by Dr. Gabriella Berzin
How can J Street call itself pro-Israel when it works against the majority of Israelis?
American Jews are
embarrassed. The feeling that U.S. President Barack Obama is determined
to approve a deal with a country that threatens to destroy Israel puts
them in an uncomfortable position. Concerns about the consequences of
the deal have united most Jewish organizations in an unprecedented
manner, as they work with various American groups making every effort to
thwart it.
It is therefore
puzzling that the left-wing Jewish lobby group J Street, which purports
to be "pro-Israel and pro-peace," chose to remove itself from the
Israeli consensus that is supported by most American Jewish
organizations.
J Street is not
embarrassed, however. It is in the midst of a multi-million dollar
campaign supporting the deal, which -- even if the optimists are
correct, and a nuclear Iran is delayed -- still gives the ayatollahs
billions of dollars that they will use, among other things, to arm
terrorists against Israel. How can J Street call itself pro-Israel when
it works against the majority of Israelis?
Those who are familiar
with J Street are not surprised. As early as 2008, when the group first
voiced its vague policy about the Iranian issue, concerns were raised.
In a film created by the Americans for Peace and Tolerance organization,
Professor Alan Dershowitz tells of his request to donate money to J
Street on condition that it answer questions on Iran -- but for nought.
This past April, when the framework for the Iran deal was publicized, J
Street, along with the National Iranian American Council and the Arab
American Institute, welcomed and promoted the nuclear agreement. Worse
yet, NIAC board member Genevieve Lynch funded J Street, and the
organization she belongs to established a subsidiary company focused on
advancing the Iran deal. J Street is also funded by the Ploughshares
Fund, which is dedicated to working toward a world free of nuclear
weapons, but its lobbyists worked fervently to have sanctions on Iran
lifted.
In 2012, J Street used
its funds to convince lawmakers on Capitol Hill to soften their rhetoric
against Iran, and along the way, to improve the status of Palestinian
diplomatic delegations to the United States. In 2013 and 2014, they
dedicated funds to lectures for members of Congress about the serious
consequences of a pre-emptive attack on Iran, while promoting a
diplomatic solution for the Iranian issue. Even as Obama was claiming
that the congressional sanctions brought Iran to the negotiating table, J
Street staunchly opposed the sanctions, accusing supporters of being
hungry for war.
J Street's use of
pro-Iranian funding to promote Iranian agendas in Congress does not stop
it from calling itself pro-Israel. After all, that description, in
addition to agendas that are ideal for those who oppose Israel, brings
in a lot of money.
J Street's behavior did
not bother Israeli politicians, mainly those from the opposition
parties. J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami, formerly the communications
director for the New Israel Fund, smiled when Tzipi Livni declared at a
conference that history is made by realists who are not afraid to dream.
With a realistic dreamer like him, the Iranians can sleep peacefully
and laugh all the way to the bank.
Dr. Gabriella Berzin is an expert in Jewish and Arab philosophy and teaches at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=13501
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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