J Street Calls on ECI to Cut Ties With Rachel Abrams

October 24, 2011

WASHINGTON — J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami released the following statement today in response to a recent blog post by Emergency Campaign for Israel (ECI) board member Rachel Abrams in which she calls for the slaughter of Palestinians, including children.

“J Street is appalled by the unhinged rant filled with incitement and hate speech posted this past week by the founder of the Emergency Committee for Israel, Rachel Abrams, on her personal blog.

While Israelis and Jews around the world were rejoicing in the safe return of captured Israeli soldier Sergeant Gilad Shalit, Abrams used the occasion to launch a tirade calling Palestinian children ‘devil’s spawn’ and accusing Palestinian mothers of ‘pimping’ out their children to ‘the murder god.’

This tirade comes the same week ECI slandered the social justice movement Occupy Wall Street for—of all things—bigotry. The hypocrisy could not be more obvious.

Nothing more clearly captures the insanity that J Street will be trying to counter with our Campaign for Sanity on the Middle East in 2012.

The organized Jewish community is actively promoting campaigns to foster civility and to highlight unity. Ms. Abrams’ incendiary words couldn’t be a starker example of behavior that violates these norms and values.

It is bad enough that the Emergency Committee for Israel already has a proven track record of making Israel a wedge issue in American politics. If they hope to have any credible claim to a place in the pro-Israel community, they must cut ties with Ms. Abrams immediately.

If they don’t, we call on politicians and community leaders to refuse any further connection with ECI.”

 

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