J Street has gone over to the dark side. It claims to be "a pro-Israel, pro peace lobby." It has now become neither. Its Executive Director, Jeremy Ben-Ami, has joined the off key chorus of those who falsely claim that Israel, by refusing to make peace with the Palestinians, is placing the lives of American soldiers at risk.
This claim was first attributed to Vice President Joe Biden and to General David Petraeus. It was quickly denied by them but continued to have a life of its own in the anti-Israel media. It was picked up by Steven Walt and John Mearsheimer, Pat Buchanan and others on the hard right and hard left who share a common disdain for the Jewish state. It is the most dangerous argument ever put forward by Israel bashers. It is also totally false.
It is dangerous for two reasons. First, it seeks to reduce support for Israel among Americans who, quite understandably and correctly, care deeply about American soldiers being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Israel has always understood this and that's why it is one of the few American allies who has never asked the United States to put its troops in harm's way in defense of Israeli citizens. If Americans were to believe the falsehood that Israel were to blame for American deaths caused by Islamic extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan, support for the Jewish state would suffer considerably.
It is also dangerous because its implication is that Israel must cease to exist: the basic complaint that Muslim extremists have against Israel is not what the Jewish state does, but what it is: a secular, non-Muslim, democracy that promotes equal rights for women, gays, Christians and others. Regardless of what Israel does or doesn't do, its very existence will be anathema to Muslim extremists. So if Israel's actions were in fact a cause of American deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan--which they are not--then the only logical solution would be Israel's disappearance. This might be acceptable to the Walts, Mearsheimers and Buchanans of the world, but it is surely not acceptable to Israel or anyone who claims to be pro-Israel.
Finally, the argument is totally false as a matter of fact. At the same time that Israel was seeking to make peace in 2000-2001 by creating a Palestinian state on the West Bank and in Gaza with a capital in East Jerusalem, Al Qaeda was planning the 9/11 attack. So Israel's "good" actions did nothing to make America safe from Islamic terrorism. On the other hand, when Israel took tough action against Gaza last year in Operation Cast Lead, Israel's "bad" actions did not increase American casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, there is absolutely no relationship between Israel's actions and the extent of American casualties. It is a totally phony argument based on equal parts of surmise and bigotry.
Yet this dangerous and false argument, which is being hotly debated within the Obama Administration, has now received the imprimatur of J Street. In the letter to The New York Times on April 21, 2010, Jeremy Ben-Ami, speaking on behalf of J Street, included the following paragraph:
"An analysis of the Obama administration's calculus on Middle East policy should reflect that many in the Jewish community recognize that resolving the conflict is not only necessary to secure Israel's future, but also critical to regional stability and American strategic interests."
Although Ben-Ami doesn't explicitly make a direct connection between Israeli actions and American casualties, his use of the phrase "critical to...American strategic interests," is a well-known code, especially these days, for the argument that there is a connection between Israeli actions and American casualties.
In lending support to that dangerous and false argument, J Street has disqualified itself from being considered "pro-Israel." The argument is also anything but "pro peace," since it will actually encourage Islamic extremists to target American interests in the hope that American casualties will be blamed on Israel. It will also encourage the Palestinian leadership to harden its position, in the expectation that lack of progress toward peace will result in Israel being blamed for American casualties.
Truth in advertising requires that at the very least J Street stop proclaiming itself as pro-Israel. As long as it was limiting its lobbying activities to ending the settlements, dividing Jerusalem and pressing for negotiations, it could plausibly claim the mantle of pro-Israel, despite the reality that many of its members, supporters, speakers and invited guests are virulently anti-Israel. But now that it has crossed the line into legitimating the most dangerous and false argument ever made against Israel's security, it must stop calling itself pro-Israel. Some of its college affiliate groups have already done that. They now describe themselves as pro peace because they don't want to burden themselves with the pro Israel label. J Street should follow their lead and end its false advertising. Or else it should abandon its anti-Israel claim that Israel is damaging American strategic interests.
Michele Somerville: Gay Catholic Ministry and Straight Pride
Anti-gay bigotry in the secular world is fueled by anti-gay bigotry in the clerical world, and anyone who works to oppose homophobia in any religious setting is engaging in both secular advocacy and God's work.
I did not see J Street's ad but regularly get their emails (I don't look at all of them). I don't think Israeli policy DIRECTLY places the lives of American soldiers at risk, and I don't know if J Street really said this.
I think the fact that Alan had to write this article, however, is showing that J Street is gaining ground, and many people are feeling threatened. Alan's statements are somewhat of a not-pick since he wishes to disavow an entire movement on the basis of one statement. If he wished to be consistent about this, would he disassociate himself from Avigdor Lieberman as well? (I can name many others)
I will continue to support J Street. My parents were Holocaust survivors and I feel the need to reach out to all moderates of all religions and nationalities in the world to band together. We are there, we are many, but we are too silent. The press likes to display the extremists, that is how they get noticed, so we have to do much harder work.
