Comment: J Street is simply an anti-Israel lobby posing as a pro-Israel lobby.
Last I heard, the purpose of a lobby is to advocate for the needs of its constituents, not weaken it. If the members of J Street really had the interests of our democratic ally at heart, they'd be meeting with European leaders to help them understand what it means to be under daily rocket fire, not trying to drive a wedge between two great friends and allies. They'd be discussing concessions the Palestinians must make for peace, not just what Israel must do.
General George Keegan, a former head of Amerca's Air Force Intelligence, once stated that Israel was "worth five CIA's based upon the intelligence Israel provided her ally and benefactor, the United States." There is a two-way friendship and loyalty based on similar values. It's ironic that a group of misguided Jews would, although unintentionally, serve to harm that relationship.
A Firmer Hand
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You'll have to face, I imagine, Israelis who will say, 'wait a second, you don't live here, you don't send your children to the military here, you don't pay taxes. What right do you have to dictate or even to influence the debate?'
I think that's extremely fair [to argue]. But I think as long as the situation in Israel and Palestine is directly related to recruitment by extremist forces, by Al Qaeda, of the terrorists who then come here, I think it is an issue that has ramifications here. And I think it also has ramifications for the American-Jewish community and the perception of its role in the creation of foreign policy here is important. To the extent that we quietly stand back and allow policy to be driven in a certain direction, in the long run that's not going to be good for the American-Jewish community either.
Unlike AIPAC, you guys will actually endorse and raise money for candidates. How many candidates will you endorse this fall and can you give us one example?
We're probably going to endorse a few dozen candidates.... Of that, we're going to have a very limited number for which we actively bundle money and try to make a significant investment in a handful of races.
How much money would it amount to per candidate?
On record, I've said something like $50,000 per race for the races we actively get engaged in.
And what's the process for deciding who gets your support?
We'll interview candidates, we'll see how they fall on our issues, we'll gauge their willingness to say publicly they're in agreement with us, and if they are, we will consider them.
Regarding Sen. Barack Obama: Why in your mind are Jewish voters wary of his candidacy? And is J Street working in any way to promote his campaign?
J Street has not yet endorsed in the presidential campaign. However, we can say that the premise of your question and frankly of the news coverage of Jewish support for Obama is flawed. While a small number of primarily older Jews appear to have concerns about Sen. Obama that he is working to address concerns I might add primarily based on campaigns of disinformation online intended to sow fear--it is important not to lose sight of the fact that an overwhelming majority of American Jews, by a factor of 2 to 1 in the recent Gallup Poll, favor Sen. Obama over Sen. [John] McCain. Jewish voters as a whole are not 'wary' of his campaign and it is a mistake for the press to be framing the situation this way based on a small number of anecdotal stories. By any definition in American politics, Sen. Obama enjoys overwhelming support in the American Jewish community and is the choice of the mainstream of the community in a match-up with McCain.
What's your budget and where does the money come from?
Our operating budget for 2008 is $1.5 million. We now have several hundred donors, some large, some small. Small online donors are starting to come in through our website.... We're hoping the notion that a large number of small donors can begin to change the dynamic the way it has with Obama's campaign and with groups like MoveOn.org will apply to this issue as well.
Discuss