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March 1, 2011
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I was watching the J Street convention on its Web site, and it reminded me a little of those underground meetings among religious settlers in the West Bank. That is, a constant flow of red meat served to the fervent and the like-minded.
In the case of J Street, this red meat can be boiled down to this: It is really, really, really, really important that Israel reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
One fervent speaker after another came down from the mountaintop to convince an already convinced audience of how really important this goal is. Whether it was Peter Beinart fearing for Israel’s democratic future, or Rabbi David Saperstein appealing to our highest Jewish values, or Sara Benninga finding her meaning in life by leading weekly demonstrations at Sheikh Jarrah, the theme was the same: Israel must make peace and end the occupation as soon as possible.
And who’s the bad guy in all of this? Take a guess. With the J Street crowd, the underlying assumption is always that the major obstacle to peace is Israel. Palestinian obstacles to peace? They’re as likely to be mentioned at a J Street convention as Avigdor Liberman is of being invited.
Sometimes I wonder what it must feel like after three days of one of these J Street smugfests. How do you go from feeling absolutely certain that you are right to feeling even more certain that you are right?
I remember when Rabbi Michael Lerner of Tikkun invited me to speak several years ago at one of its peace conventions in New York City. I was glad that he did, because it gave me a chance to ask a few hundred peaceniks a question they likely rarely hear: “When is the last time any of you woke up in the morning and asked yourself: ‘What if I’m wrong?’ ”
No one raised their hand.
Yes, compassion is a great Jewish virtue, I told them, but so is humility. I confessed that, initially, I didn’t believe in the Oslo peace process (because I didn’t trust Arafat), but I asked myself, “What if I’m wrong?” and I ended up going along with it. So, I suggested, “What would happen if you all asked yourselves that same question?”
When I look at J Street now, I see some obviously good intentions (“We want peace!”), but not much humility. What comes across more than anything is an orgy of ideological self-confirmation toward pressuring Israel.
That’s disappointing. I expect more from open-minded liberals who claim to care for the “other side.” For one thing, I expect they would also care for the other side of an argument.
Have they studied, for example, the Palestinian Authority’s global campaign to undermine and demonize Israel and the corrosive effect this has had on the peace process? As a “pro-Israel” group, what kind of public pressure have they brought to bear on the Palestinians to end their glorification of terror and indoctrination of Jew-hatred that has made so many Jews reluctant to take more risks for peace?
Where was their public campaign to pressure the Palestinians to return to the peace table during the first nine months of a 10-month Israeli settlement freeze the Obama administration lauded as “unprecedented”?
To balance their countless speakers who advocate putting more pressure on Israel, why haven’t they included speakers like Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch, who has documented the continued anti-Semitic incitement in official Palestinian media, or an award-winning Mideast journalist like Khaled Abu Toameh, who makes a powerful case that the Palestinian Authority’s primary interest is not to make peace with Israel — but to delegitimize the Jewish state?
If the goal is to bring together two sides, isn’t it important to scrutinize both sides?
Why doesn’t J Street bring in experts to explain the danger of Hamas taking over a Palestinian West Bank and pointing 10,000 rockets at Israel’s nuclear installations, potentially creating a catastrophic meltdown in the Jewish state? Talk about fearing for a country’s democratic character.
J Street’s relentless focus on pressuring Israel isn’t only unfair, it’s also remarkably ineffective. A couple of years ago, Palestinian and Israeli leaders were negotiating directly as a matter of course. Now, in the face of the enormous and single-minded global pressure on Israel, Palestinians are negotiating in international forums on how best to demonize Israel. They won’t even consider talking to Israel until it commits to freezing all construction in disputed territory, including, I presume, freezing any renovation of the restrooms at the Western Wall.
We’ve seen that the greater the pressure on Israel, the faster the cockier-than-ever Palestinians have run away from the peace table. J Street’s reaction to all this is to bring 2,000 people together in Washington, D.C., to put even more pressure on Israel and urge the Obama administration to do the same.
In other words, after two years of generating bumper-to-bumper traffic on the failed road called “let’s pressure Israel,” J Street has decided that the best thing to do is to attract even more traffic to that road.
Maybe they ought to consider adding another lane to their congested highway and calling it “Let’s pressure the Palestinians to stop undermining Israel and return immediately to the peace table.”
In Los Angeles, we would call that the carpool lane.
David Suissa is a branding consultant and the founder of OLAM magazine. For speaking engagements and other inquiries, he can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or davidsuissa.com.
