Issues of the day, and their coverage in the media
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Jewish Coalition Rejects Lobbying Group’s Bid to Join
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: barry levine Date: Thu, May 1, 2014 at 9:34 AM Subject: re: Jewish Coalition Rejects Lobbying Group’s Bid to Join To: "letters@nytimes.com"
To the Editor:
Our First Amendment guarantees that a boys club can call itself almost anything it wants. But if it rejects J-Street for having a PAC while AIPAC sits at the table, the "conference of presidents of major American Jewish organizations" is just a good old boys club with a cynically misleading name.
Jeremy Ben-Ami’s J Street tried to join the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.CreditGabriella Demczuk/The New York Times
American Jewish leaders on Wednesday voted to deny membership in an influential national coalition to a lobbying group that has at times criticized the Israeli government.
The decision by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to reject the dovish lobbying group, J Street, was closely watched because it comes as many Jewish institutions face controversies over how much debate over Israel they are willing to tolerate within their ranks. Supporters of J Street argued that the group’s occasional differences with Israeli policy, over Gaza, Iran and other matters, were well within the mainstream of American Jewish thought and common in Israel itself.
The vote took place after a brief and collegial debate — lasting less than an hour — during which speakers were each allowed 90 seconds to make an argument. The ballots were secret, but several of those present said that it appeared, based onpublic statements made before Wednesdayas well as comments made during the debate, that the voting broke down in large part along ideological and religious lines, with Orthodox and multiple affiliated organizations opposing J Street, and the non-Orthodox members supporting the group’s application.The vote was held at the Conference’s Manhattan offices, and it was not open to the public. But participants said that 42 of the conference’s 50 voting members were represented at the meeting, and that 17 voted in favor of J Street, while 22 voted against and three abstained. To become a member of the Conference, J Street would have needed support from two-thirds of the conference, or 34 votes.
J Street, based in Washington, was formed six years ago as a counterpoint to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the longstanding lobbying organization advocating American support of Israel.
J Street has differentiated itself, and attracted both support and criticism, by adopting a less hawkish tone toward Middle East policy, and by steadfastly supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The president of J Street, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said in an interview after the vote that he was “deeply disappointed,” and added, “We would have liked to be a part of this communal tent.”
A poll conducted last year by the Pew Research Center found that a plurality of American Jews did not believe the Israeli government was making a sincere effort to reach a peace settlement. Mr. Ben-Ami said the vote sent a “terrible message” to those who have concerns about aspects of Israeli policy.
“This is what has been wrong with the conversation in the Jewish community,” he said.
“People whose views don’t fit with those running longtime organizations are not welcome, and this is sad proof of that,” he added. “It sends the worst possible signal to young Jews who want to be connected to the Jewish community, but also want to have freedom of thought and expression.”
The Conference, which already includes groups with a broad range of ideological and religious viewpoints, is an influential organization, in part because its longtime leader, Malcolm I. Hoenlein, is frequently consulted by political leaders as a representative of the American Jewish community.
Critics of J Street approved of the Conference’s decision to exclude a group whose views on Israel they viewed as problematic.
J Street’s bid for membership was supported by major liberal and centrist Jewish groups, including the Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform movements, as well as the Anti-Defamation League.“We’re very pleased and relieved, because J Street’s positions were not within the mainstream of the Jewish community,” said Farley I. Weiss, the president of the National Council of Young Israel, which is an association of Orthodox synagogues. “On virtually every single issue, their position is contrary to that of anything that would be considered pro-Israel, and they don’t represent the rank and file of the Jewish community in America.”
The leaders of many of those groups have had disagreements with J Street, but argued that it represented the views of a significant number of American Jews and deserved to be part of the discussion that takes place among major Jewish institutions.
“A mistake was made today,” said Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly, which represents Conservative rabbis. “It is of crucial importance to the future of the Jewish community that a full range of views is represented, and that we be part of a robust dialogue to achieve what we are all committed to, which is a safe, secure and thriving Israel.”
Rabbi Schonfeld said the vote would undoubtedly prompt an examination of the conference’s membership rules and voting procedures, noting that “one of the anomalies of diaspora leadership is we are not elected by the Jewish community, but we earn the right to be leaders, and it’s moments like this that call upon us to think creatively and openly and earn that leadership.”
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