Why I Proudly Support J Street

To begin, let me be perfectly clear—I’m not some naïve peacenik in complete

denial over Israel’s security situation. I love Israel and am well aware of the grave

threats Israel faces, both internal and external. However, I have simply never understood

why supporting Israel means that I must blindly ally myself with those whose interests lie

diametrically opposed to a peaceful solution. I have never understood why being pro-

Israel means I must unquestioningly support increased settlement in the West Bank,

which may benefit people who want to live out a biblical fantasy but place a great strain

upon Israel’s security and domestic resources. I have never understood why being pro-

Israel means I must not protest when the fanatical Haredi establishment in Israel imposes

new restrictions on the rights of the secular majority. And I have never understood why

being pro-Israel means I should support a cozy alliance with extremist evangelicals here

in the United States, many of whom readily admit that they hope war in the Middle East

will bring about the End Times. In short, I have never understood why being pro-Israel

involves aligning myself with those who would rather see a mushroom cloud over

Jerusalem than see Israel peacefully coexist with her neighbors.

I had long thought there was no place for people like me in pro-Israel

organizations. I was outraged when one well-known pro-Israel organization invited John

Hagee, an evangelical pastor who professes support for Israel while stating that Jews

brought the Holocaust upon themselves for not accepting Jesus, to be the keynote speaker

at their annual convention in 2007. Meanwhile, on campus at Cornell University, any

discussion of Israel quickly became hostile and polarized between the hysterical anti-

Israel group and the pro-Israel group that did not tolerate any dissent on the other. There
was simply no room in the discussion for young Jews who supported Israel but also

wanted to express legitimate concerns.

But there should be. Israel is not the homeland of only Jews who perfectly follow

halachic law, but of secular Jews too. I love Israel and want it to thrive as the one true

democracy in the Middle East. But when I read about West Bank settlers assaulting

soldiers and claiming themselves to be the only “real” Jews, or the religious authorities

arresting women for daring to wear a talis at the Western Wall or forcing women to sit in

the back of the bus in Jerusalem—as if Jerusalem were Alabama in the 1950s rather than

the City of God—I see something I want absolutely no part of. There is nothing in any of

my Jewish values that allows me to turn a blind eye to any of this or to tacitly condone it

simply because it’s being perpetuated by members of my own religion.

I first learned about J Street in early 2008, when their political action committee

helped defend one of my political heroes, Congressman Steve Cohen of Memphis,

against ugly race and religion-baiting tactics in his primary election. J Street stands for

one simple premise—that actively negotiating an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict should

be a top foreign policy priority of the United States. To that end, J Street has both

supported efforts to bolster Israel’s security, such as increasing sanctions on Iran, while

condemning actions which undoubtedly undermine Israel from within, such as ongoing

settlement construction in the West Bank and last year’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

It’s interesting that those who criticize J Street consider such condemnation of

illegal settlements to be a “fixation.” It’s not a “fixation” when a small minority of the

population puts the rest of the country at risk simply so that they can pretend they live in
biblical times. It’s not a “fixation” when people’s lives are at stake. 60% of American

Jews and 52% of Israelis oppose further settlement construction; do these majorities

simply have a “fixation” as well? And J Street was absolutely right to oppose Operation

Cast Lead which, in contrast to the revisionist history pushed by J Street critics, not only

failed but backfired in its stated objectives—to undermine support for Hamas in Gaza,

bolster support for Fatah in the West Bank, and free Gilad Shalit. As for the allegation

that J Street is merely an “amen-corner” for President Obama’s policies—well, if nearly

80% of American Jews voted for the man with those policies, then it must be one awfully

big corner!

The recent criticisms of J Street are just another iteration of what I’ve witnessed

in the discussion of Israel—the mindset that you’re either with us or against us, and that

any questions about Israel’s actions must be responded to with a dismissal, an outright

lie, or the discrediting of the questioner. Meanwhile, study after study confirms that my

experience is far from unique, and that young American Jews increasingly feel

disconnected from Israel. Pro-Israel organizations will not bridge that gap by insisting on

strict adherence to one viewpoint. Instead, groups such as J Street, which allow Jews to

both support Israel and to ask legitimate questions, will continue to grow both in size and

in influence.