J Street's Position on Gaza Is Worse than First Thought:Their Letter Was Worse than the Cong'l Letter of 54

When I first reported on J Street's support for the 54 Members of Congress who wrote a letter to President Obama urging him to pressure Israel (and nominally Egypt) to lift the blockade on Gaza, I based the report on a newspaper story in the Minnesota Independent. "[The] members of Congress," the paper stated, "as well as a number of religious groups and denominations, have signed on to Ellison’s letter." J Street appeared first on the newspaper's list of organizations.

But there were two very different letters, it turned out. The Congressional letter placed some of the blame for Gaza's plight on Egypt. "The people of Gaza have suffered enormously since the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following Hamas’ coup," the letter stated. The Members of Congress also conceded that Israel had legitimate security concerns: "We recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other militant groups."

The other letter, written by J Street, several other leftist Jewish organizations, and known anti-Israel organizations, however, placed the onus solely on Israel. "[D]ue to Israel’s policy of severely limiting passage of essential goods and materiel through its crossings, the suffering in Gaza continues.....We urge that your administration use America’s unique relationship with Israel to persuade it to lift the closure of its border crossing with Gaza now."

There is no hint of Israel's legitimate security concerns or Hamas' terrorism.

The J Street letter was co-signed by the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Americans for Peace Now, the Arab American Institute, Churches for Middle East Peace, B’Tselem USA, and Rabbis for Human Rights – North America.

Don't look for the letter on J Street's site. They're afraid people will read it. You can find it on the webpage of the Foundation for Middle East Peace.

PS: J Street's Congressional Mission to Israel flaunted its partnership with the Churches for Middle East Peace organization even before it arrived in Israel. The letters requesting meetings bore the logos of J Street's Educational Fund and the CMEP. It's no wonder Israelis were reluctant to meet the total group, and when Israeli officials requested to meet with the Members of Congress alone, they were rebuffed with a response to the effect, "You meet all of us or none of us, and we'll call a press conference."

Charming.

This is what NGO-Monitor says about CMEP: "[S]ome of its constituent groups are centrally involved in the political war against Israel. A number of CMEP partners take an active role in promoting BDS – the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign – as part of the 2001 Durban NGO agenda which calls for the total international isolation of Israel."

After taking CMEP to Israel and trying to force this BDS-endorsing organization upon its Israeli hosts, J Street has the chutzpah to post on its website today:

J Street & J Street U Reiterate Opposition to Boycott Divestment Sanctions, “Israel Apartheid Week”

They have no shame.

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Thoughts on the Situation, Part 3 -- J Street Defends the Letter of 54

Today’s Jerusalem Post carries an Op-Ed column by officials from J Street and Americans for Peace Now.

They defend the recent letter they sponsored with 54 Members of Congress to President Barack Obama which “express[ed] concern for Israel's security, for the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, and for the urgency of reaching a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

But that was not the reason for the letter. Read the letter here. The Members themselves state, “We write to you [Obama] with great concern about the ongoing crisis in Gaza.”

Note that for the Jerusalem Post, J Street and APN argue that first they were concerned for “Israel’s security,” but the text of the letter indicates that Israel’s security is of little concern. More than 90 percent of the letter deals with the “collective punishment of the Palestinian residents” of Gaza and easing their plight. This accusation of Israel’s “collection punishment” helps explain why J Street failed to condemn the Goldstone Report.

This is not a letter from “pro-Israel” sources, but from “pro-Gaza” sources. And in the case of Hamas-occupied Gaza, the two are mutually exclusive.

Don’t miss Rep. Eliot Engel's comments about J Street, also in today's Jerusalem Post: Engel, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a staunch supporter of Israel in the House, said J Street takes “positions in Washington I have difficulty with.” Engel said J Street’s statements “over-emphasize” what the organization feels Israel is not doing, “rather than putting the blame squarely where I think it belongs – the Palestinian attitude of denying Israel the right to exist as a Jewish state.”

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