A version of this article appeared in print.
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Exactly right. Aren’t there two sides to this issue? All we ever hear is Israel is the problem. When did the Palestinians become saints? They have better PR than Brangelina. Mr. Suissa is just saying look at the other side. At least someone is saying this. That may be the only way for true peace, to not be so one-sided. Let’s get in the carpool lane.
mr suissa you need to exit your tunnel you and most of the commenters here repeat the same tired arguments despite incoming evidence. Is this person an uniformed victim of pal PR:
Veteran diplomat Ilan Baruch quits, says he can no longer represent government; Israel’s foreign policy is ‘wrong,’ he says, adds that blaming global anti-occupation views on anti-Semitism is ‘simplistic, artificial’ wake up
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4036889,00.html
mr suissa those rockets can already strike israel from lebanon or gaza, plunking 600,000 israelis over the green line doesnt make its citizens more secure (quite the opposite) it doesnt work making the same silly arguments for 20 years running away from the negotiating table ? read this about plans for quartet talks:
Israeli and Palestinian representatives were invited to the meeting, however Netanyahu decided not to cooperate and not send his adviser and peace talks representative Yitzhak Molcho to Brussels.
The Palestinians, however, have sent Saeb Erekat, who recently resigned from his position as chief Palestinian negotiator
A lot of these arguments prove suissa’s point. Say one thing in support of israel, and out come the kneejerk sentiments. It’s like a broken record. Putting all the blame on israel does not solve the problem. It’s never going to. No matter how much you play the same broken record.
prove suissa’s point ? that jstreet needs a lane change he needs to stop driving in the tunnel echo chamber with blindfold. Here is an israeli diplomat resigning after 18 years
Diplomat: I can no longer represent Israel
Veteran diplomat Ilan Baruch quits, says he can no longer represent government; Israel’s foreign policy is ‘wrong,’ he says, adds that blaming global anti-occupation views on anti-Semitism is ‘simplistic, artificial’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4036889,00.html
but im sure suissa with his vast knowledge and intimate knowledge of israel can evaluate things better
uissa writes
“They won’t even consider talking to Israel until it commits to freezing all construction
but Bibi’s own defense minister says this
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/barak-make-up-of-government-is-problematic-for-advancing-peace-1.346960
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday that current make-up of the Israeli government isn’t suitable for advancing the peace process with the Palestinians. ...
“Government officials say Netanyahu is expected to deliver a major policy speech on peacemaking in the coming weeks, hinting at a change in direction away from direct talks on a peace treaty. “
mr. suissa exit off you freeway
It is apparent that all comments above (Andy C’s is an exception) were written by the same person who signed under different names. Though I am not a psychiatrist this seems to be a case of a schizophrenic person who suffers from multiple personality disorder. Don’t be hard on him, he needs our love and compassion.
WebMed: “Dissociative identity disorder (aka multiple personality) is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process, which produces a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. Dissociative identity disorder is thought to stem from trauma experienced by the person with the disorder. The dissociative aspect is thought to be a coping mechanism—the person literally dissociates himself from a situation or experience that’s too violent, traumatic, or painful to assimilate with his conscious self.”
Well, I don’t know if the writer of the above posts has multiple personality disorder (pretty funny, Avi), but seriously, it’s like a broken record. He/she offers nothing new to the debate. Suissa’s column does, however. This column needs to be read by everyone at J Street. They’ll all be mad, but someone needs to shake things up, otherwise it’s the same ol’ same ol’, and nothing gets resolved.
J-street is a racist organization. They say that Israeli Jews are idiots and morons who don’t really understand Arabs or what is going on in the middle east. After all, what does a guy living in Jerusalem know. Certainly not has much as somebody on a college campus in the US or a commune.
On another note. I’d like to ask this: Since in J-street/George Soros land Israel is the problem. Then it follows that if only Israel did, A, B, and C, then the whole conflict can be wound up by next Tuesday. If your PM what do you do? Serious question. Because I think that if there are any brilliant ideas they would like to know that in Jerusalem
To “look in the mirror,”, psychologists call this disconfimred expectancy syndrome. No mater how often J Street sees that their ideas are outrageously wrong, they tell themselves that their ideas are not working YET!!! They haven’t tried them forcefully enough YET. They wil never ask, what if I am wrong. BTW,“look in the mirror,” the courage of convictions using goes along with using your real name.
