Boston Globe, in Typical Form, Provides its Readers with Little Background

In what might be described as a "Hail (but under your breath) the Conquering Hero" welcome back to Rep. William Delahunt " from his controversial "fact finding" trip to Israel, Jordan and "Palestine" this week, the Boston Globe papered over the intense anti-Israel sponsors of the trip, J Street.  The trip's co-sponsor, Churches for Middle East Peace, yet another far left terror- apologizing outfit was not even described.  Nor was J Street's only recent endorsement of limited sanctions against Iran's drive for nuclear weapons.  J Street was adamantly opposed to any sanctions on Iran until Obama finally moved in that direction.  Martin Solomon of Solomonia was quoted, however, giving scant balance to an otherwise puff piece on J Street.

                       What informs The Globe when it comes to Israel matters, sadly, is the out of touch, non-leadership of the Boston Jewish Community Relations Council whose affinity for J Street and its anti-Israel affiliates is no secret.  Alan Solomont, now payback (for raising bundles of dough for Obama) ambassador to Spain (from cashing nursing home medicare checks to ambassador - now that's a career trajectory), is a member of J Street's "Advisory Council." 

In its unabashed, sycophantic adoration of Barack Obama, has J Street become an unofficial arm of the State Department?  Considering the irrelevancy of the Mitchell mission and the Obama administration's coldness to the Netanyahu government, add the J Street fiasco to the latest chapter in diplomatic incompetency.

If Only J Street Despised Ahmedinejad as Much as They Do Israel's Christian Friends...

                       Erick Stackelbeck of CBN

  J Street Slanders Evangelical Christian Supporters of Israel Once Again

Have you ever heard of a supposedly "pro Israel" group that has issued more press releases condemning Christian Zionists than it has Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, Hezbollah and Syria combined? No? Then welcome to J Street, the self-described "pro Israel, pro peace" lobbying group that bends over backwards to insult Israel's friends and supporters, especially evangelical Christians, and makes a living off of criticizing Israeli government policies.

 I've discussed J Street's naked anti-Christian bigotry before (see here and here) but since they are at it again (more on that in a bit), I felt compelled to undertake a little research project. I went to J Street's website and surveyed the group's press releases from the past year and a half. The results? To start, four press releases (including one from February 1, 2010) attacking John Hagee and Christians United for Israel (CUFI). Indeed, two of J Street's first four press releases were devoted to slamming Hagee. Talk about misguided priorities: a purportedly pro-Israel group using all of this ink on Hagee and evangelical supporters of Israel at a time when Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria are stockpiling increasingly lethal weapons and publicly calling for Israel's destruction.

In those press releases, J Street essentially painted Hagee--a man Senator (and orthodox Jew) Joseph Lieberman once compared to Moses--as a closet anti-Semite and portrayed Christian supporters of Israel as some sort of wild-eyed, apocalyptic death cult (a strategy which this release by J Street's founder, Jeremy Ben-Ami, took to new extremes).  But what may be even more offensive is that J Street has come up with exactly one--one--press release condeming genocidal Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadenijad. And zero press releases condeming either Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah or Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, two others who regularly threaten Israel's demise. If J Street wants "end times" and "apocalyptic," then Ahmadenijad, Assad and Nasrallah--who all met yesterday in Damascus to plot further attacks against Israel--are certainly the real deal. So why the bizarre preoccupation with evangelical Christians, an extremely large and influential group that Israeli government officials of every political persuasion routinely hail as among the Jewish people's greatest friends and supporters?

I was greeted by the same puzzling output when scanning through opinion pieces penned by "members of J Street's Advisory Council and by its staff and friends." No less than three scathing op-eds that mention Hagee or CUFI in the title, and others, like this one, that slam them in the body of the piece. Yet not one op-ed that mentions Ahmadenijad, Nasrallah or Assad in the title, or Hamas for that matter. Christian supporters of Israel and Israeli government officials, on the other hand, are specifically targeted for criticism. Again, this is a quite peculiar strategy for a "pro-Israel" group to pursue.
Which brings us to the latest example. J Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami once again mischaracterized CUFI recently, erroneously claiming that the group contributed money to a certain Israeli organization. I won't go into all the details here--rather, I  strongly encourage you to read two comprehensive responses to J Street written by a pair of CUFI spokesmen (see here and here).

