Tag: J Street

His former employer The Israel Project is focused on helping Israel improve its image, and so it's a mystery how Elsner lasted there for two years.

Given President Obama's win and victories of many of their candidates, a reasonable morning-after position for J Street would be quiet satisfaction, or even – why not? – gleeful rejoicing. But J Street, which has rarely met a critic of Israel it didn't like, instead tried to promote itself as an integral part of the campaign, a driving wind propelling Democratic victories. So eager to claim a starring role, J Street released details of several exit polls they commissioned which, upon examination, tell far more about how little J Street matters.

Filner is one of a growing list of Jewish politicians who have been embraced by J Street.

Griffith said, "I'm a proud Jewish American and I'm concerned that the single biggest entity funding you is J Street. J Street has given you $60,000, and as you know, J Street is funded by an attorney for the Saudi Embassy and has also been funded by the producer of one of the most anti-Semitic films ever made ...," but Griffith was not allowed to finish his question. The Senator's first response was that Griffith's was "clearly a political question."

Publicly, J Street repeatedly states that Halutz is against the drawing of "red lines," that is, the line in the sand beyond which military action against Iran must be taken. There are commentators who crow that Halutz's opposition to red lines reveals a reluctance to use force against Iran, and that it is an explicit criticism of the Israeli prime minister. J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami wrote: "Gen. Halutz has repeatedly said that … there is nothing to be gained from the public calls for deadlines and red lines." But Halutz, who is definitely against red lines, doesn't like them because he thinks they interfere with effective military strategies. Halutz says that Israel may even have to “go it alone.”

J Street should get out of the business of telling Israel how to balance existential risks regarding the security of its citizens. It should stop undercutting American policy with regard to Iran. And as an organization that claims it is both pro-Israel and pro-peace, it should recognize that its superficial approach to this complex problem is bad for peace, bad for Israel and bad for American efforts to prevent a nuclear Iran without the need for a military attack.

President Obama recently invited me to the Oval Office for a discussion about Iran. The President reiterated to me in private what he had previously said in public: namely, that he would not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons; that containment of a nuclear Iran was not an option; that sanctions and diplomatic pressures would be applied and increased first; but that, as a last recourse, the military option would not be taken off the table.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein accepted the endorsement of J Street's political action committee. Feinstein (D-Calif.) joins Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and...

Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, is an Iraq war veteran challenging Representative Joe Walsh, Republican of Illinois' northwest suburban 8th congressional district (about an hour's drive from Chicago, give or take). There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her, except for the fact that she has received the endorsement of J Street, the leftist pro-Palestinian, "tough-lovers" of Israel PAC.

Got that? The goal of J Street is not to represent American Jews on the left, but is instead "to move American Jews" to the left and to the Administration's/friends on the Hill's point of view, and to "provide them with cover."

Israeli Deputy Ambassador to the US Baruch Bina addressed thousands of J Street supporters last week, and his appearance had been hailed as a thawing of official Israeli approach to the pro-Palestinian organization. They were in for a big surprise. How big a surprise? The Baruch Bina speech has been removed from J Street's official history. It never happened. But we have it…

As sponsors of the upcoming J Street conference, B'Tselem has had to explain to its Palestinian allies how it can be part of an event featuring as keynote speaker former PM Ehud Olmert, "the Butcher of Gaza." B'Tselem's response was typical – a lot of backpedaling and revisions. But what works for the op-ed pages of Ha'aretz and the NY Times does not wash with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights…

Ackerman was most recently involved in the successful efforts to free Israeli-American citizen Ilan Grapel from prison in Egypt on spy charges. Grapel is a constituent of Ackerman's.

Although J Street describes itself as a pro-Israel organization that supports peace between Israel and its neighbors, many Israelis and US Jews, including many public figures, have said that J Street is anti-Israel, particularly in relation to the security challenges facing the Jewish state. Several US Jewish leaders have objected to J Street's position on Israel, and have publicly disassociated themselves from the organization.

Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and possible 2012 presidential candidate, visited Israel earlier this week.

WASHINGTON - Detractors of J Street, which bills itself as the "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobbying organization, like to portray the organization's leader, Jeremy Ben-Ami, as so far to the left of mainstream American Jewish opinion as to be out of bounds.

Shortly after Sarah Palin provoked a barrage of criticism for her use of the term "blood libel," a Democratic congressman named Steve Cohen compared Republican statements about the Obama health care reform to "the big lie" told by Joseph Goebbels, saying it's "like [a] blood libel. The same kind of thing."

Last week's historic "shellacking" suffered by the Democrats was a stark and humbling reminder to all elected officials of whatever party that they serve at the will of their constituents.

J Street, the leftist lobbying organization that claims to be pro-Israel, is running a television ad that divides the world into two groups: the good guys who support the two-state solution, the end of the occupation and peace; and the bad guys who oppose these results and instead favor a continuation of violence.

The Los Angeles Jewish community recently welcomed Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), a strong supporter and vocal advocate for a strong U.S.-Israel alliance.   Engel was hosted...

The Los Angeles Jewish community recently welcomed Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), a strong supporter and vocal advocate for a strong U.S.-Israel alliance.   Engel was hosted...

The founding of J Street in 2008 sparked much debate in the pro-Israel community. Many were concerned that the group would be overly critical of the Jewish state and thus erode the pro-Israel consensus in the United States.

"No, you must be realistic. You can only claim to be pro-peace when what you promote really can lead to peace." Her gentle, but assertive, voice startled me as it rose with conviction. Lori Lowenthal Marcus, initiator of Z Street, was answering my question about what J Street believes in that she does not.

WASHINGTON - After months of high-profile feuding, the dovish lobbying group J Street and Israel's ambassador to Washington appear to be reconciling.

      NOTE: Aaron Klein will host a live call-in show this Sunday on 77-WABC in New York from 7-9 p.m. E.S.T.         A Jewish...

      Editor's Note: Aaron Klein will host a live call-in show this Sunday on 77-WABC in New York from 7- 9 p.m. E.S.T.        ...

WASHINGTON - As Sarah Palin embarked on a tour for her just published book Going Rogue, she became the latest prospective Republican presidential candidate to criticize the Obama administration's policy on Israel.

An Interview with Jeff Daube, the ZOA's Man In Israel

The Israeli Left is in dire straits. The past several months have been some of the worst it has ever experienced.

If J Street, the new left-wing Israel lobby, wants to be taken seriously by mainstream American Jewry, I suggest it immediately stop the patronizing argument that all those who disagree with the organization are ossified Jewish knuckle-draggers who see an anti-Semite behind every corner.