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World
NEWS ANALYSIS
J Street Debate
White House to activists: We have your back.
Ron Kampeas and Eric Fingerhut
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Washington
I
srael's ambassador turned down an
invitation to speak last week at the
inaugural J Street conference shortly
after his spokesman was quoted as saying
that some of the group's positions would
impair Israel's interests.
The Obama administration seemed to
have a different message for the group: We
have your back.
On Oct. 26, before the official launch of
the conference, the White House's top out-
reach official urged Jewish and Arab lead-
ers to change their communities' "hearts
and minds" about President Obama's
peace push at a joint session convened by J
Street and the Arab American Institute.
"We need to build support" for Obama's
efforts to restart Palestinian-Israeli peace
talks, Tina Tchen said. "There are hearts
and minds in the United States that need
to be changed!'
On Oct. 28, another Obama administra-
tion official — James Jones, the White
House national security adviser — ham-
mered home the point to the 1,500-plus
attendees at the Grand Hyatt Washington.
His message from the White House to the J
Street conference was one of inevitability:
of peace, of a strong U.S.-Israel relation-
ship — and of J Street.
"You can be sure this administration
will be represented at all future confer-
ences," Jones said.
Jones' message was otherwise boiler-
plate — Israel, the Palestinians and the
Arab states need to do more to achieve
peace; President Obama is committed to a
two-state solution; Iran must stop enrich-
ing uranium. He did, however, add a new
wrinkle to the Iran equation, making it
clear that the United States expects Iran
to give up all, not just some, of its low-
enriched uranium.
But the "I'll be back" assurance earned
an extended round of applause and meant
a great deal to an organization that strug-
gled to attract mainstream and right-wing
speakers. A behind-the-scenes campaign
from some other pro-Israel groups and
conservative pundits had warned away
establishment figures.
(Among the critics complaints: J Street
backs U.S. pressure on Israel and the
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November 5 • 2009
J Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami spoke as Rabbi Eric Yoffie looked on.
Palestinians, it slammed Israel's invasion
of Gaza and it has criticized other Jewish
groups.)
Jones message was echoed by U.S. Rep.
Robert Wexler, D-Fla., who introduced
Jones. Until his recent announcement that
he was quitting Congress to head a Middle
East peace think tank, Wexler was about
as mainstream as it gets in Congress'
unofficial Jewish caucus. He was very
strongly pro-Israel, and his wife works for
the American Jewish Committee.
Wexler, who was candidate Obama's lead
on Jewish outreach, remains loyal to the
president's insistence on broadening the
dialogue.
"As Americans, we are among the most
fortunate people in the world:' he told the
crowd. "I applaud your political energy; we
need more of it!'
it makes no sense at all and Americans,
being a sensible people, know that!'
Later, however, Yoffie was booed when
he criticized Richard Goldstone, the South
African jurist who chaired the United
Nations commission that issued a report
stating that Israel and Hamas might be
guilty of war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
"Richard Goldstone should be ashamed
of himself' Yoffie said, "for working under
the auspices of the U.N. Human Rights
Council."
Yoffie, a longtime backer of a two-state
solution and critic of Israeli settlement
expansion, welcomed the creation of J
Street. But he ended up harshly condemn-
ing the organization for criticizing Israel's
invasion of Gaza.
Cheers And Boos
Rabbi Eric Yoffie drew cheers from the
crowd on Oct. 27 during a discussion with
J Street executive director Jeremy Ben-
Ami when he said that too many Jewish
communal leaders have their heads in the
sand when it comes to Israeli settlements.
"You cannot convince Americans that it
makes sense for an Israel that supports a
Palestinian state to maintain a large settler
population in the heart of the West Bank
where that state must come into being;'
said Yoffie, president of the Union for
Reform Judaism. "The simple fact is that
$$$ And Policy
It's not every day that two Jewish con-
gressmen politely debate whether Jewish
political contributions control U.S. policy
in the Middle East. Or one of those mem-
bers gets major applause after saying he
voted against a resolution that condemned
a Nation of Islam leader.
Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., told the story
of voting against a 1994 resolution con-
demning the hateful and anti-Semitic
speech of Khalid Abdul Muhammad, at
the time a top lieutenant of Nation of
Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
Filner said he couldn't condemn the
speech because of the First Amendment
— "How can Jews survive without the
First Amendment?" he asked — and was
the only Jewish member of Congress to
vote against it
Filner said the vote hurt him among
Jewish supporters, costing him $250,000
in contributions per election cycle.
"That kind of money is an intimidating
factor. I raised a lot less money in succeed-
ing years, but my conscience was cleared;'
he said to huge applause.
As the discussion among Filner and
Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Dill., Jared Polis,
D-Colo., and Charles Boustany, R-La., con-
tinued, Polis cautioned that "we need to
be careful to not give cover" to those "who
think there is a Jewish conspiracy" to con-
trol U.S. foreign policy.
Filner retorted by citing two mem-
bers of the Congressional Black Caucus
— Earl Hilliard of Alabama and Cynthia
McKinney of Georgia — who were defeat-
ed with the help of pro-Israel donors.
"That intimidates people Filner said.
Polis responded by saying that the pro-
Israel lobby is no different than any other
single-issue interest group in American
politics, from labor unions to low-tax pro-
ponents like the Club for Growth, to sup-
porters of gun rights.
"This is not unique to American poli-
tics:' Polis said about the pro-Israel lobby.
"Nor is this even one of the most influen-
tial groups in either of the parties."
But Filner persisted, arguing as an
example that labor unions were at least
providing health benefits for the members
— but on Israel, members of Congress
"are taking positions that can lead to war"
based only on how it affects their cam-
paign coffers.
"The Republican Party doesn't give a
damn about Israel:' he said, but supports
it on political grounds.
That finally led Boustany to chime in,
suggesting that Filner not "generalize
about Republicans."
Differing Views
After all the arguing in recent weeks over
J Street, one thing was clear at the inau-
gural conference of the self-described
pro-Israel, pro-peace" group: Even among
the 1,500 delegates who attended the par-
ley, there are crucial disagreements over
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J Street Debate on page 22