“Don’t Call J Street ‘Anti-Israel’”

May 1, 2009

I was saddened to see that Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, has come out with a statement entitled “J Street is Anti-Israel, Not Simply Extremist Leftwing.”

I have serious concerns about the lobby that calls itself “pro-Israel, pro-peace,” which is holding its national conference in Washington this weekend. When the group speaks out on issues, it sometimes seems far more focused on criticizing Israel than supporting it. And I’ve disagreed when J Street initially opposed Israel’s 2008 Operation Cast Lead to stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israel on an almost daily basis; did not condemn the Goldstone Report, a deeply flawed report on the Gaza operation; and opposed Washington’s veto of a UN resolution condemning Israel’s settlement policy.

Read the full article here.