Finally getting the latest podcast up. We go back to the Middle East, via Washington, DC.
J Street’s coming out party fuels lots of controversy. I talked with the pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby group’s executive director, Jeremy Ben-Ami. Also, Jerusalem Post columnist, Isi Leibler; writer and activist, MJ Rosenberg; and Prof. Yossi Shain, expert on the Jewish diaspora.
And if you missed my radio story on US-supported security forces in the West Bank, now’s your chance!
Thanks for listening, folks. Please send tips, ideas, thoughtful criticism… and I will be in your eternal debt.
This week marks the anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination in 1995. Israelis are divided on what the moment and the man’s legacy means. The left in Israel remembers how the settlers and their right-wing supporters whipped up a vicious campaign against Rabin and the peace process. And they’ve got a point. Tom Friedman makes a troubling parallel to the US here. But something that’s really struck me in several conversations I’ve had with conservative Israelis is how enthusiastically they have defended Rabin. One writer I spoke with praised Rabin for being smart about trying to find a path to peace with the Palestinians, and agreeing to make tough concessions for the sake of peace “with a heavy heart.” Something the pro-settler crowd might want to gloss over, though, is how Rabin called the settlements a “cancer.” President Obama’s video message for the anniversary – Reuters says it will be shown in Tel Aviv, where Rabin was killed – will be interesting.
Robert Dreyfuss quotes a former Israeli intelligence director:
“Obama made a mistake by not coming to Israel. In Israel, Obama is not considered a friend, in the eyes of the Israelis. If you do not come to talk to us, people ask why. If you do come, tell us everything! Tell us things we do not want to hear. But say it in Jerusalem. And, go to Ramallah! But don’t do it from Washington.”
Hillary Clinton is heading to Jerusalem and Ramallah in a few days. But the timing hardly seems right for President Obama to be thinking about a visit at this point.
I called up Jerusalem Post reporter and blogger Shmuel Rosner last week – as I was starting to write my radio story about the J Street conference. And he said a couple of things that struck me as real problems for the group. First, Rosner said many Israelis are very skeptical of efforts by lefty American Jews to pressure Israel into making concessions to the Palestinians and/or Arab states for a shot at peace. Israel has its own elected government, Rosner said, and Israelis don’t hesitate to energetically criticize policies they disagree with. Second, he said Israelis have a keen sense of how very important support from the US is for their country – especially support from the big American Jewish lobbying organizations, especially AIPAC. Rosner said the possibility that J Street establishes itself as an alternative to AIPAC, thereby undermining the lobby group, it could end up eroding some of that vital support from Israel’s most important ally.
US correspondent for Ha’aretz, Natasha Mozgovaya makes the same point here:
The tensions between AIPAC, the older and stronger pro-Israel lobby, and J Street are likely to continue. Although no one can be certain what truly is good for Israel in the long run, it is safe to say that the bitter under-the-table rivalry between the two lobby groups will harm the state.
Mozgovaya goes on to say that J Street has a lot of work to do. But she credits the group with doing at least one thing that AIPAC never did, which is to strike up a collaboration with the likes of the Arab American Institute.
As the US-based pro-peace group J Street gets started with its big to-do in Washington today, Gershom Gorenberg provides context. Basically, the political left in Israel is on life support. The leaders with the mojo to pull off a breakthrough with the Palestinians don’t want to. And the Palestinians are divided in more ways than one.
J Street and its supporters believe that peace won’t happen between Israel and the Palestinians without serious, hard-headed, sustained effort from the United States. Not everyone agrees with that, especially in Israel. Skeptics look at key events like Sadat’s 1977 visit to Jerusalem, Israel’s talks with Jordan that led to normalization, and even the Oslo process in the 1990s (preceded by secret talks between Israel and Palestinians) as examples of Israeli leaders taking the initiative, with Washington’s involvement adding to the momentum.
J Street executive director, Jeremy Ben-Ami says he wants to change the dynamics of Middle East politics in Washington, DC. The thing is, the group’s not simply doing so with a blog, news releases, and a public relations campaign. They’ve got some money. And they’re supporting politicians who share their vision. J Street’s trying to be a lobbying force in the same mold – though on a much much smaller scale – than AIPAC. They’ve only been around for a year and a half, but they certainly have attracted some attention. Ben-Ami was invited to the White House back in July when Barack Obama met with representatives from leading American Jewish groups. J Street was the subject of a serious NYTimes magazine piece. I have a good excuse for not going to J Street’s big conference next week (my wife’s due with a baby in a few days). But damn, I wish I was going to be there. Here’s my radio story that went on the air today, a set-up of J Street, it’s coming out event, and some of the controversy it’s kicked up. We posted some more of my interview with Ben-Ami too.
Jeffrey Goldberg asks J Street’s executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami about Stephen Walt, US military funding for Israel, intermarriage and other stuff. Great interview.
The World is a weekday international news program on US public radio stations. This blog is where I post my radio stories, my weekly podcast, thoughts on international news and such. The picture above is the view form Eagle Hill, the neighborhood where I live in East Boston. Contact me: theworldpolitics at gmail dot com.
Middle East peace advocacy group, J Street has a big week in DC. Jeremy Ben-Ami, Isi Leibler, MJ Rosenberg and Yossi Shain on the new lobby group and the controversy surrounding it. Finally, questions about US-supported Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. Hosted by Matthew Bell, theworldpolitics@gmail.com.
