Over the past several decades, both the Democratic and Republican parties have prided themselves on their support for Israel.\u00a0 Now, a group that calls itself \u2013 a little too loudly \u2013 \u201cpro-Israel\u201d threatens the liberal Democratic wing of that support.\u00a0 And some Colorado legislators appear to be taken in.<\/p>\n
J Street is holding its first national conference in DC next week, and is hosting its annual banquet on October 27.\u00a0 Four Democratic Colorado Congressmen and Senator Mark Udall are on the host committee.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2007, J Street poses as a \u201cpro-Israel, pro-Peace\u201d lobby, founded specifically to provide an alternative to what it calls the \u201cright-wing dominated\u201d AIPAC.\u00a0 (AIPAC defers to the citizens of Israel in foreign policy, and is certainly not right-wing.\u00a0 Its former president, Steve Grossman, chaired Howard Dean\u2019s Presidential campaign.<\/p>\n
By contrast, J Street has adopted a comprehensive platform of appeasement.\u00a0 It accepts Iran\u2019s pursuit of nuclear weapons.\u00a0 It equates Israel\u2019s Operation Cast Lead and Hamas\u2019s terror rockets.\u00a0 It supports the division of Jerusalem.\u00a0 None of these positions draws even a plurality of American Jews.\u00a0 Collectively, only a small minority approves.<\/p>\n
Until a last-minute cancellation, J Street had scheduled to appear a \u201cstreet poet\u201d who had compared Guantanamo to Auschwitz, and had accused Israelis of tattooing numbers on the arms of Gazan children.\u00a0 Slightly less repugnant is J Street Advisory Board member Henry Siegman\u2019s insidious comparison of Israel to apartheid South Africa.<\/p>\n
No wonder that board members of NIAC, lobbyists for Saudi Arabia, and PR flacks for campus anti-Israel campaigns have contributed upwards of tens of thousands of dollars to support J Street\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
So suspect is J Street that Israel\u2019s Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, turned down an offer to lend his credibility to the group by appearing, noting that \u201ccertain policies of the organization may impair the interests of Israel.\u201d\u00a0 What other \u201cpro-Israel\u201d group would he refuse to address on that basis?<\/p>\n
J Street\u2019s ultimate agenda is to buy acceptance to the liberal wing of the Democratic Party through its PAC, and then use that credibility to mainstream certain destructive policy positions.\u00a0 At the same time, Jewish liberals will be less likely to question a solidly liberal lobbying group.<\/p>\n
Both would do well to steer clear.\u00a0 J Street represents only a small minority of American Jews, and American Jews have many other options for helping to elect liberal Democrats to office.<\/p>\n
In the last week, over a dozen Congressional members of the dinner\u2019s Host Committee have removed their names from the list.\u00a0 Neither Republican representative, nor Senator Michael Bennet, appears ever to have been on the list, and Rep. John Salazar (CD-3) has withdrawn.<\/p>\n
This leaves Representatives Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, Betsy Markey, Ed Perlmutter, and Senator Mark Udall.\u00a0 I personally believe that their presence is in response to J Street PAC\u2019s $1000 contribution in 2008 to the Colorado Democratic Party, and that they signed up believing that they were attending a function at a mainstream, pro-Israel, Jewish organization.\u00a0 They, too, should withdraw.<\/p>\n
Israel cannot become a partisan issue; too much would then hinge on American electoral politics.\u00a0 Colorado Democrats should step back from this attempt to seduce them away from their principles.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I would also point out that the State Democratic Party was the only state party to receive any money from J Street during the 2008 cycle.\u00a0 Those familiar with the Colorado Model and the genesis of J Street may be able to figure out why.
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