Thoughts on the Situation, Part 1 -- J Street and Dubai

There’s some ironic symmetry between the rancorous J Street visit to Israel and the Dubai “hit.”

While Israel gets blamed for both, with critics claiming that the two were heavy-handed cases of Israeli bungling, I suggest that both cases will end up being powerful models of deterrence. The Dubai operation was a success, and terrorist leaders will be spending time and resources looking over their shoulders and searching for traitors and moles.

What now emerges as a J Street’s propaganda ploy may lead to the organization being deterred from bringing to Israel more missions of naïve or hostile Members of Congress. What Congressman would want to join a Congressional delegation whose mission is to tangle with the Israeli government? The organization was more concerned with its own self-aggrandizement than giving their congressional guests the opportunity to meet Israeli leaders. "Either we all enter the meeting, or no one enters," was pretty much J Street's ultimatum.

J Street’s director returned to the U.S. claiming victory in his fight between the forces of light and darkness. He masks his efforts to promote J Street and attacking Israel’s government in terms of his holy "vision and values" and denounces those concerned over Israel’s security and welfare.

He wrote:“On one side of this struggle are those committed to our vision of time-honored Jewish and democratic values - grounded in respect for 'the other,' a tolerance for dissent, and a willingness to sacrifice territory for peace. On the other side are those who seem willing to muffle dissent, view all conflict as zero-sum, and place retaining captured land and territory at the center of its value system.”

Can someone please find J Street’s parallel in the Israeli body politic? It’s certainly not Labor or Kadima. Perhaps they reflect Meretz or Hadash (the communist/Arab coalition in the Knesset)? I suggest his values and vision are anything but Jewish or democratic.

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