An open letter to Ambassador Michael Oren

Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street is complaining that Michael Oren won't be coming to J Street's conference next week. Poor thing.

Dear Mr. Ben-Ami,

Perhaps your plea would find more sympathy if your own group had not come on the scene with such sturm and drang, causing such fissures within the pro-Israel Jewish community. You couldn't have done a better job in causing splits among Israel supporters if you had tried. In fact, you did try. You came out swinging wildly, not caring what damage you did or who you hit. Your envy of AIPAC's success and funding couldn't have been more blatant, and your setting yourself up as "the AIPAC alternative" was a point of marketing you engaged in without regard to the damage your efforts would do to their important work. The community's pain was your profit.

Your aggressive self-promotion and sharp elbows for lobbying groups with far longer and more honorable track records has only been topped by the scandalous nature of your "we'll take money from anyone" fundraising efforts. The nature of your advisory board and their laughable pro-Israel bona fides are steadily being revealed in the press and on such sites as J Street Jive and elsewhere. Your conference will be keynoted by a long-time Israel foe. Your decision that Sarah Palin was a greater threat than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and to defend the staging of an anti-Semitic play call very seriously into question just how it is that you define "pro-Israel" and what serious place you think you play within the big tent of the Jewish Community.

And now, now, you have the audacity to whine that the Israeli Ambassador to the United States is going to be keeping his distance. That is rich. The Israeli government has made the difficult decision to do so because you and your reckless behavior have put them in this most difficult position.

You do not deserve a seat at the table with the rest of the community, and the Israeli Ambassador should not sit at yours.

SWAK - off.

Update: J Street Jive comes through with a mercilessly well done fisking: Let's Parse Ben Ami's Open Letter...