Bottom line: J Street's press releases, writings and public statements reflect a great deal of time and energy spent cutting down Israel's friends and supporters--with a special venom reserved for evangelical Christians--not to mention, the Netanyahu government. On the other hand,  the group has spent precious little time condeming Israel's sworn enemies. You can call this perplexing tactic many things. Pro-Israel is not one of them.

J Street Silent on Israel Apartheid Week. Surprised?

 

Use This Bookmark to Keep Your Place in The Protocols of the Learned 

Elders of Zion

Rush down to your local college.  It's that time of year again!  Israel Apartheid Week.  And it's the sixth annual!  Every major American Jewish organization has put out a statement condemning Israel Apartheid Week - except one.  Guess.  That's right - Jeremy Ben Enemy & Co. - the ad nauseam, self-branded "Pro Israel" lobbyists.  Now if silence is assent, we can only conclude that Jeremy and his patrons, chief among whom is George Soros, heartily approve this obscenity hurled at Israel and Jews. Even the often feckless ADL has declared:

"Past IAW events have featured extreme anti-Israel rhetoric, including accusations of Israeli racism and apartheid; calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns against Israel and Israeli institutions; and allegations that Israel is committing war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian people. IAW events have taken place on college campus and at churches, community centers and elsewhere."

  

The American Jewish Committee, CAMERA, The David Project, Stand with Us have all condemned the thinly-disguised Jew-hatred in the form of BDS advocacy (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).  In its self-aggrandizing description, the group even refuses to identify Jerusalem by name - it is called Al Quds.  Consisting of speeches, multi-media presentations and even bookmarks (just to make sure you don't lose your place when reading the Hamas Charter), the international, heavily financed campaign kicks off March 1st.  Some of the venues for the blood libel are hardly surprising:

Ann Arbor

Boston

Berkeley

San Francisco

The obvious counter to this horror show would be to showcase the real apartheid regimes around the world - and they're almost all Arab and Muslim.  Honor killings, de jure discriminatory laws for non-Muslims, extra-judicial torture and murder of not only minorities, but of other Muslims, genocidal military campaigns (Darfur), and the imposition of Shariah Law which inherently enshrines the horrors of Apartheid.  

With all the pietistic, progressive preachings of J Street's constituent groups like Brit Tzedek v' Shalom and the New Israel Fund, you would think that the contemporary practices of actual Apartheid would raise the thinnest eyebrow.  Forget it - J Street and its comrades are predictably silent.  

Perhaps the most eloquent refutation of the blood libel was presented by Ishmael Khaldi, Israel's Deputy Consul based in San Francisco (you know, probably the only Arab never to be invited to a J Street function):

For those who haven’t heard, the first week in March has been designated as Israel Apartheid Week by activists who are either ill intentioned or misinformed. On American campuses, organizing committees are planning happenings to once again castigate Israel as the lone responsible party for all that maligns the Middle East.
Last year, at UC Berkeley, I had the opportunity to “dialogue” with some of the organizers of these events. My perspective is unique, both as the vice consul for Israel in San Francisco, and as a Bedouin and the highest-ranking Muslim representing the Israel in the United States. I was born into a Bedouin tribe in Northern Israel, one of 11 children, and began life as shepherd living in our family tent. I went on to serve in the Israeli border police, and later earned a master’s degree in political science from Tel Aviv University before joining the Israel Foreign Ministry.
I am a proud Israeli - along with many other non-Jewish Israelis such as Druze, Bahai, Bedouin, Christians and Muslims, who live in one of the most culturally diversified societies and the only true democracy in the Middle East. Like America, Israeli society is far from perfect, but let us deals honestly. By any yardstick you choose - educational opportunity, economic development, women and gay’s rights, freedom of speech and assembly, legislative representation - Israel’s minorities fare far better than any other country in the Middle East
So, I would like to share the following with organizers of Israel Apartheid week, for those of them who are open to dialogue and not blinded by a hateful ideology:
You are part of the problem, not part of the solution: If you are really idealistic and committed to a better world, stop with the false rhetoric. We need moderate people to come together in good faith to help find the path to relieve the human suffering on both sides of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Vilification and false labeling is a blind alley that is unjust and takes us nowhere.
You deny Israel the fundamental right of every society to defend itself: You condemn Israel for building a security barrier to protect its citizens from suicide bombers and for striking at buildings from which missiles are launched at its cities - but you never offer an alternative. Aren’t you practicing yourself a deep form of racism by denying an entire society the right to defend itself?
Your criticism is willfully hypocritical: Do Israel’s Arab citizens suffer from disadvantage? You better believe it. Do African Americans 10 minutes from the Berkeley campus suffer from disadvantage - you better believe it, too. So should we launch a Berkeley Apartheid Week, or should we seek real ways to better our societies and make opportunity more available.
You are betraying the moderate Muslims and Jews who are working to achieve peace: Your radicalism is undermining the forces for peace in Israel and in the Palestinian territories. We are working hard to move toward a peace agreement that recognizes the legitimate rights of both Israel and the Palestinian people, and you are tearing down by falsely vilifying one side.
To the organizers of Israel Apartheid Week I would like to say:
If Israel were an apartheid state, I would not have been appointed here, nor would I have chosen to take upon myself this duty. There are many Arabs, both within Israel and in the Palestinian territories who have taken great courage to walk the path of peace. You should stand with us, rather than against us.
Ishmael Khaldi is deputy consul general of Israel for the Pacific Northwest.

