I find it amazing that J Street would spend a hundred thousand dollars or two on a full page N.Y. Times ad that displays this map of Israel. My acute readers will note a strange anomaly of the map–it doesn’t show Palestine. Now, I always thought J Street supports a two state solution. But you wouldn’t know it from this map. Even if someone from J Street wanted to argue that it deliberately doesn’t show Palestine because the message is that “it’s time” to create one, that simply isn’t conveyed even indirectly by the graphic. The copy does make one reference to a two state solution and even with that the overall copy is rather puerile.
We understand why such an ad was published. Today is the first official day of the Aipac conference and displaying a map including Palestine wouldn’t score any points with the Aipac set, even though they officially claim they support a two state solution as well.
So what I want to know is what so funny about peace, love, understanding and a two-state solution??
Not J Street’s finest hour. H/t to Ira Glunts at Mondoweiss.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://i0.wp.com/img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?w=640)
I do wonder if they made the decision to use that particular map because it’s graphically simpler, and therefore potentially “stronger.” I’m only an amateur graphic designer, so that’s my best guess, knowing J Street’s stated commitment to a two-state solution.
I do know what you mean, however. It IS rather unfortunate! 🙂
You’re undoubtedly right. But just as the message of the ad copy was “dumbed down” so was the map.
1. The two-state solution has been dead for a long time. Israel killed it.
2. J Street is just AIPAC’s slightly more liberal son.
I usually think that J Street was “invented” as a ploy to siphon off as much of more-or-less progressive USA Jewish activity into an AIPAC-clone in order to prevent such people from finding their way elsewhere (maybe JVP).
If this ad is supposed to challenge this impression, it is far too subtle for me, even if I good-naturedly “try” to find mollifying signals, such as the [if you think about it] “scary” one-minute-til-midnight and THEN ONE-STATE (TWO STATES DEAD).
I disagree. I think the idea was to show the territory that will be turned into the two states. If they used the usual green line to demarcate the two states, that would be inaccurate because there are likely to be certain land exchanges. I think they are saying it’s time to draw a new border within this territory. And I’m all for J Street.
Has anyone ever tried to find a world map (in the USA) that even has Palestine on it? I have only found one acknowledging any reference to Palestine, and I really had to shop around. I gave it to a friend in Gaza for a little hope.