This might be noteworthy.
Nearly seven months after the inauguration of Barack Obama, feuding among major U.S. Jews organizations is taking place behind closed doors and could be reaching its worst point in recent memory.
Haaretz
The upstart J Street Lobby organization is spending money on ads that respond to the Anti-Defamation League
Left-wing U.S. Jewish organizations have been buoyed by the election of Obama, and according to some Jewish Democrats in Washington, tensions have been worsened by the lessening of right-wing Jews' access to senior White House officials, in contrast to the near-monopoly they had on access to Bush administration officials for the past eight years.
Is there really a division between Jewish advocacy organizations?
In a full page AD, the ADL appeals to the president that the issue isn't the settlements, it is Arab rejectionism
We all support peace in the Middle East.
But pressuring Israel is not the right approach.
The obstacle to peace is not Israel. The settlements
are not the impediment. The issue is simple: the Arab
and Palestinian rejection of Israel’s right to exist,
including through violence and terrorism, for over 60
years. Israel’s right to exist is undeniable and is based on
its right to self-determination in its historic homeland.
The path to peace is clear. With recognition, Israel
has said again and again that everything is on the
table without preconditions.
Mr. President, it’s time to stop pressuring our vital
friend and ally. It’s now time to direct your attention
to the rejectionists who refuse to recognize Israel
and negotiate an end to the conflict.
J street
J street responds:
The problem isn’t just settlements, nor Arab rejection. And a lasting resolution to this decades old conflict - a goal which I know you and your organization supports - isn’t advanced by pointing fingers at either side.
What we need now is strong leadership to finally bring the Arab-Israeli conflict to an end. The challenge for President Obama is how to move toward a goal that all sides support: a two-state solution that provides for Israel’s security and statehood for the Palestinians, as well as a broader regional normalization with Arab states.
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The Saudi Foreign Minister this past Friday said, “The Arab world is in accord with such a settlement through the Arab Peace Initiative adopted at the 2002 Arab Summit in Beirut which not only accepted Israel, but also offered full and complete peace and normal relations in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied in ’67. This initiative was adopted unanimously by the Islamic countries at Makkah Summit in 2005.”
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Couldn’t we all agree that the best route forward is not for each side to call on the other to move first, but to get all sides to the table with strong U.S. leadership to figure out how we move together before time runs out on a peaceful resolution to this conflict and we lock ourselves into a status quo that in the near future threatens Israel’s very nature as a Jewish, democratic homeland?
JStreet
It is never a good thing when advocacy organizations work at cross purposes. Obama is getting ready to roll out his vision for a peace process (not a plan), that will likely involve Israel relinquishing control of settlements deep in the Jordan Valley.
Should the Jewish Advocacy groups unite? Will they support the administration? Should they? Should we stop pressuring ISrael on the settlement freeze issue, or stay the course?