world
Outside The Tent
Liberal peace group J Street falls short in bid
to join Conference of Presidents.
JTA, INS, Jerusalem Post and
Times of Israel
M
embers of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American
Jewish Organizations on April
30 voted 22-17 (with three abstentions) to
reject the membership application of the
self-labeled "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobby J
Street.
J Street fell significantly short of the
required threshold of a two-thirds affirma-
tive vote from the Conference's full mem-
bership. The result that 25 organizations
either voted against J Street or abstained
meant that half of the Conference's 50
members declined to support J Street's
application.
J Street said in a statement, "This is a sad
day for us, but also for the American Jewish
community and for a venerable institu-
tion that has chosen to bar the door to the
communal tent to an organization that
represents a substantial segment of Jewish
opinion on Israel.
"We are especially disappointed that a
minority of the farthest right-wing organi-
zations within the Conference has chosen to
close the Conference's doors to this emerg-
ing generation of inspiring and passionate
young leaders:' J Street said, stating that
such a move turns away many Jews who
would like to contribute to the communal
dialogue.
The organization also stated that its
rejection underscored the reason it had
been founded in the first place, namely
to represent the "large segment of the
American Jewish community that feels it
does not have a home or a voice within its
traditional structures:'
Much Disappointment
Kenneth Bob, president of the progressive
Zionist organization Ameinu, a member of
the Conference, said, "Yesterday marked a
low point in the Jewish community's effort
to build a broad coalition of support for
Israel."
Americans for Peace Now, another mem-
ber of the Conference, expressed disap-
pointment as well. Ori Nir, a spokesman for
the dovish group, stated that the decision
was down to "close-mindedness" and the
Conference's leaders' inability to see where
the winds of Jewish public opinion are
blowing.
"Not accept-
ing J Street into the
Conference is a rejec-
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami
tion, perhaps a denial,
of the healthy trends
that are taking place within the commu-
Separately, Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, the
nity:' Nir said.
executive vice president of the Conservative
The Union for Reform Judaism said it
movement's Rabbinical Assembly, said her
is seeking an overhaul of the Conference
group also would seek an overhaul.
in the wake of its rejection of J Street. The
"The Conference of Presidents has 50 or
Reform group said May 1 on its website that so organizations; each one has one vote;
leaving the Conference is an option.
and the majority of those organizations are
As of yesterday, it is clear that the
quite tiny:' she told JTA. "The fact that J
Conference of Presidents, as currently con-
Street did not pass today's vote is reflective
stituted and governed, no longer serves its
of structural anomalies of the conference:'
vital purpose of providing a collective voice
for the entire American Jewish pro-Israel
Pressure On Israel'
community:' URJ President Rick Jacobs said Asked about the rejection, Anti-Defamation
in the statement.
League National Director Abe Foxman,
The departure of the umbrella body for
who voted to admit J Street, said that while
Reform movement congregations, which
the inclusion of groups like Americans for
bills itself as the largest single Jewish orga-
Peace Now indicates a willingness to enter-
nization in the United States with 900 con-
tain views similar to J Street's, "the criteria
gregations representing 1.5 million Jews,
are changing, and maybe that's because
could undercut the Presidents Conference's
of outside pressure on Israel and issues of
claim to speak for the community on for-
delegitimization of the state, when 20 years
eign policy.
ago we didn't have to deal with that:'
Tent on page 37
Academic Debate
Professors work to defeat anti-Israel resolution in general membership vote.
Rebecca Shimoni Stoll
Times of Israel
Washington
T
he 30,000 member Modern
Language Association has
launched an all-membership vote
on an anti-Israel resolution passed in the
group's Delegate Assembly last January.
Opponents of the resolution, which
seeks State Department intervention
regarding "denials of entry to the West
Bank by U.S. academics" traveling to
Palestinian universities, complain that the
MLA's leadership has unfairly favored the
pro-resolution camp in the run-up to the
vote and are disturbed by voices within
the organization that have made anti-
Semitic comments.
Voting began on April 21 and will close
on June 1 on MLA Resolution 2014-1, the
only votable resolution to emerge from
the academic organization's annual con-
ference in January. The initial resolution,
as well as a conference session in support
of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction
movement, took some members by sur-
tion as "Zionist attack dogs" The MLA did
prise, and they scrambled to organize
not answer questions this week regarding
anti-BDS panels in advance of the January the comment board's editorial policy.
meeting.
Professor Martin Shichtman, director
The scholars, who formed MLA
of Jewish studies at Eastern Michigan
Members for Scholars' Rights, applied
University in Ypsilanti and an organizer of
after the deadline to be allowed to con-
MLA Members for Scholars' Rights, said
vene an official session opposing BDS,
these statements "were atypical among
but their request was denied. Attempts to
hundreds:' but noted they were alarming.
block Resolution 2014-1 in the Delegate
Shichtman, former MLA president
Assembly also failed, and the resolution
Russell Berman, and Rachel Harris and
was referred to the organization's entire
Cary Nelson of the University of Illinois
membership for ratification.
Urbana-Champaign, currently serve as the
Resolution opponents say they were
interim executive commit-
deeply disturbed by comments made
tee of the anti-resolution
in the lead-up to the general vote on an
camp, and have circulated
online members-only forum set up to
a petition that has garnered
debate the merits of the resolution.
more than 400 signatures
One such comment in support of
opposing the resolution.
the resolution argued that "this resolu-
MLA Members for
tion rightly targets only Israel given the
Scholar's Rights members
humongous influence that Jewish schol-
say they have been con-
ars have in the decision-making process Shichtman
fronted by institutional
of Academia in general:' while others
obstacles in their effort
suggested that an external pro-Israel cabal
to oppose the resolution. In the latest
was at work in funding opposition to the
iteration, they complain, last Monday's
resolution. Another described the opposi-
announcement of the start of the balloting
was emailed to MLA members with two
attachments — a link to the online dis-
cussion forum and the
supporting documenta-
tion that the resolu-
tion's supporters had
distributed during the
January conference.
Scholars wrote to the
MLM executive direc-
tor, Rosemary Feal, to
Nelson
ask that the material
presented to the delegate assembly in
opposition to the resolution also be dis-
tributed to members, but she denied the
request. The MLA again would not com-
ment.
Nelson described the resolution as
"flawed" because it "unfairly singles out
only one country" He complained that the
evidence offered in support of the resolu-
tion cited the experiences of only four U.S.
academics, three of whom were ultimately
allowed entry to Israel and the West Bank.
According to Nelson, as a former
president of the American Association of
University Professors (AAUP), he encoun-
Debate on page 37
36 May 8 • 2014