The contours of the battle over the future of the Democrats’ policy toward Israel are starting to take shape, and J Street is trying to cement support for the existence of a Jewish ethno-state as the Party’s bottom line.

Jews are overwhelmingly supportive of Israel even as other Democrats overwhelmingly oppose the Israeli “genocide.” And the Israel lobby, backed by pro-Israel donors, is what defeated Rep. Jamaal Bowman in New York.

Israel’s indifference to international law is destabilizing the Middle East, even establishment voices say. The head of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic Party thinktank, says Israel is not a democracy and peace will only be possible if Palestinians have equal rights.

Liberal Zionists rushed to affirm their support for Israel and hatred of anti-Zionism in the wake of Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s “racist state” comment because they are afraid the Israel lobby will abandon the Democratic party in 2024 and big donors will go over to the GOP or sit the campaign out.

The venom of the Israel lobby toward the Nakba is understandable. Acknowledging the Nakba doesn’t just undermine the “miracle” of Israel, but the state’s legitimacy in the eyes of idealistic Americans.

Steve Inskeep of NPR today described Neve Yaakov, the scene of an attack last week, as being in Israel. While Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street called it a Jerusalem “neighborhood.” It is in fact an exclusively Jewish settlement in occupied Jerusalem, built on confiscated Palestinian lands, and a source of affliction for Palestinians.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made it clear the Biden administration is no friend to even J Street’s moderate politics on Israel, let alone the broader struggle for Palestinian rights. 

J Street gave a shout out to Rep. Betty McCollum from the stage of its gala but didn’t invite her to speak, because she has called out Israeli “apartheid.” The liberal Zionist organization is terrified of the left’s political and discursive power. It throws us crumbs and hopes we don’t notice its messaging. Like when J Street CEO Jeremy Ben-Ami complained to labor leader Randi Weingarten that the left doesn’t notice “what is good and right” in Israel.

At the organization’s annual national conference, J Street CEO Jeremy Ben-Ami announced a major pivot in the group’s advocacy: for restricting U.S. aid to Israel over its human rights abuses. “Maybe it’s time for some serious oversight and accountability for how our aid to Israel is actually being used,” Jeremy Ben-Ami said, likening Palestine to Ukraine under Russian invasion. Ben-Ami also warned that leading Jewish organizations that enforce loyalty to Israel are threatening the health of the Jewish community by undermining a traditional Jewish commitment to civil rights.

Even liberal Zionists maintain a red line against Americans calling Israel an apartheid state. Jeremy Ben-Ami says the apartheid “label” will “distract” Israelis and keep them from doing the right thing. But Haaretz writers, desperate about the racism that prevails in their society, refer to apartheid in article after article.