My Islamist contacts openly boast that J St. is “useful idiots”. I call your attention to the following:http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/03/04/on-that-controversial-j-street-video/
This video – a compilation of interviews with some very left-wing, very anti-Israel attendees at the recent J Street conference in Washington, D.C. – gives an idea of what the atmosphere at the confab was like:
Glue binding Arab societies is hatred of Jews.
Pew opinion survey of Arab attitudes towards Jews 6/09 makes this clear. 95% of Egyptians, 97 % of Jordanians & Palestinians 98 %of Lebanese 75%of Turks, Pakistanis & Indonesians expressed hostile views of Jews.
Throughout Arab & Muslim world, genocidal anti-Semitic propaganda is all-pervasive. “ubiquity of the hate and prejudice exemplified by hard-core anti-Semitism undoubtedly exceeds the demonization of earlier historical periods — Christian Middle Ages, Spanish Inquisition, Dreyfus Affair in France, or Judeophobia of Tsarist Russia.
only comparable example is Nazi Germany
The above commentary demonstrates that Suissa has added something of value - something to actually “debate!”
How great it is to see someone NOT waiting for permission to both have an opinion that challenges the status quo and to go ahead and start paving a new lane in the minds of those humble enough to question their thinking!
Isn’t defending a one-lane-fits-all world a lot like defending paving a road to peace (?) by way of good intentions?
IMHO, peace is best achieved through humility, brutal honesty and absolute integrity…things that must acknowledge a full range of opinion & apply to all “sides,” to be of any real value to the WORLD our CHILDREN stand to inherit.
J Street is NOT AIPAC. You may disagree with its positions, but,as an outsider, it is disingenuous of you to remonstrate J Street for a differing approach to strong support for Israel’s survival. While I have enjoyed many of your columns, I could criticize you for not taking up the cause of the Reform movement in Israel,or advocate focefully for the ordination of female rabbis by the Orthodox movement. Does the fact that you do not devote “enough” of your time to these issues delegitimize your other work? J Street has positively energized good Jews who have been excluded from the communal process when it comes to how we can best support Israel. For that, J Street deserves our thanks.
Jeff, I am not sure what to make out of your response. Either it demonstrates your ignorance with regard to J-Street (though I doubt it, because you sound too slick) or it is a shrewd attempt to reposition J_St. As for the Jews J Street has been able to “energize”, I don’t have a problem with them being excluded from the “communal process” of their so-called “support” for Israel.”
JEFF: read Pals & other Islamic sources directly or in transl.MEMRI is excellent, universally accepted source of accurate translations. Also READ :
The Message of BDS A founding Palestinian member of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement is frank about its objective: to shift the consensus of world opinion against Israel and undermine alliance between Jews and Christians.
The words of Abbas,Fayyad, and other members of the PA hierarchy are direct, frank, and chilling. Other readings should include “problem with JStreet” by Walter Russell Mead; foreign money by Rick Moran; back to the future by Moshe Dann; Arab money funds by Roni Sofer in Yediot Aharonot.
problems with J St
condemned Israel for ” disproportionate response” in Gaza offensive against Hamas – highlighting “we recognize that neither Israelis nor Palestinians have a monopoly of right or wrong”
concealed It facilitated meetings between Judge Goldstone and members of Congress
repeatedly denied ,until outed ,that least 1/3 of US budget donated by Soros
Over $800,000 came from an anonymous donor in Hong Kong, whose identity J St founder, Jeremy Ben Ami, refuses to disclose
• J St, tax-exempt 501(c) 4 organization, paid tens of thousands of dollars to a consulting firm co-owned by Ben Ami, Ben Ami had initially claimed that he did not benefit financially
Re: Jeffery Ellis - can we get beyond Orwellian Newspeak? Having pathologically self destructive views is not the same as having “differing views.” Your tap dance about the Reform movement in Israel and female Orthodox rabbis is just empty mantra talk designed to show us how nuanced and complex your ideas are. Sorry Jeff, Jon Steward is not really a news broadcaster. You have a good vocabulary but please turn your brain on and don’t talk down to us.
