“We do ourselves a disservice if we continue to pretend [J Street is] a pro-Israel organization when its track record says otherwise.”
I want to encourage you to read and share this important op-ed about J Street by Rabbi Brian Strauss, the senior rabbi at one of the largest synagogues in America.
Rabbi Strauss exposes how J Street has abandoned its founding purpose and is now an active voice in Washington promoting policies that undermine the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Included below my signature is an excerpt from the piece.
I urge you to read the full op-ed and share it with friends and family in the community.
Sincerely,
Tara Brown
Mid-Atlantic Regional Director
The Times of Israel: The Blogs J Street is honest about what it is, we just have to listen By Brian Straus
This past year should have been the bellwether year for a left-leaning pro-Israel, pro-peace organization to prove its merits and demonstrate its worth.
America was governed by a Democratic administration, House and Senate, and Israel was led by a centrist unity government led by an Obama and Biden favored Prime Minister Yair Lapid. So how did J Street, the self-proclaimed “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization, seize this unique opportunity?
It lobbied Congress for U.S. investigations into Israel’s military, called on Biden to publicly pressure Lapid during his first official visit – and then panned the visit when Biden didn’t, defended Ben & Jerry’s boycott of Israel despite fierce opposition from the Lapid government, and pushed for adding new political conditions on security assistance to Israel despite wall-to-wall opposition in Israel and the Biden administration.
Politically, the group endorsed four of the mere eight Democrats who voted against emergency supplemental Iron Dome funding, and it spent $100,000 to reelect a congressman who took his name off a bipartisan bill to strengthen the Abraham Accords peace agreements.
If this is what J Street did to promote pro-Israel policies with Democrats in all seats of power, we can reasonably ask, is J Street pro-Israel at all?
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