"Turning and turning in the widening gyre
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood dimmed tide is loosed everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
(From 'The Second Comng')
It is good to see the best finding some conviction.
I am NOT saying that let’s just bend over and let the adversaries dictate what Jews should do. What I am saying, we should have a very clear message that we want to make peace with our adversaries, we are willing to make all necessary compromises and then back it up with actions and not just by words. At the same time, we should show love and compassion towards our adversaries, whether they love or hate us (Jews). Notwithstanding defend ourselves if there is an imminent danger. I am sure that you disagree with this approach…but if you truly love State of Israel and your intention is to make this world a better place for all Jews to live in, I gently ask you to open your heart and welcome compassion. I know it is very hard, but the first step is start thinking about it. Believe me, there is more than one way in this journey…..
I hope that one day (hopefully sooner than later) you realize that actions and words such as yours hurt the existence of State of Israel and Jews more than what our adversaries wish for us. I also know that your intentions are good for the State of Israel. However, I find that there is a unintentional commonality between your way of thinking and those who wish to destroy the State of Israel. What I mean by that, you hope to maintain status quo at any cost, even at the cost of creating more enemies. Our adversaries (especially those fanatics) need thoughts and actions such as yours to justify their rage and anger towards Jews and State of Israel. Your actions and thoughts are food for their reactions and their cause!
I am a proud Jew who wishes to tell the whole world how peaceful Judaism is, and how proud I am that Israel exists. But, the way of thinking and thoughts such as yours destroys the reputation of all Jews through out the world. In the last 30 years our reputation as Jews in the world has worsen. Even though, Jews have contributed more than any other group to the betterment of human race. Today, through out the world, there is more sympathy for our adversaries than for ours. This should not be the case.
-- Nancy Dutton, widow of Fred Dutton, the long-time Saudi foreign agent, served as the Saudi Embassy’s attorney in Washington. As late as August 2008, news accounts identified her as the Saudis’ lawyer. She donates to J Street’s political action committee.
-- Judith Barnett serves on J Street’s Advisory Council and donates to the J Street PAC. After leaving the Clinton administration, Barnett worked for several Arab countries. She wrote an incredibly stupid puff piece in the Washington Post claiming that things weren't so bad for women in.....wait for it..... Saudi Arabia ! She then registered with the Justice Department as foreign agent of the Saudis in order to polish their image.
Yup J Street.... you can smell the blintzes!
Lawyers and lobbyists working for...... a lobbying organization!!
Who knew?
I am so happy that your generation is fading out! Its time for new blood and a new approach.
He has absolutely nothing of value regarding this topic to say.
"The store" isn't even Israel's to give away.
Why do you define Israel as "secular, non-Muslim"? If it's non-Muslim, then it is not completely secular. And what happened to the claim of Israel being Jewish? Did a religious state for Judaism get thrown under the bus by you? Even J-Street calls for Israel to be a Jewish state, a formulation with which I disagree. I support a full separation of church and state in Israel with absolute protection for all religious belief. I support the goal of Jews being free to worship and observe, freely, and enjoying respect, everywhere in the world.
And, why can't you say that Israel is a democracy that promotes equal rights for everyone, instead of "women, gays, Christians, and others"? When will Israel "promote" equal rights for all people within its borders?
Because Israel was conceived and built by secular, non-religious Jews. Many: atheists socialists and communists. This the strategic edge Israeli people maintains over their enemies.
Study story.
PART ONE (1)
I hope that one day (hopefully sooner than later) you realize that actions and words such as yours hurt the existence of State of Israel and Jews more than what our adversaries wish for us. I also know that your intentions are good for the State of Israel. However, I find that there is a unintentional commonality between your way of thinking and those who wish to destroy the State of Israel. What I mean by that, you hope to maintain status quo at any cost, even at the cost of creating more enemies. Our adversaries (especially those fanatics) need thoughts and actions such as yours to justify their rage and anger towards Jews and State of Israel. Your actions and thoughts are food for their reactions and their cause!
I am a proud Jew who wishes to tell the whole world how peaceful Judaism is, and how proud I am that Israel exists. But, the way of thinking and thoughts such as yours destroys the reputation of all Jews through out the world. In the last 30 years our reputation as Jews in the world has worsen. Even though, Jews have contributed more than any other group to the betterment of human race. Today, through out the world, there is more sympathy for our adversaries than for ours. This should not be the case.
Lying is unbecoming. The Arab Peace Initiative. I know you are well aware of it and that makes you a liar when you claim that Arab Palestinians want anything more than their stolen land and resources returned to them along with a fair and just settlement of the inalienable Right of Return.
