The Forward has a piece on Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren that discusses his rapprochement with J Street. Note that while the piece refers to elements of the American Jewish community that are alienated from Israel, to explain the fact that many at Brandeis were not happy when it invited Oren to speak there, none of these people is quoted in the article. Below I excerpt the J Street bit. I wonder what J Street got out of the deal, beside no more public criticism from Oren? And it raises a related question: Would J Street feel that life is worth living it if it was on the outs with the Israeli government? I think the answer is No, and the reason is the prevailing Zionism within the American Jewish community. Those folks who didn’t like the Brandeis invite were young, by and large:
There are different interpretations of what happened next [following Oren’s outspoken criticism of J Street earlier this year], but the relationship now, it appears, has been repaired and, according to J Street, is even close.
[J Street leader Jeremy] Ben-Ami said that he and Oren made efforts after the blowup to move toward each other. J Street took positions, such as its support of the Iran sanctions bill, and opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, that earned it legitimacy in Oren’s eyes. And Oren, Ben-Ami said, learned more about the group’s constituency and came to understand what Ben-Ami called its “nuanced stance.”
“I take him at his word that he is committed to a more robust and open dialogue and relationship,” Ben-Ami said, “though I think there are people within the government that he works for that don’t share that point of view.”
Halevi voiced a different view; he believes it was “one of the most successful moments” of Oren’s tenure. [Rightwinger Yossi Klein] Halevi said that Oren, rather than coming to an understanding with the group, defined in strong terms what it would take for J Street to be included in the mainstream, and J Street complied.
“What Michael did was draw a necessary red line in terms of basic Jewish legitimacy,” Halevi said. “If you want to be considered a mainstream pro-Israel organization, here is what the State of Israel expects of you. I can tell you unequivocally that it was J Street that learned from Michael, and Michael had nothing to learn from J Street. What Michael learned was that when you hold the line against criticism, it pays off in the long term.”
