J Street will host its 2026 Convention at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill for the first time in four years from Feb. 28 through March 3, where attendees will hear from leading experts and elected officials about Israel, antisemitism and civil rights, and advocate for various legislative priorities on Capitol Hill.
J Street notes it is a pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy U.S. nonprofit advocacy organization that lobbies Congress and the administration to promote diplomacy-first American leadership and policies to advance equality, peace and democracy in Israel and in the United States.
The convention will feature speakers from various denominations of Judaism, including Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly, and Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism.
The convention’s main stage event will also feature several federal lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Rep. Sara Jacobs of California.
Van Hollen was publicly criticized by Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington CEO Ron Halber in December for his response to the Israel-Hamas war and by multiple Jewish organizations after accusing Halber of being an “apologist for the Netanyahu government,” as reported by Washington Jewish Week.
“Chris Van Hollen is a longtime friend of J Street. He is an endorsee, he is someone that we have a longstanding relationship with,” said Adina Vogel-Ayalon, vice president of strategy and programs at J Street.
“We are proud to feature Sen. Chris Van Hollen on our main stage as we do support a lot of the positions that the senator has taken to speak out, both courageously in support of Israel and the Israeli people, while not losing sight of the fact that there is legitimacy to criticize the actions of the Israeli government,” Vogel-Ayalon told Washington Jewish Week in an interview.
Vogel-Ayalon added that the convention will be an opportunity for Van Hollen to engage with Jewish leaders in Maryland.
The convention will also feature speakers from Israel and Gaza, including Palestinian torchbearer Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli torchbearer Maoz Inon, who held the Olympic torch at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“J Street is a movement that does represent the mainstream view, both of American policymakers and the Democratic Party … leading the way on a pragmatic path forward for constructive foreign policy to bring about a strong U.S.-Israel relationship based on shared values that are centered around democracy, pursuit of justice, peace and human rights,” said Vogel-Ayalon.
The four-day event will begin on Saturday evening, Feb. 28, with the first main stage event. Sunday and Monday will each include a full day of programing, including main stage events and break-out groups. Monday evening will conclude the main events with a gala that will include a Megillah reading and networking with D.C. policymakers and Jewish community figures.
Tuesday, March 3, is J Street’s Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill. Attendees who register for advocacy day will have the opportunity to meet with House and Senate officials to discuss antisemitism in the U.S. and the U.S.-Israel relationship.
“I would love for people to leave energized as to seeing themselves as a part of [a] movement that has an impact, both in the American Jewish community — [J Street] is also a representative of the American Jewish community — as well as our leaders in Congress that is heavily connected and intertwined with our ideological partners on the ground,” explained Vogel-Ayalon.
“I hope that [attendees] take away that we also represent a broad swath of the American Jewish community, and that we also have support and Israeli partners that are working on the ground and want to enhance the relationships between the American Jewish community and the political ecosystem here that shares their values for a path forward that centers peace [and] relationships between Israelis and Palestinians that are not only centered around conflict and war, but on finding a path forward out of the of the current moment that we find ourselves in,” she added.
Calling J Street a “pro-Israel” organization is about as intellectually honest as calling Hannibal Lecter a vegetarian because he ate a salad once.
J Street is a pro-progressive organization.