Ron Kampeas of the JTA Doesn't Like My White House Logs Story

Ron Kampeas of the JTA lumps me together with the anti-Semitic Jewish conspiracy theorists Walt and Mearsheimer, accusing me of "peddling the notions of overweening lobbyists misdirecting U.S. policy from its natural inclinations?" He claims that I suggested "J Street pushed the White House to punish Israel -- classic conspira-babble."

Well, anyone who read the article below can easily perceive that there's no similarity between the article and Ron's fantasy recreation. If you need a further explanation, here's what I posted as a talkback on his blog:

Ron --
I know you can write—and you do that quite well. Unfortunately, you don’t read so well. 1. I never wrote that J Street plotted to change US policy. Just the opposite, I wrote that J Street was the White House’s tool: “The 1,600 Jerusalem apartments would become the anvil on which the administration would forge a pliant Israel. The message would have to be amplified, and for the White House, the pro-Obama, purportedly pro-Israel J Street was a perfect vehicle.” That’s certainly not claiming that “J Street pushed the White House to punish Israel.” Is it?
A simple apology will do.
2. As for Mr. Sullivan, I didn’t say he was a member of Journolist, but I wrote that he was one of the “J Street advocates and JournoList members.” Sullivan certainly counts as a J Street advocate.

It’s sad and probably a case of nonfeasance that journalists like yourself never ask who funds J Street, who founded it, who sits on its executive board, who makes the decisions at the organization. Who decided, for instance, to oppose Iranian sanctions, and then one day reverse positions and support them?
Other organizations on the Left such as Americans for Peace Now and the Israel Policy Forum are transparent, and no one challenges their bona fides. They play an important role in the broad spectrum of pro-Israel Jewish organizations.

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