                                 Honor Killings?  What's that?

"Taqiyya" Ben Ami Lies, Yet Again

 

"Don't blame me - I read it in the newspapers."

In a follow up to our recent piece on the U.S. Congressional delegation to Israel, ferried by J Street (and, no doubt, George Soros money), we failed to point out the slanderous accusation of Jeremy Ben Ami in charging that Danny Ayalon was leading a "boycott" against the delegation.  The Jerusalem Report is carrying a firm rebuttal to this baseless charge:

‘J Street lied about supposed Ayalon boycott, apology’

BY HAVIV RETTIG GUR AND HERB KEINON 22/02/2010

Foreign Ministry blasts group for ‘premeditated public relations circus’ on delegation visit to Israel.

The American “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby group J Street made “untrue assertions” about an alleged boycott of the congressional delegation it recently brought to Israel, and about Israel allegedly apologizing to the group for the slight, a senior Foreign Ministry official told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. “[Deputy Foreign Minister Danny] Ayalon did not prevent the delegation from meeting with senior Israeli officials,” as claimed by J Street last week, said Barukh Binah, Foreign Ministry deputy director-general and head of its North America Division. “Ayalon was never part of the delegation’s schedule and talk of boycotting meetings with congressman has no basis in fact. On the contrary, the deputy foreign minister is always willing to meet with elected officials from any friendly country, especially the United States of America, and [with] Jewish organizations which represent a range of diverse views from across the political spectrum.” Binah also rejected the “subsequent assertion that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs apologized in hastily arranged meetings,” which he said was simply not true. A senior Foreign Ministry official who asked to remain anonymous blasted the group for “coming to the region with the intention of creating headlines, perhaps for fund-raising purposes. The media and the congressmen became unwilling participants in a premeditated public relations circus. It is extremely disappointing that a so-called pro-Israel organization would put self-aggrandizement ahead of the interests of the State of Israel.” Meanwhile, questions were raised in Israel about the pro-Israel credentials of the five-member congressional delegation brought by J Street, composed of California Democrats Lois Capps and Bob Filner, Massachusetts Democrat Bill Delahunt, New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne and Ohio Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy. While J Street chairman Jeremy Ben-Ami asserted that the delegation members were “key friends of Israel in Congress,” a recent vote on House Resolution 867, which slammed the Goldstone Report and reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defense, saw only one of the five voting in Israel’s favor. The resolution passed 344 to 36, with 22 voting “present” and 20 not voting. Among delegation members, only Kilroy voted with the majority in favor of the resolution, which was deemed in Jerusalem an important pro-Israel bellwether. Capps and Filner voted against, delegation head Delahunt voted “present” and Payne did not cast a vote. Reached for comment on Sunday, a J Street official declined to respond to the allegation, except to say that the congressional delegation’s concern came from news reports of a Foreign Ministry boycott in Israeli newspapers including Ma’ariv and Yediot Aharonot.

Is The New Israel Fund Fullfiling the Promise of the Hadith?