Jeff my friend: J-Street is not AIPAC? No kidding. Thanks for the clarification. With regard to the your advice, I think even those Israelis who would agree with you are already sick and tired of unsolicited advice coming all the way from the Pacific Coast. So instead why don’t you pick up yourself and million other Reform Jews, move there, and with your critical mass make any social change you please. This would be a blessing. Otherwise Jeff, try your advice on the Arabs; they need it much more, and let’s see how they react.
you can throw around your stereotypes, put up a 90 second video with disturbing quotes from some attendees, assert that jstreet supports BDS and ignore that it doesnt and that at a panel one participant told a BDS supporter that the strategy is crazy. Or you could read a balanced article like this and wake up to the fact that many articulate concerned young pro israel people attended the conference and they shouldn’t be branded ememies. Maybe its folks like suissa that need another lane
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/focus-u-s-a/israel-will-have-to-deal-with-j-street-sooner-or-later-1.346373
another fair minded piece on jstreet, not that i expect it to convince anyone who sees them as traitors and enemies
http://forward.com/articles/135826/
classic &true;, Jews like to argue & discuss.The Forward, Haaratz & Jewish Journal provide sympathetic coverage of J St.
Thus, I have quoted directly from Islamic sources including that of one of the key founders of the diversification campaign as they see the “benefits to them” of the J St. actions.
In defense of Ben-Ami ,I quote from the Forward:
Sounding more hawkish than he had in the past, Ben-Ami ruled out cuts in American military aid to Israel, endorsed the Law of Return, denounced the so-called “one-state solution” and repeatedly distanced himself from individuals and groups on the left that reject Zionism
MORE FORWARD:
Liberals identify it as go-to address for Jews who sympathize with left wing Israeli politics
conf lacked all but token rep of Israel’s pro-peace mainstream. For org hoping to forge new, pro-peace American Jewish mainstream, that was glaring hole
conf attracted Jews who are ambivalent or hostile toward Israel.
They weren’t on program, but spoke in breakout sessions & gathered in the halls Some came to paint Israel as the guilty party and argue for sweeping Israeli concessions without regard for Israel’s security. Some opposed the idea of Jewish statehood. Most came to Washington expecting to help shape J St goals and gain political influence for their views
I agree with howard laitin jstreet should have screened attendees had them swear allegiance to specific points of view and banned people from expressing “non kosher ” views in discussions in the halls
I hope you recommend the thought police monitor aipac to attendees to make sure none support the illegal settlements the netanyahu govt is dismantling
israel is the only democracy in the ME but as for those jews discussing it in the US….thought police
I support J Street, and I don’t see Suissa’s article as an attack on J Street. I think he’s just saying that pressuring only Israel has failed to bring the parties together, and for peace to happen, pressure has to be applied equally to both sides. Isn’t that a fair and reasonable argument? We’re all adults here.
in a few weeks bibi will come to aipac everyone will applaud him and there will be a parade of congressmen and senators. He will return to israel confident that american jews and congress will give him the leeway to drag his feet for another 2 years thus making it harder for the two parties to get together. The pal will declare a state in sept and israel will be in a worse position. When suissa changes lanes and writes a column acknowledging that i will suspend my neg judgement
this nonsense will be presented at aipac and he will get a standing ovation, it’s a non starter particularly since it is less forthcoming than his previous position and a pittance compared to what olmert offered
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/livni-netanyahu-s-peace-policy-shows-an-utter-lack-of-leadership-1.347451
“(it is) is a step back from his previous statement that he wants to attempt to reach a final-status agreement within a year. ” from the above article
time to change lanes at aipac
I urge everyone read what I said, then read what “attended J St” said I said. That is why I can’t trust him to tell the truth when he reports what he saw at the meeting & why you can’t trust him for the truth when he says anything to you… Especially when you can read my words for yourself. I met him many times in my life:. When the liberal Jewish establishment & the NYTimes assured us that nothing was happening in Germany… The Holocaust was a myth. I met him again when he was part of the American Council for Judaism actively fighting against the establishment of Jewish state.
I met him when the Nazis tried to establish their HQ in Torrance Ca & he supported them citing “free speech” while I & the asst city manager were able to deny them permits they were seeking due to the documented violence they had engaged in throughout the US.
I urge all readers to see for themselves, in the words of the PA leaders, the Palestinian educators & Islamists throughout the world not only what they plan to do to Israel but also how they plan to achieve it, and how confident they are that they will have the help of Jews in this process.
