J Street, after its first ever conference has shown that it misunderstands how to be pro-Israel in the Diaspora. In a nutshell: non-Israeli supporters of Israel are supposed to support Israel, not tell Israel what to do.
Though J Street may have good intentions, its violation of this basic rule of thumb would make its success bad for Israel and the United States.
J Street argues that it is in line with much of Israel when advocating “progressive” solutions to the conflict. This is true on some issues, but J Street’s break from the mainstream is not primarily political. It is philosophical.
Firstly, J Street is different in that it is an American lobby taking sides in Israeli electoral and policy debates. As opposed to supporting Israel and deferring to Israeli decisions on its own domestic policies, J Street dictates what Israel should do. Secondly, it also takes sides in American partisan politics when it should make friends with all supporters of Israel.
No policy debate demonstrates J Street’s divisiveness better than the issue of settlements. J Street’s website clearly states that “Israel’s settlements . . . have . . . been an obstacle to peace.” Some Israelis agree, but it is not the role of Washington to tell another democracy where to build suburbs.
Though the Israeli president is publicly supportive, Americans should be worried.
Though Israel has been America’s strongest ally in the Middle East, J Street advocates a “balanced” approach to resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict and focuses its criticism on Israel. But any American administration that complies would be a tremendously dangerous one. Americans must think about the message it would send to other democracies: The reward for being a stalwart, democratic, American ally is: We will treat you and your tyrannical enemies in a “balanced” manner.
That is the real difference between J Street and the mainstream pro-Israel community. The mainstream community does not publicly clash with the Israeli government, whether it is on the right or the left. Why? Because the majority of Americans—Jews and non-Jews—understand that the decision on Israeli policy is up to the Israelis. Israel is a proven ally and fellow democracy. Therefore, it should be supported whether the prime minister is Sharon or Barak, Livni or Netanyahu—regardless of the foreign minister’s domestic views.
J Street and it supporters tout the organization as a place for liberal Jews. But liberal Jews already have a place in the mainstream pro-Israel community. Though J Street is left wing, its competition is not right wing. The mainstream pro-Israel community transcends faith, denomination, and partisan politics. As mentioned, the divide is philosophical, not political. Most liberal Jews are in the mainstream and prefer organizations that put the U.S.-Israel relationship first while leaving the details of Israeli policy to the Israelis on the front line. Mainstream liberals, moreover, understand that the pro-Israel community must be bi-partisan and broad-based.
But J Street does not understand. It showed this during its “Don’t Go Joe” campaign last year, a campaign aimed to dissuade Senator Joe Lieberman from addressing Christians United for Israel. J Street also assembled a petition to drop Sarah Palin’s appearance from the anti-Ahmadinejad rally last year because she “stands diametrically opposed” to American Jews on most issues. Mainstream pro-Israel liberals—and conservatives—would never deny a vice-presidential candidate the opportunity to defend the State of Israel, regardless of party.
J Street also tends to blame Israel first. It demonstrated this in when it called on then president-elect Obama and Congress to put an end to Israel’s counter-offensive in Gaza last January. It attributed the situation in Gaza in part to the “ongoing blockade of Gaza.” While their position was irresponsible, this specific event is a secondary issue. The broader issue is that it is not Americans’ role to instruct fellow democracies on how to defend their own borders.
Americans understand that although democracies make mistakes, they self-correct. Israel puts soldiers on trial for illegal conduct, gives up land when deemed appropriate, and lawfully attacks its enemies when necessary. It is the Arabs—the non-democratic, un-free side—who do not self-correct. American pressure should be placed on the tyrannical regimes that repeatedly reject and undermine peace efforts, not on the democracy with a proven track record for peace.
Nevertheless, J Street spokespeople—besides the ones on campuses, apparently—routinely assert that they are as “pro-Israel” as everyone else. This is probably true in their hearts. The result of their work, however, will not be pro-Israel or pro-America.
Supporters of Israel around the world must put forth a united front and resist the temptation to take sides between the Israeli right and left. They should promote Israel’s virtues and convince their home countries to maintain strong alliances with Israel. The left-right debates on settlements, terrorism, negotiations, and final borders will be settled in Israel’s democratic processes.
This is especially true in America, where democracies are supported and their domestic choices respected. It is crucial that this rule be upheld for our most threatened democratic ally.
Alan Levine is the West Coast Campus Coordinator for Hasbara Fellowships.
