J Street leader verbally attacks Jewish student for pro-Israel views
This weekend a good friend challenged The Mike Report over our persistent criticism of J Street. He asked “is it not good that J Street provides a voice from the left that is anti-BDS? It says so right on their website!” Yes, it does say so on their website after which they justify their extensive associations with those who do support BDS.
This is one of my primary issues with J Street; they are weasels.
Sound like anyone you know?
J Street consistently embraces objectively anti-Israel positions while proclaiming themselves pro-Israel. Most recently the group successfully lobbied congress against resuming sanctions on the Iranian nuclear program. This despite overwhelming Israeli governmental and public opinion that supports continuing such sanctions. J Street supports continued US pressure on Israel to resume negotiations with the Palestinian Authority despite the PA’s unity agreement with the genocidal Hamas. This position puts J -Street not only out of sync with Israel and her supporters, but is even off the charts for the less than Israel friendly Obama administration.
“It’s hard to see how Israel can be expected to negotiate with a government that does not believe in its right to exist.” Jen Psaki, Spokesperson for Secretary of State John Kerry
As anti-Israel groups on campus become increasingly radicalized, the atmosphere at many schools has become progressively more hostile towards Jewish Students on campus. We reported just a few weeks ago about an incident at Washington University where two J Street leaders were sporting pro-terror regalia at a J Street U event. Sadly this was not an isolated incident.
The Washington Free Beacon reports today that Daniel Mael, a pro-Israel Jewish student at Brandeis University was harassed and subjected to a profane slew of insults this weekend for his public support of Israel. The assault came not from one of the many on campus anti-Israel groups but rather from Talia Lepson, a J Street leader at Brandeis.
Daniel Mael, attacked by J Street leader for supporting Israel.
Mael said that he and a friend were returning to their dorm rooms at around 12:45 a.m. on Saturday when he came across Lepson—who says she currently works as a political intern at the Democratic National Committee (DNC)—and a group of her friends.
“As they approached, Talia Lepson give me a really, really intense stare and then I turned to the students and said, ‘Shabbat shalom,’” said Mael, who is an observant Jew. “I was being serious. I thought that religion and politics are not necessarily intertwined. I thought you could still be nice.”
Lepson “responded by saying, ‘Jews hate you’,” Mael said. “As she continued to walk, she screamed, ‘You are a shit bag.’” Mael said an unidentified person to her right hurled a similar insult.
Students who witnessed the event say they were shocked to see the J Street leader verbally attack Mael.
“It is somewhat scary to witness malice in exchange for benevolence, especially in the context of religion, where we are supposed to set aside politics when embracing it,” said one student.
Hence our problem with J Street; the disingenuousness. They use weasel words like “pro-Israel” and “pro-Peace” to cynically gain entry into the board rooms of the Jewish establishment. AIPAC U, StandWithUs and Safe Hillel among others bill themselves as pro-Israel, and not surprisingly they attract pro-Israel students. Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine and SUPER, honestly bill themselves as anti-Zionist and unsurprisingly attract anti-Israel members.
While many are deceived by J-Street’s too clever by half marketing, their members are not.
J Street bills itself as “pro-Israel” but attracts supporters and leaders of whom too many openly express their hostility towards the Jewish state and towards pro-Israel Jews like Daniel Mael.
I for one choose not be weaseled.
UPDATE: The J Street strikes back – click HERE to view update to this story.
miguelito,
even though i said your reports are depressing, i really look forward to reading them. i am a journalist wanabe. i am addicted to watching news about stuff that i feel passionately about. and the truth is the stuff that interests me right now is depressing.
keep up the good work.
muchas gracias, elisa
Thanks Elisa, hopefully some of the cartoons make you smile!