Jeremy Ben Ami: ‘What Does the Left Want from J Street?’ « Tikun Olam-תיקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place

Jeremy Ben Ami: ‘What Does the Left Want from J Street?’

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14 Responses to “Jeremy Ben Ami: ‘What Does the Left Want from J Street?’”

bar_kochba132 says:

May 2, 2010 at 7:35 AM

Here are excerpts of an interview Jeremy Ben-Ami had with journalist Shmuel Rosner. You aren’t going to like it:

http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/rosner/entry/j_street_s_ben_ami

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- Richard Silverstein says:
  
  May 2, 2010 at 5:21 PM
  
  First, I don’t know whether or not Rosner interviewed Ben Ami. But one thing I’ve come to learn about Rosner is never to trust his own characterizations of what anyone else says, esp. someone w. whom he disagrees. Of course, I am highly critical of Ben Ami as you know. But since there are no quotation marks around any of Jeremy’s supposed views as described by Rosner, I’m not willing to trust Rosner’s characterization as being accurate.
  
  Reply
uncle joe mccarthy says:

May 2, 2010 at 11:27 AM

richard,

could you please explain what you understand to be “jewish progressive”?

btw, i agree, you are not “far left”

one who is far left could not support groups like hezbollah or hamas, who do not believe in equal rights for women, gays or those from other religions.

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- Richard Silverstein says:
  
  May 2, 2010 at 5:23 PM
  
  More attempts at snark coming across as juvenalia. Here’s yr last warning. If you want to post discussion or disagreement or argument you are welcome. But if you are here to score pts or grandstand you’ll be gone. With your next comment. If you don’t believe me, just try me.
  
  Reply
- Kalea says:
  
  May 2, 2010 at 9:22 PM
  
  What’s obvious is that YOU are not a Jewish Progressive.
  
  Your posts are always condescending. We might disagree with Hamas and Hizbollah’s ideology, but they are the democratically-elected parties of millions of people and you can’t just wish that fact away or drop a few bombs on those people to make them disappear or punish people collectively for the government they choose to elect!!
  
  Trying to make the best of a bad situation is something mature and realistic people do every day to survive in an imperfect world!
  
  Reply
  - Richard Silverstein says:
    
    May 2, 2010 at 10:53 PM
    
    With a name like “Uncle Joe McCarthy” I don’t think anyone would mistake him for a “Jewish progressive.”
    
    Reply
    - uncle joe mccarthy says:
      
      May 3, 2010 at 11:57 AM
      
      i guess you dont have a sense of humor
      
      life long dem…support all real liberal causes
      
      against the iraq war (both of them)
      
      marched as a kid against nam
      
      Reply
      - Richard Silverstein says:
        
        May 3, 2010 at 12:09 PM
        
        (PEI) Progressive except Israel.
orgo says:

May 2, 2010 at 2:08 PM

check out rosner on Jstreet http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/rosner/entry/j_street_s_ben_ami

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Ira Glunts says:

May 2, 2010 at 5:04 PM

Richard I give you six months of cutting JStreet slack, before you drop them completely.

You may not be “far left” but I think you have it in you.

Best,

Ira

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- Richard Silverstein says:
  
  May 2, 2010 at 5:11 PM
  
  Thanks for yr confidence in me (I’m joking)!
  
  Reply
bar_kochba132 says:

May 2, 2010 at 6:49 PM

Have you tried to recruit people in your synagogue and the larger Seattle community to join and support J-Street? If so, what has been the response of progressives?

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- Richard Silverstein says:
  
  May 2, 2010 at 7:29 PM
  
  I have participated in numerous J. St. fundraising & political events since it began. But why would I want to recruit people to join given what I’ve written about it in this post? Did you not read what I wrote?
  
  Reply
Kalea says:

May 2, 2010 at 8:57 PM

When it comes to Israel’s injustice towards Palestinians, I don’t like to think in terms of far-left, left, center or right, when clearly, it’s just WRONG! While I like to think the Progressive side as being more humane, there are Dems and Libs as you know who are unfortunately totally on the wrong side of this issue. To define this struggle as a Progressive struggle is to invite radicals to paint those struggling for justice into a “far-left” corner just to dismiss the cause itself.

This struggle is a question of morality and heeding one’s conscience regardless of one’s political ideology. JPost’s reporter used an Aipac-like tactic painting you as “far-left to manipulate Ben Ami into disassociating himself from your views while encouraging J Street’s shallow, shifting centrist position and Ben Ami proved to be a willing victim. Instead of disregarding the label the reporter craftily imposed on you and defending the moral high-ground you represent, he took the coward’s way out.

J Street needs to decide whether it stands for justice and humanity or some vague agenda governed by self-serving political interests.

Reply