J Street’s first major New York Times ad tweaks the Israel lobby for turning its back on promising new Israeli peace initiatives with its Arab neighbors:
When Israel Goes to War Supporters Rally…
When Israel Negotiates Why the Deafening Silence?
A new ceasefire has been brokered between Israel and Hamas. Israel and Syria are quietly resuming diplomatic contacts…And Israeli and Palestinian leaders are negotiating to establish two states living side by side…
If Israel had gone to war this week established pro-Israel organizations would have rallied to its side. There would have been ads, press releases, fundraising appeals and political speeches.
When Ariel Sharon planned the Gaza withdrawal, the Conference of Presidents actually opposed him until he put on a full court press and converted the group to at least tepidly supporting what was, after all, official Israeli government policy. The Israel lobby was also tepid in its support for the Annapolis peace conference. The same thing is happening now during what is arguably a more important period offering prospects for peace.
Why are AIPAC, the ADL, the AJC and President’s Conference AWOL when the prospect of peace looms? Because they’re opposed to any Israeli compromises for peace. And at the risk of repeating the obvious, they’re essentially Likudniks in their political orientation whether they admit it or not. Rather than compromise or negotiation, they’d prefer that the IDF invade Gaza to quell Hamas. Rather than negotiate with Lebanon or Syria, they’d rather that Israel would sit tight and wait till the Arabs sued for peace on Israel’s terms. Of course all of this is a delusion since this will never happen. Israel doesn’t have the luxury of waiting and time is not on its side. But don’t tell the Israel lobby that since their stock in trade involves promoting the notion of Israel triumphant, victorious and supreme.
If you have not already done so, I urge you to sign the ad, contribute and do what you can to support J Street. If the Israel lobby doesn’t speak for you–and their silence in the face of peace opportunities speaks volumes–then allow J Street to speak for you. It is that still, small voice our High Holiday liturgy speaks of–a voice of reason and conscience.
I’ve been critical of JStreet, but this ad is great, and shows what some money and concerted action can do: bring another, and rarely heard, point of view before the public. I’ll sign.
PS-I’ve sent this to everyone I can think of. Also gives me an opportunity to link them to your blog. 🙂
BTW- I’m happy to announce that there is now a JATO {Jews Against the Occupation} in my area!
i’m all for peace, a 60’s liberal and all that. but i’m grown up now and i know that there are many realities between war and peace. the latest truce confounded all of us on teh left and right. do you expect people to turn on a dime? especially the recalcitrant right? grow mature! peace is a hazy concept now out there in the distance. we are best served to pray for calm, rather than peace, to work for absence of rockets rather than sitting together and singing kumbaya. and look – according to the news today, the truce has already been violated – just days into it and it may be toast.
Tzvee: That’s a bunch of cheap, easy rhetoric as far as I’m concerned. What you wrote wouldn’t pass muster if you wrote something like it in an academic paper. So I don’t understand what you think it contributes to a debate about the issues.
Israeli negotiations with the Palestinians, Syrians & Lebanese are not “singing kumbaya.” It’s very serious business. Life stands in the balance here. Yet all you can so is sling snark. I’m disappointed.
As for turning on a dime. The Israel lobby juggernaught has been steaming along in the same godforsaken direction for decades. Of course it can’t turn on a dime. But when there are openings for peace I expect encouragement rather than silence.
What I object to so strenuously in the outlooks of former liberals like you is the world-weariness & cynicism that implies that those who remain progressive do so with a hopelessly naive outlook on the world. Nothing could be farther fr. the truth. I see the world as it is and see a way in which it can be made better. You, on the other hand, see the world as a hopelessly tragic place in which the best we can hope for is stasis rather than change. Sorry, but that doesn’t satisfy me.
Isn’t it clear that peace inside Israel and with its neighbours will make the US Jewish lobbies loose almost completely their influence. No more US president candidates and presidents could be “forced” to make those constant loyalty oaths to Israel. No more US president visiting Israel every 6 month. No more billions of US taxpayers money flowing as donations to Israel. AIPAC and others simply need the conflicts to keep up their unhealthy level of influence. In a way also Israel needs the conflicts. Without the conflicts and tensions Israel’s international influence would diminish to the level normal for countries with the population size of Israel. It would became the “Denmark” of Middle East. A good tourist target, rather prosperous, but nothing much else. How much influence could a “Danish” lobby have in US politics?