Israel could have had peace decades ago instead, the state chose to push 500,000 illegal squatters onto Palestinian land that Israel will never hold title to, or sovereignty over.
When people like you realize that Israel must follow the same rule of law as expected by all other Middle Eastern nations, then there will be peace.
"When people like you realize that Israel must follow the same rule of law as expected by all other Middle Eastern nations, then there will be peace.”
Hold the phon-ey.
No other population in history has had special provisions designed for its benefit. In order to qualify for "refugee status", according to established convention, the person must have been forced from their homes or, have a well founded fear of remaining. This element has never been established. It has merely been alleged and accepted. No other population in history has been permitted to pass their "refugee" status down through successive generations (now numbering four). Of course its probably still LEGAL by your omnibus definition, since the world tribunal (U.N.) arranged it. The established rights which LEGAL refugees have is TWO tiered. They have the right to return IF THEY SO DESIRE. What this plainly means to any reasonable person is that they ARE NOT REQUIRED to repatriate. Such persons are legally entitled to stay put, which is precisely why refugees have never before been sanctioned to pass this status down, because their offspring--born in the other nation(s) would naturally acquire that nationality and citizenship, EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO PALESTINIAN-ARABS. " . .same rule of law". BS. Also, as described in Joan Peter's book, "From Time Immemorial" the U.N. guidelines were modified back in 1947 to singly accommodate Arabs, some of whom had only resided in Jewish Palestine for under 5 years.
Have a cigar.
It was Bill Clinton who said, after 9/11, during a chalie rose interview, that the Israeli Palestinian conflict is the "philosophical underpinning of middle eastern terrorist recruiting".
It was tony Blair who, after 9/11, said to the US congress that there will "never be an end to the war on terror until a just and equitable resolution of the Israeli Palestinian conflict is achieved"
The head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit make's a VERY clear case between terror on US soil and against our interests abroad, and our policies regarding Israel, as they pertain to the settlements and the occupation, and the suppression of a Palestinian state based on 67 borders.
George Bush Senior, as head of the CIA, understood the threat to US interests that the settlements and the occupation played, and tried to cut off all US funding.
The Iraq study group made clear in it's report that our goals in Iraq and throughout the region are unattainable until the Israeli Palestinian conflict is dealt with.
No one here is talking about ending Israel except Alan Dershowitz. They are saying that backing the worlds only violently enforced colonial settler movement, a movement that is DESPISED in the middle east, andwhichisnotrecognizedaslegitimatebyasinglenationonearth, andwhichourownstatedepartment sees as a violation of the Geneva Convention, is more than likely an inspiration of terror against the US andIsrael. It'sverysimplereally.
Who are you talking to? There is no one in this thread who has claimed that Israel should be destroyed, and there is no credible peace activist on the face of the planet that would make such a claim, so just who are you talking to?
Yourself?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJzXvAK36OI
http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-spine/more-general-petraeus-honest-man-comes-his-own-defense
Page 12 of General Petraeus'testimony to the US Senate March 3, 2010:
"Insufficient progress toward a comprehensive Middle East peace.
The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests in the AOR. Israeli-Palestinian tensions often flare into violence and large-scale armed confrontations.
The conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel. Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples in the AOR and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world.
Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support.
The conflict also gives Iran influence in the Arab world through its clients, Lebanese Hizballah and Hamas."
http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2010/03%20March/Petraeus%2003-16-10.pdf
That ought to clear it up for you. The General was very diplomatic. It seems as if you did not read any of the supporting testimony nor did you catch what so many other officials have been saying off the record for years, Israel's intransigence is endangering US troops and interests in the region.
This is self-evident at this point.
He said the only point was that moderate Arab leaders are worried about a lack of progress in the peace process.
“Their concern is that those who promote violence in Gaza and the West Bank will claim that because there’s no progress diplomatically, the only way they get progress is through violence,” he said. “And that’s their concern.”
Critics of Israel have tried to co-opt Petraeus as somebody who shared their view that U.S. support for Israel has become a liability for America. But in reality his only point is that lack of progress in resolving the conflict is one factor -- among many others -- that affects the dynamics of the region. "
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/03/25/petraeus-sets-the-record-strai/print
bsnews, this hopefully will clear things up for you.
Are you so bent out of shape against Israel, that you can't even take time to read or listen to my first links i supplied, with Gen. Patraeus himself refuting the absurdity and inanity of your comments. Yeah many officials off the record say opposite of what your claiming, and many came forward after to show support for Israel.
Your are self evident in your defiance to reality. Take your shades off, but be careful the truth might blind you!
Dershowitz translation: "J Street has gone over to the dark side".
Priceless.