Brit Tzedek v'Shalom/Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace Records

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, was founded in 2002 in response to the Second Intifada. The organization was an American membership organization of American Jews committed to negotiating a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They supported an end to Israeli military occupation of territories in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem; the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders; establishment of Jerusalem as the capital of both states; a resolution to the Palestinian refugee problem; an end to terrorism and state-initiated violence; and an evacuation of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. The organization aimed to achieve these goals through building a constituent base, garnering media coverage, changing the discourse about Israeli-Palestinian peace, informing the American Jewish community, and through national campaigns that advocated a negotiated two-state solution.

At its peak, Brit Tzedek had a network of approximately 50,000 supporters and 38 chapters across the United States. In 2003, they organized their first national campaign, "A Call to Bring the Settlers Home to Israel," which petitioned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President George W. Bush to redirect financial incentives to settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip willing to return to Israel. The petition had 10,000 signers. They also launched their "Spirit of Geneva" campaign in 2003, which sought to negotiate a two-state solution based upon the Geneva Accord. In 2006, they established the National Rabbinic Cabinet, which sought to organize rabbis, seminary students, and other Jewish clergy members in Brit Tzedek activism. In 2007, they organized a 22 city tour of Combatants for Peace, which brought together Israeli and Palestinian former combatants to work for peace through dialogue. Among its accomplishments, Brit Tzedek helped secure 36 cosponsors in the Senate for the 2007 Feinstein/Lugar resolution, which called for active U.S. engagement to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and 135 House signers to the Ackerman-Boustany letter to Secretary Condoleezza Rice to reinvigorate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In 2008, Brit Tzedek focused on its "Time to Choose" campaign, which was directed toward the 2008 presidential candidates to put peace talks on the presidential agenda. In 2010, Brit Tzedek merged with J Street.