J Street?

"J Street to President Biden: It's time to withhold certain weapons from the Israeli government for continuing to block humanitarian assistance to Gaza. - This can’t be delayed any longer..."

I didn’t create “Washington Views” substack with the intent to focus much on J Street. I felt that discussing J Street was a topic which I would much-rather leave to others. And going forward; that will hopefully be the case. But continuing on from my piece last week “Friends of Israel?” a few additional, specific-to-J Street thoughts, about an organization which describes itself as “The political home of pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans.”

Over the years, there have been various critiques made about J Street and its approach to Israel. Some of these critiques came from the “Zionist right” (which contrary to some perceptions; is really not what AIPAC is!) Those critiques of J Street sometimes employed harsh language (which is not my approach). Certainly it was always a puzzle that J Street received early support from George Soros, who whatever other qualities he may have and whatever other causes he may advocate; is not known for being a strong supporter of Israel (or AIPAC!). (That Soros funding was of course initially denied by J Street until it was leaked.)

Especially in recent years; my former employers, AIPAC and J Street have engaged in a series of somewhat-unflattering comments about each other. AIPAC, for instance, have made repeated note of the activities and policies of J Street as well as the activities re Israel of some of its Congressionally-endorsed candidates, The AIPAC tagline: “J Street is many things, but it’s not pro-Israel.”(J Street for their part, have made various critiques of AIPAC!) I’ll leave that “debate to others to discuss- or at least I’ll put it off for another time!

I am extremely-familiar with the policies and positions J Street have adopted since their founding some 15 years ago as well as the statements made by J Street and their senior staff. I’ve witnessed J Street’s growth and evolution and expanding its focus beyond solely Israel and the Israel-Palestinian conflict; to engaging on various social and political issues in the United States (moving from being a theoretically bipartisan organization to basically being a part of the Democratic Party coalition.)

I attended every one of J Street’s national Conferences since their very first one and enjoyed doing so and picking up information from the various tables from various mostly Jewish and Zionist-left groups. (I always appreciated J Street hosting me as a “Comped” guest, as an AIPAC staffer. (Hopefully J Street will continue to host me as a guest (or as a blogger!) in my post-AIPAC years - even after reading this post! I guess I’ll find out next year! (I of course never did - and never would - “cause a scene” at any of their conferences! Or at any conference for that matter! So here’s to attending many more years as a Comped J Street attendee!)

One of the prime differences between AIPAC and groups on the left and right - whether you like it or not (I tend to like it!); AIPAC doesn’t seek to advocate public or governmental pressure on the Government of Israel (or the people of Israel) to adopt certain policies. One of its mantra is that the Government of Israel is democratically-elected (Yes we all know the “intricacies” and flaws of the Israeli political system!) And that it’s for that Government of Israel to pursue Israeli policies that it thinks best (and to live - or die - by the consequences). Israelis after all, not American Jewry and other Friends of Israel are the ones who face the consequences. And that if American or other Jews want to directly-influence Israel they should move there. But they certainly have much right to put their money into organizations in Israel as do philanthropists on the right.

Obviously it’s rather-more complicated than that; but that’s the essence. Now when it gets to domestic issues such as “Judicial Reform” or the inclusion of certain people in the Cabinet; I fully acknowledge that it’s a “complex matter” whether to remain silent or to speak out. Like everyone else; I obviously have my own views which are not pertinent to this piece!

Clearly “Friends of Israel” may wonder at times - or even quite often! - about what Israel is doing! They may think that Israel should or should not do this or that. (And objectively they may be right!) It’s certainly “fair game” to express their opinions directly to people in Israel and even to speak out about it in the United States offering their views. And I’m familiar with the argument “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” But there presumably should be some kind of boundaries and where those boundaries is a fair subject of debate. (The old mantra that American Jewry shouldn’t publicize Israel or the Government of Israel have long since gone away.) The American Zionist left have as much right to express their views as do the American Zionist right.

There is no shortage of organizations and individuals eager and willing to speak out in criticism of Israel and to advocate various policies and pressures to “persuade” Israel to adopt their policies. Again they may be right or wrong and they of course have the freedom to express those views. And they very-much do. But they are not claiming to be “Pro-Israel” organizations. And

J Street assert that their views reflect the views of the majority of American Jewry and cite polls (which I leave to others to comment on or analyze.) This is not a discussion about what percentage of American Jews might (or might not) support the stated positions of J Street especially when the positions and implications are fully-explained. That’s an entirely- different debate than what a “Pro-Israel” organization should or should not do. Of course there’s a spectrum; and not every organization has to adopt the AIPAC approach (and certainly don’t!). I certainly believe there’s a difference between saying something is not “good” US Policy and saying something is not “good” for Israel.

Over the years I always pointed to any positive things J Street might have said or done with respect to the US-Israel relationship. And certainly their denunciation of October 7th and their constant denunciations of terror attacks on Israel were unequivocal. But not infrequently one would wonder why would a “Pro-Israel” be doing something like that! Like any organization; there may be splits between their Staffers, key activists, and funders. Certainly over the years, the student part of J Street, J Street U has seemed more “critical of Israel” than even J Street.

In the last week; besides their various “tweets” (posts) and emails; these are the public statements put out by J Street. One can agree with them. One can disagree with them. Everyone can judge for themselves. (J Street can even thank me for promoting their work!)

I fully acknowledge that it’s a complex matter to decide what constitutes being pro-Israel. Certainly no one appointed me (or anyone else) to be the “arbiter” of what it means to be pro-Israel.

Personally I just wish there was a bit more Jewish unity on the issue of Israel (which extends far beyond J Street). And of course I wish that there were fewer Jews involved in the truly anti-Zionist movement. But that’s an interesting and somewhat-depressing topic for another day!

Shabbat Shalom


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