[ [link removed] ] [ [link removed] ]J Street[ [link removed] ]
Friends,

Last week, AIPAC – through their Super PAC called United Democracy Project
– poured $2.3 million worth of attack ads into a New Jersey Democratic
congressional primary.

Their target was Tom Malinowski, a moderate former Member of Congress and
Obama-era diplomat who had a strong pro-Israel voting record but had
refused to commit to voting for blank check millitary assistance to the
Netanyahu government.

AIPAC successfully denied Tom a return to Congress ($2.3 million is more
than most campaigns themselves raise for a primary). It also resulted in
an “epic own goal” – the victor wasn’t AIPAC’s preferred choice, but
rather the furthest left candidate in the race.

It’s a moment that’s left many – left, right and center – asking: What was
AIPAC thinking?

It’s no secret that, for years, J Street has loudly warned about the
dangers of AIPAC’s political strategy. Endorsing and fundraising for
anti-democratic election deniers. Taking money from Republican mega-donors
to flood Democratic primaries. Demanding a nuance-free “Israel is always
right” response from lawmakers.

None of the above advances the cause of a strong US-Israel relationship
grounded in shared values and interests.

I say this with deep respect for AIPAC’s past. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, the
organization rallied vital support for Israel’s survival – as our
community united in concern, pride and solidarity.

But history did not stop in the 1970s, and, as Israeli politics has moved
sharply rightward in the decades since, unquestioning support for Israel
stopped reflecting the bulk of American Jewish opinion.

Netanyahu and his allies abandoned peace efforts, pursued relentless
settlement expansion and waged an unfathomably devastating war in Gaza.
Many Americans came to realize that supporting Israel’s people and future
meant opposing the Netanyahu government’s policies.

That is not hostility. Many of us criticize because we want Israel to
survive and thrive.

Yet AIPAC now treats even good-faith criticism from friends as a threat to
be crushed.

Armed with a war chest of $100 million raised from wealthy donors – many
of whom are known to back Republicans – it is aggressively intervening in
Democratic primaries.

Its targets are not necessarily Israel’s harshest critics, but mainstream
Democrats like Malinowski or Daniel Biss (the grandchild of a Holocaust
survivor running in Illinois’ 9th District) whose views sit well within
the Jewish communal consensus.

With AIPAC’s own brand becoming toxic in Democratic politics, they now
route their spending through vaguely-named groups whose ties to AIPAC
often become clear only after the election.

The message Democrats hear when targeted in this way is not “stand with
Israel because we share values and interests” – it’s fall in line, or
else.

Support coerced through fear is brittle.

If we want enduring support for Israel – across political parties and
generations – we must root the relationship in the best of our values,
face hard truths when those values are violated and remain open to real
debate and dissent.

And, in this moment when fascism is rearing its ugly head, Jewish
political leaders and institutions should use our resources to fight the
threats to our democracy.

That is the political strategy we’re pursuing at J Street:

* Pressing for balanced policies that uphold our values on Capitol Hill;

* Endorsing proud champions of our priorities in primaries;

* Raising as much money and support as we possibly can to defeat the
forces of fascism in the midterms.

I’m deeply thankful for your support in that fight and [ [link removed] ]invite you to
consider a contribution to fund this work.

Yours,

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street


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J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the
Jewish people. Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we
advocate policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish
and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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