Thursday, November 4, 2010
This is getting good. It started with a blow struck by life-long Democrat and former AIPAC employee Josh Block: So, How Did J Street Do?. This prompted a counter punch from J Street delivered by mouthpiece Amy Spitalnick: J Street slams former AIPAC spokesperson (Just a reminder that Spitalnick and J Street provided space and enforced security for a meeting of anti-Zionist bloggers at their first big conference. I shall never tire of reminding people of it.)
Well today Josh Block strikes back, and it is a hum-dinger, posted on the blog of Adam Credo at the Washington Jewish Week: Josh Block: J Street's 'worst nightmare'. I am tempted to post the whole thing, but I will just give you an excerpt and send you on your way:
Sorry it took me a little while to respond. I just finished putting my children to bed, which brings me to Ms. Spitalnick and Jstreet's desperate, personal attack on me.
I usually evince more discipline than to 'respond' to someone's welcome and predictable reaction to being confronted with uncomfortable facts and truths they would like nothing more than continue to hide and hide from, but given that I am now free to speak for myself, and not as the spokesman for a particular organization, I will indulge this special occasion, and I welcome you to run this note in full, starting at the top.
Let me begin by saying that having worked to elect more Democratic candidates, starting way back in 1984, than Ms. Spitalnick has probably ever met, she would do well to heed my political advice when it's offered. That is, if her sincere interest is getting Democrats elected, and not, as it appears to be, selfishly promoting a counterproductive agenda-driven and self-congratulatory group that effectively tarnishes Democrats with the taint of a tainted organization.
NEWSFLASH - dateline 1990s: It's no longer brave to say you are for a two-state solution. And everyone is pro-peace.
Since every mainstream group, elected official and pro-Israel American, myself included, strongly favors a two state solution and peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors - and Jstreet knows it - their silly 'response' is again an attempt to deceive and distract from their record of working hand-in-hand with groups and individuals hostile-to-Israel, ambivalent-to-Israel, and in some cases, out-and-out anti-Israel. Take Richard Goldstone, George Soros (see page 59) and Salam Al-Marayati - who spoke at their conference, but is best known for suggesting that Israel may have been behind 9/11 - just to name a few.
Democratic candidates should not give Republicans any opportunity to challenge their pro-Israel credentials, yet Jstreet does just that. The average, minuscule amount of support Jstreet claims to pass to their endorsees will again and again be offset by the grief and cost even the most pro-Israel candidates expose themselves to by associating with a group proven to be as duplicitous, deceitful and outright dishonest they have been exposed to be...
Oh yeah, it's like that. Don't miss it. J Street is devolving into the margins even faster than I imagined.
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: J Street's Worst Nightmare.
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Congratulations to the vocal congregants at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton, MA. When they heard that J Street's Jeremy Ben-Ami had been scheduled for "Conversation" tonight at their synagogue, they spoke up and got the event canceled. They had no... Read More
The NRA, ACU, ADA, and a number of other politically-involved organizations assign members of Congress scores of 0 (the worst from their perspective) to 100 (couldn't be better from their perspective) based on the member's voting record on what is of most concern to the organization. Any reliable source for such ratings of members of Congress based on their voting records on Israel and issues of concern to the Jewish community?
I would like to see such ratings for various reasons, one being to judge JStreet's endorsements. I know little of some of those endorsees' positions on Israel-related issues, but am suspicious given their political orientations (e.g., the very "progressive" John Conyers?); others I recognize as "friends" of the sort that lessen the need for enemies (e.g., Ms. Kilroy of Ohio, who was defeated Tuesday, thankfully). And there are others among those endorsees who I know to be at best "problematic," highly so, as in "not to be trusted" (e.g., Donna Edwards). Are there those among JStreet's endorsees that don't deserve the suspicion that comes with a JStreet endorsement?