""The time [of judgment] will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews and kill them; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!” (Sahih Muslim book 41, no. 6985)

 

Naomi Chazan, President, New Israel Fund

Have Naomi Chazan and The NIF, in effect, become the stone and the tree informing on their fellow Jews to a genocidal, radical Islam?   Through its partner, Adalah, "The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel" and more than a dozen other Arab NGO's in The Middle East,  The New Israel Fund has been energetic in supplying the notorious Goldstone Report compiled for the United Nations with questionable "evidence" concerning alleged Israeli human rights violations during the 2008 Gaza Operation Cast Lead.  New Israel Fund's affiliated groups like Adalah make no bones about its lack of objectivity and their political motives in a statement presented to the Goldstone Commission:

"the enclosed material does not address suspected violations of the
laws of war by Hamas, but rather offers our own distinct perspective – human rights
violations for which Israel must be held accountable."

In addition to the spurious "evidence" supplied in its report, Adalah characterizes Israel as a “colonial enterprise which implements a system of apartheid.”   Moreover, Adalah has for years advocated "the one state solution" for Israel, in effect, signaling the end of The Jewish State, which, apparently, is just fine with the NIF.  

 

 Thwarted Suicide Bombers Wafa al-Biss(top) and 14 Year Old Stopped at Checkpoints

Another NIF supported group is  Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP), which runs Machsom Watch whose mission is to harass IDF and Border Police at checkpoints, whose job is to ensure that terrorists do not enter Israel.  On a tour of the United States a few years ago, when they were questioned about the danger of suicide bombers crossing into Israel they discounted the facts and found only the "humiliation" of the checkpoints.  When the case of Wafa al-Biss, who, in 2005 attempted to cross the Erez checkpoint in Gaza with 20kg of explosives hidden in her pants was cited to Machsom Watch members, it was dismissed as a "forgery" in spite of scores of photographic evidence available on the internet.  Also branded a forgery was the case of 14 year old, Hussam Abdu, who was apprehended at the Hawara checkpoint with a belt of explosives.
Again, in spite of massive evidence to the contrary, Machsom Watch spokespersons claimed the incident never happened.  

NGO Monitor, the Jerusalem based watchdog group. has compiled voluminous and damning information concerning the political and financial aid supplied to a variety of Arab NGO's whose ultimate aim is to end the Jewish State:

"The New Israel Fund (NIF) supports more than 100 organizations involved in a wide range of areas in Israel, including political activism related to the Arab-Israeli conflict."

As NGO Monitor recently reported, 

"NIF-funded groups and their publications  (from groups such as The Palestinian Center for Human rights) were featured centrally in the Goldstone report, which focused on alleged Israeli “war crimes” in the 2009 Gaza war. During the fighting, as shown in NGO Monitor analyses, these NGOs issued daily reports claiming to document Israeli “human rights” violations. NGO officials, widely quoted in the media, lobbied intensively for an international inquiry."

Read more...

Physicians for Human Rights Israel, another NIF affiliated group, receives hundreds of thousands of dollars to highlight only alleged Israeli violations of "international law."  Its director, Dr. Dani Filc, speaking recently at Harvard's Kennedy School, was asked why his group did not bring attention to the scores of incidents in which Palestinian Red Crescent and UN ambulances were used to ferry arms and fighters in clear violation of international law.  He provided no answer.

 

Armed Palestinians Use UN Ambulance to Attack Israelis

Larry Garber, NIF's Executive Director and before that, USAID's Director for Gaza and the West Bank (1999-2004), speaking at Harvard in 2005, indicated that, under his direction of USAID, was required to administer executive order 13224 (requiring financial disbursements to Palestinian NGO's comply with anti-terrorist certification).  He indicated that such compliance was not well-enforced.  What better career move from USAID to the NIF?

 Writing this week in The Jerusalem Post, Jonathan Rosenblum, offers some clarifying insights into NIF's activities.

 Naomi Chazan and her cohorts most likely do not consciously wish to see Israel destroyed, but the actions of The New Israeli Fund are helping, if unwittingly, to accomplish this aim.

