15 thoughts on “Oren Smears J Street–Again – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. Oren is very aware that J Street is becoming a powerful counterforce to AIPAC and thereby endangers the “special relationship” Zionist Israel enjoys with the US government. Thus, every effort is made to discredit J Street whenever it is possible to do so, especially now that Israel has been making one huge blunder after another, beginning with Operation Cast Lead. J Street has the power to change Jewish opinion of Israeli policies, especially at a time when these opinions are already changing. Oren is trying so hard to perform “damage control” whenever J Street is mentioned in the discourse (and sometimes even when it does not). This is hardly an appropriate role for an Ambassador to the US; Oren is behaving more like a press secretary than a diplomat, and I have lost a lot of respect for him as a result.

    Perhaps Oren would be happy to know that the very dangerous Glenn Greenwald is on the ADL list of “persons who are anti-Israel.” Last night while googling for something else, I came upon it, and I laughed aloud.

    My point is that both Oren and the ADL are resembling each other a little too much these days.

    1. RE: the very dangerous Glenn Greenwald is on the ADL list of “persons who are anti-Israel.”

      MY COMMENT: Of course. Anyone who truly believes in human rights and civil liberties (and Greenwald is clearly a principled advocate* for these) is a threat to the Likudniks and is therefore misnomered as “anti-Israel”. I recall reading that back in the mid 90s Netanyahu was working on a strategy to diminish U.S. support for ‘human rights’. It does does not surprise me at all that the ADL is part of his campaign.

      *as opposed to George W. Bush, who stood by his principals, rather than any principles

      1. RE: “George W. Bush, who stood by his principals, rather than any principles”

        A RELATED FACEBOOK GROUP –
        Name: George W. Bush Virtual, Alternative Presidential Library
        Category: Common Interest – History
        Description: A group for individuals seeking to commemorate the true legacy (as opposed to the fictional, fabricated, “official” legacy) of George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009.
        Privacy Type: Open – All content is public.

        LINK – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=324239910435

        1. I took the liberty of making a contribution to the library.

          I really am a little incensed by Oren’s loose-lipped criticism of a group that not only has the right to exist in the US but also acts as a watchdog against another interest group, or set of interest groups, and this was a long time coming. It is highly inappropriate for a foreign ambassador to try to influence the internal politics of the US, but I guess he thought AIPAC was falling down on the job and personally stepped in.

          And I think, to set the record straight, a correction should be issued as to the slanderous and outrageous statement being made about J Street being funded by terrorists. It’s a slanderous gutter remark and should be publicly retracted.

    2. Mary: My point is that both Oren and the ADL are resembling each other a little too much these days.

      What’s new? When I served in the Israeli army’s hasbarah unit many moons ago, the general commanding the unit would receive faxes direct from Abe Foxman. There was constant communication between the ADL and the Israeli army’s PR team.

      1. It confirms my suspicion that the country of Israel suffers from collective neurosis, namely, paranoia. Some of us are quite weary of Israeli special interest groups permeating our political system. The ADL is an organization with a sleazy, criminal past, but that doesn’t seem to bother the IDF. Many consider the ADL to be a hate group (I mostly share that opinion, except that I think they do a fairly good job of keeping tabs on white supremacist organizations). Seeing Glenn Greenwald on their sh*t list was both laughable and outrageous because he is another important watchdog who upholds an honorable journalistic tradition, that being, report the truth even if it’s ugly.

        I recently saw an article in Haaretz saying the IDF was forming a special hasbara unit that will do its propagandizing on the internet. Any truth to this?

  2. How does it look when the Israeli ambassador, supposedly a well-respected academic expert on Israel-U.S. relations before his appointment, has such an elemental disdain for truth and facts?

    It looks very poorly, but it is not entirely surprising. The ambassadorial posts for the Israeli government are appointed (like in the United States), and are no doubt highly politicized. Oren is likely speaking what Netanyahu and his cabinet have told him to speak.

    1. Then Netanyahu is at fault for abusing the ambassador’s mission, which is to promote goodwill between the countries and not to criticize the groups who do not share the Likud Party’s vision. Whether the position is political or not, I do not think it is appropriate for Oren to make public appearances before Jewish groups and publicly denounce J Street. If a Saudi ambassador made an appearance before an American Muslim group and did the same thing, I’m sure heads would roll.

      1. Michael Oren did not begin lying when Netanyahu took office, or when he became ambassador. He’s had years and years of practice.

  3. RE: “Israel’s consul general in San Francisco, Akiva Tor, told a prospective major local donor they should not give to J Street because it is supported by Arab extremists. When I queried him, the consul general flatly denied the charge…” – R.S.

    MY COMMENT: “All governments lie.” – I.F. Stone

  4. Oren has not only taken the gloves off, he’s taken leave of truth

    Michael Oren, like any Israeli government official, took leave of truth long before now. I can’t remember the last time I heard him speak anything but the standard-issue Israeli government lies.

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