J Street and the American Jewish community hold dear.”

Senator Feinstein has been an outspoken voice for security for both Israelis and Palestinians – particularly through her opposition to deepening occupation and annexation in the West Bank. She has led or co-led multiple Congressional letters opposing the demolition and forced relocation of Palestinian communities and criticizing settlement expansion at key moments. Her leadership helped to stop impending demolitions in Susya and Khan al-Ahmar, preserving Palestinian homes and livelihoods in two of the occupied West Bank’s most vulnerable villages. She has also been at the fore of opposing cuts to US humanitarian aid benefitting Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Senator Feinstein has been an endorsee of JStreetPAC since 2012. The pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy movement looks forward to maintaining its close relationship with Senator Feinstein for the duration of her current term and beyond.