J Street tells Israel to back off on Jewish State demand – and a new cartoon
Jeremy Ben-Ami is a public relations genius, this is not hyperbole. The founder and current director of J Street led the very successful Ben-Or Communications, a pr firm back in the early 1990’s. It was there that he mastered the art of selling a product based not on what it is but rather on what his client wants you to think it is.
I am not sufficiently familiar with Ben-Ami to know whether his motives are financial, ideological or some combination of the two. But it is inarguable that Ben-Ami runs an organization that is significantly funded by deep pockets who are hostile to the Jewish State. Initially Ben-Ami attempted to conceal from the public close to a millions dollars in contribution from George Soros, the leftist billionaire radical. The absence of a backlash from J Street supporters after the Soros connection was revealed only emboldened Ben-Ami in his serial disingenuous. J Street’s rank and file supporters quite simply don’t care.
Other J Street contributors include the Saudi Arabian embassy’s attorney, Nancy Dutton. J Street receives more than $10,000 per year in contributions from Genevieve Lynch, a director of the National Iranian American Council, which is a pro-Iranian lobby. J Street’s PAC has received tens of thousands of dollars from Arab American community activist , Richard Abdoo. In addition J Street’s PAC repeatedly took contributions from Mehmet Celebi, a Turkish American, who helped produce the notorious Valley of the Wolves, a viciously anti-American and anti-Semitic Turkish film.
By any measure these and many other such contributors to J Street are no friends of Israel. One would rather have expected them to donate to an organization that opposes Israel’s security fence, expresses concern about Israel’s efforts to topple Hamas, and actively lobbies against sanctions to deter Iran from constructing a nuclear weapon. Wait! J-Street advocates each and every position just mentioned.
J Street since its founding has opposed every measure Israel has taken to defend its citizens.
Journalist Elliot Jager noted that “J Street since its founding has opposed every measure Israel has taken to defend its citizens,” including the construction of the West Bank security barrier; the military response to Hamas’s bombardment of the Negev; and the interception of the Turkish flotilla led by the Free Gaza Movement.”
Israel was founded as a Jewish state, Israel without Jewish is like water without wet. Yet marketing genius Ben-Ami issued a press release earlier this week supporting the Palestinians in their resistance to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. In fact Ben-Ami formulates an argument for the Palestinian position that is more effective than any yet posited by the Palestinians themselves. Says Ben-Ami “it is simply unrealistic and unreasonable to expect any Palestinian leader to consent to what has become for all intents and purposes an Israeli ultimatum right now”. Hey Jeremy whose side are you on? Oh, right.
One is hard put to discern any policy differences whatsoever between the stated positions of J Street and the Palestinian Authority or the PLO.
Says Jager: One is hard put to discern any policy differences whatsoever between the stated positions of J Street and the Palestinian Authority or the PLO…. Both oppose Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.”
Some make the argument that J Street is putting forth a version of “tough love“. Why a democratically elected sovereign government needs an organization funded by her enemies to tell her what is best for her is a question not asked. I would assert that J Street is more akin to an abusive spouse beating their partner mercilessly with the goal of pummeling them into becoming the person the abuser just knows they can be.
And this is the inspiration for our latest Mike Report cartoon.
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