It was inevitable. Constantly under pressure from the Jewish center-right (Reform rabbis, for instance), J Street has thrown in the towel. Read its document of surrender.
In response to the letter from Christian denominations urging that aid to Israel be compliant with U.S. law, J Street has joined Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation league and the half-million a year hacks that run the other Jewish organizations to blast the Christians. (See Foxman letter).
J Street agrees with them that aid to Israel is an entitlement. It must never be questioned unless you also add ” criticism of Israel’s behavior with appropriate criticism of, for instance, rocket fire from Gaza into Israeli civilian areas.” You must also ”put the present situation into a historical or political context that might provide a fuller appreciation for the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over many decades. “
Blah, blah, AIPAC, blah. The church letter is about the $2.5 billion aid package to Israel. As far as I know, the U.S. does not provide the rockets fired from Gaza. As for putting the current situation in a context that “ might provide a fuller appreciation for the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over many decades,” I say tell that to the people of Gaza, including the 1400 civilians (300 kids) who heard all about that context in 2009-2010.
I have no doubt that the people who run J Street fought the rabbis and donors to avoid having to put out this statement. They always fight. They always give in. (I hear that Rabbi David Saperstein of the Reform movement threatens to pull “my rabbis” out if J Street strays too far from AIPAC. He’s the lobby’s enforcer)
So I feel sorry for J Street. But I do not see any reason to support it. It is, at the end of the day — in fact, long before the end of the day — just another Jewish organization that lacks the courage of its supposed convictions.
If Israel attacks Iran, I am sure Saperstein will demand that J Street will go along with that too. It will only stand tall when it has permission.
J Street: Epic Fail.
No reason to feel sad for J Street. Their main prescription–another multi-year trip down the road to nowhere, BKA Oslo peace process–would have been disastrous for the Palestinians.
“Liberal Zionist” remains an oxymoron. How long will it be before “Reform Judaism” becomes an oxymoron?
We should also examine whether our $3.5 billion in military aid to the Palestinians passes US legal muster. We can only be even-handed only if we stop our gifts of F-16 fighter planes to Hamas as well as Israel.
J Street is the face that AIPAC wants to hide from right wings and AIPAC is the face that J street wants to hide from corporate approved liberal blah blah feel good party .
“put the present situation in a historical and political context that might provide a fuller appreciation of the complexity of the Israel-Palestinian conflict over many decades?”
Yeah, and before accusing european settlers in the “new world” of genocide, consider the complexity of the settler-indian conflict ever since 1492
and before accusing the Turks of genocide, consider the complexity of Turkish-Armenian relations in the early 20th century
also, before accusing the nazis of genocide, consider the complexity of christian-jewish antagonism over the ages