On the opening night of J Street’s National Convention, we kicked off Word on the Street Live with three voices who refuse to give up on a different future – former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and then Elana Kaminka and Rula Daood.
Our conversation with Olmert was candid and urgent. He reflected on his own political journey, spoke bluntly about the war in Gaza, and warned about the dangers he sees ahead for Israel’s democracy. After decades in public life, he made clear why he believes change is still possible.
Then the tone shifted from political to grassroots leadership. Elana, who lost her son on October 7, spoke about choosing empathy amid unimaginable grief – and why she believes recognizing each other’s pain is essential to breaking the cycle of violence. Rula, National co-Director of Standing Together, shared what a real Arab-Jewish shared society requires right now. Together, they modeled the kind of courage we so desperately need.
Thank you to Prime Minister Olmert, Rula and Elana, and to the many others we hosted throughout Sunday and Monday. If you were with us at Convention and took a minute between sessions to join us, we’re so grateful. And if you were at Convention but in another room, this is your chance to experience it now for the first time.
Over the course of the Convention, we hosted more than five hours of live programming here on Substack. Nearly 2,000 people joined us – it genuinely felt like even more people in the room. We’ll be rolling out the rest of the conversations over the next couple of weeks, so be sure to check back here to catch what you missed.
