Who Is ‘J Street?’

J Street is an advocacy group based in the United States whose aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israel-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. It was founded in April 2008.

J Street states that it “supports a new direction for American policy in the Middle East – diplomatic solutions over military ones”, “multilateral over unilateral approaches to conflict resolution”; and “dialogue over confrontation” with wider international support.

J Street describes itself as a pro-Israel organization which supports peace between Israel and its neighbors.

Wkipedia:  “…the organization seeks to provide a political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who believe that a ‘two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essential to Israel’s survival as the national home of the Jewish people and as a vibrant democracy.'”

Recently, The Anti-Defamation League blasted the “left-wing lobby group” J Street for running an “inflammatory and repugnant” campaign against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Algemeiner:  “Though it calls itself a ‘pro-Israel, pro-peace’ group, J Street has actively lobbied against sanctions on the Iranian regime, devoting its energies to attacking Netanyahu almost exclusively. Its latest petition campaign, around the slogan ‘Israel’s Prime Minister is not the spokesman for all Jews,’ is directed at Netanyahu’s forthcoming speech to the US Congress on the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”

“At the height of the controversy surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled speech to Congress, J Street’s petition campaign that attempts to distance itself and American Jews from Israel’s duly elected prime minister is inflammatory and repugnant,” ADL National Director Abraham Foxman said in a statement. “It exacerbates an already heated and politicized moment for U.S. Israel relations at a critical juncture in the West’s negotiations with Iran.”

The newspaper The Algemeiner calls J Street a “left-wing Jewish organization.”

In other words, J Street is a pro-peace Jewish organization that does not agree with everything Netanyahu does.

Foxman’s condemnation of J Street comes shortly after the ADL chief himself said that Netanyahu’s speech to Congress should be scrapped, arguing that the invitation to the Israeli prime minister extended by House Speaker John Boehner “looks like a political challenge to the White House.”