Almost four years to the day after the national lobbying organization J Street was founded, it’s once again at the center of a local brouhaha — revisiting the question of who is permitted inside the pro-Israel tent and who’s out in the cold.
At issue was a private meeting held earlier this week at Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel in Center City with Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s founder and executive director, and a group of 18 local rabbis from across the denominational spectrum.
The April 17 meeting was organized by J Street, but the Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia had forwarded an email to its members publicizing the discussion. That act was enough to prompt some donors to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia — which doesn’t directly fund the board but provides logistical support — to voice objections.