A real divide inside the pro-Israel organizations, a fight for the soul of the Jewish leadership. Just a few days in advance of the AIPAC policy conference, "J Street" is sending a shot across AIPAC's bow by launching a public campaign to support Obama in his aid package to the Palestinians and in his conciliatory approach to Iran.
The President intends to achieve a negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his first term and to address the challenges Iran poses through diplomacy.
His opponents, meanwhile, are trying to rally Congress to thwart his agenda. With one hand they're opposing the President's proposed approach to working with a possible Palestinian unity government; with the other, they are proposing aggressive new sanctions on Iran just as diplomatic outreach begins.
…just this week, the Orwellian-named "Iran Diplomacy Enhancement Act" was introduced in the House – a bill that in reality does nothing to "enhance diplomacy" but instead imposes further sanctions on Iran, directly undercutting the President's diplomatic message.
Obama's "opponents" seems a clear reference to AIPAC. But for its part AIPAC says that the Obama White House does not oppose the petroleum-sanctions it wants to impose, and that both the Defense Department and State have opened the door to them. AIPAC spokesman Josh Block said in a news email that it's all part of "constructive diplomatic engagement":
If Iran doesn't act rapidly to suspend its enrichment and other illicit nuclear work, the U.S. and our allies must be prepared to induce Iranian compliance by targeting Iran's economic and structural vulnerabilities with what Secretary Clinton has called 'crippling sanctions'. This bill gives President Obama the tools to do just that.