By the way the “criticisms” of J St. that I listed came from the Forward, definitely a pro JSt source. And they were so noted.
ah yes when no rational discourse works throw out he holocaust connection. Bibi used it too telling Angela Merkel “how can germany criticize israel policies”. There’s an attitude that will really move things forward.
now the jstreeters are holocaust deniers or their direct descendants. Does that hold for tzipi livni too
I agree with howard laitin jstreet should have screened attendees had them swear allegiance to specific points of view and banned people from expressing “non kosher ” views in discussions in the halls
NOTE I NEVER SAID OR IMPLIED THIS
I hope you recommend the thought police monitor aipac to attendees to make sure none support the illegal settlements the netanyahu govt is dismantling
israel is the only democracy in the ME but as for those jews discussing it in the US….thought police
Comment by attended jstreet on 3/06/11 at 4:53 am
In the last several weeks Fayyad,Abbas,etc have made it perfectly clear: unlimited right of return; 1967 borders; East Jerusalem to Muslim control; other holy places to international control.
Gary Ackerman,NY Jewish Dem Congressman & former JSt supporter outraged at JSt “active support of PA &Arab; effort to condemn Israel at UN Security Council …not the choice of a friend trying to help. rather the befuddled choice of an organization so open-minded about what contributes support for Israel that its brains have fallen out.… I have come to the conclusion that JSt is not an organization with which I wish to be associated.”
By their words and their actions you will know them. These are not marginal players sitting out in the hall, they are the core of J St.
J St co-founder Daniel Levy article described Israel’s creation as “an act that went wrong.”
Head of J St office in Israel Drew Cohen on record described Operation Cast Lead as “unjust & even criminal act.” dismissed Gaza as a “mythic threat” to Israel & referred to the Gaza Flotilla confrontation as “a heinous brutality.”
And there is plenty more… But 700 characters is very limiting.
I believe that we can have civil and passionate discourse. That said I will fight against the normalization of absurd rationalization. When extreme ideas are accepted as normal the center moves to the left- oldest trick in the book. Lip service aside,Soros money has made it “legitimate” to wonder if Israel is legitimate. To paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt (That’s the President Roosevelt who do not betray the Jews) “Professional Humanitarians” are among the world’s most dangerous people.
Some J-St supporters argue that billions of dollars in US military aid gives them legitimacy to dictate to Israelis how to live their lives, get this: This is no longer your mother’s Israel. With its GDP of $220 billion in 2010, tiny Israel now ranks the 24th economy in the world. American foreign aid to Israel amounts to 2.5% of its GDP. On this I can agree with you: Israel should not longer receive a penny from the American taxpayers. This assistance has a corrosive effect on the Israeli society, its economy, and on the US-Israeli relations. As for J-Street supporters, you can take your lofty ideas, your perverse support, and your BDS supporters; take this money and shove it.
george soros nazi collaborator is working to unite the muslim brotherhood, wisconsin labor unions, google and jstreet to establish the global caliphate
when it happens remember he told you so
post worthy of repeating
...” why aren’t all Jews here?”. reason why is many Jews pay more attention to what the Pales say to each other in Arabic. For instance, they claim they are going to wipe Israel and Israelis off of the map of Israel. They encourage their children to murder Jews.
This is not heroic, but murderous. It is not friendship, but enmity. It is not a future for Jewish and Arabic relations but their hope for an end to it. JSt should open up it’s eyes and pay more attention to what the PalesArabs are really saying. They are singing Kumbaya to you in public while they are planning your demise behind your back.
Comment by Loretta77 on 3/07/11 at 3:26 pm
another good post
why aren’t all Jews here?” answer is what most Jews fear (including Israelis, especially my friends who were previously lifelong labor supporters and voted for Netanyahu in the last election) is a repeat on the West Bank of what happened when Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon and Gaza. This area (West Bank) is truly a stones throw from Tel Aviv, our main airport, Jerusalem and other critical areas of the country. While it is true that the overwhelming majority of Israelis and worldwide Jewry would love nothing more than a full peace, that overwhelming majority is also not suicidal.
Comment by Bill Bender on 3/07/11 at 11:24 am
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“.... to feeling even more certain that you are right?”
psychologists call this projection mr.suissa the above describes you look at the what is going on through the windshield. A foreign service veteran of 18 years resigns because the policies of his israeli govt are indefensible. Bibi’s new “plan” is for an interim agreement…exactly the plan lieberman proposed in dec and bibi claimed it didnt represent the govt.And bibi wont even attend quartet talks until he is guaranteed what will happen inthe “negotiations”. Fortunately most israelis get real information(you can too mr suissa plenty is available in english) and dont buy this simplistic nonsense.