"Say Hello to My Leetle Friend"

 Like the skinny, coward who hires the intimidating bodyguard to hide around the corner, Jeremy Ben Ami continues his anti-Israel campaign - in Israel - secure in the knowledge that Barack Hussein Obama is the muscle around the corner.  As BHO's fortunes go, so goes Ben Ami's.  If Obama is down 20 points in the polls, J Street will distance itself ever so slightly from what is -up to now- a disastrous administration Middle East policy.  If, unlikely as it seems, BHO's numbers soar, J Street will call on its Master to drag out the club.

Case in point: In the recent dust-up between Ben Ami and Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, Ben Ami's insurance policy was issued in the form of William (lame duck) Delahunt and Co. who probably spent more time in Ramallah and Amman than they did in Israel, bonding with the "victims" of Israeli "aggression".   He claims the delegation met with "settlers" (aren't they Israelis as well? And are new Arab residents of Ramallah or Jenin "settlers" too?):

Ben Ami: We met..." families in Sderot, human rights activists, Gilad Shalit's father, and descendants of Palestinian refugees".  (Guess which group evoked the most sympathy with the "Pro Israel" J Street?)

I would like to see the unedited dialogue between the "settlers" and the J Street delegation. Moreover, which "settlers" did they meet with and how were they chosen?   If J Street uses the BBC and NPR rule, don't interview anyone articulate.

And let's look for the cynical use of Gilad Shalit's family who, no doubt, will fault the Netanyahu government's intransigience for obstructing the release of their son.

Never one to pass up a public relations opportunity, Ben Ami dashed off a "victimization" email blast, in effect, reminding everyone just how strong that guy around the corner is:

"...we were placed under a so-called "boycott" by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.  On the heels of telling the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations that J Street should stop calling itself something it's not (i.e., "pro-Israel"), Ayalon leaked to Israeli media word of a boycott of the group, supposedly preventing us from meeting with Israeli officials."

Poor, marginalized Ben Ami.  The cynical use of the "bodyguard" card may eventually come back to bite him.  As the economy, soaring unemployment and misstep after misstep vis a vis Iran drive down Obama's approval ratings, Ben Ami will whistle for the muscle around the corner only to discover that he's nowhere to be found.

Sderot "Fascists" (according to Naomi Chazan of the New Israel Fund) Respond

The New Israel Fund’s View of a “New Israel”

Posted By Jacob Shrybman On February 19, 2010 @ 12:02 am In FrontPage | 3 Comments

When it was reported that the New Israel Fund (NIF) was paying around $8 million to organizations that provided the Goldstone Report with all of its condemnations of Israel, it became clear that the “New Israel” desired by the New Israel Fund is one with more than 9 years of consistent rocket fire.
Our organization, Sderot Media Center ^[1] (SMC), with a yearly budget of close to $200,000, worked tirelessly on a formal report that was requested by the Goldstone Commission itself, which encompassed the impact of the rocket fire on the residents of the Sderot region. We sent this formal report ^[2] accompanied by photographs and videos to depict to this UN committee, which did not visit Sderot, what it is like to live under either daily rocket fire or the threat of daily rocket fire over the course of then eight years. The Goldstone Committee then flew our director, Noam Bedein, to the UN Headquarters in Geneva to give a 30-minute presentation/testimony ^[3] in front of the committee on this daily reality lived in Sderot.
The New Israel Fund paid around $8 million to organizations that provided information to the Goldstone Report. As a cited provider of information for the Goldstone Report, I guess our New Israel Fund check got lost in the mail.
As the only organization providing the human story of the near decade of rocket fire on Israeli men, women and children, the NIF clearly had no intention of helping sponsor our work.
A clear majority of the organizations mentioned in the Goldstone Report, 77%, are organizations that were paid by the NIF. Amongst those organizations, an overwhelming majority of the ones that were in favor of the report, 92%, are organizations that were paid by the NIF.
The New Israel Fund, an organization that supposedly prides itself on democracy and human rights, “We fight inequality, injustice and extremism because we understand that justice is the precondition for a successful democracy,” as defined in their “About Us” — strategically and financially ignores the human rights of Sderot men, women, and children that have endured this rocket lifestyle since 2001. The one organization located in Sderot that was paid by the NIF was an organization called the Other Voice — that led a bike ride from Sderot to the Gaza border. Apparently, organizations in Sderot are only worth NIF money if they are speaking out for Gaza residents and riding a bike.
The head of the NIF, Naomi Chazan, has led the response to this Im Tirtzu report by touting terms like “democracy” to describe what she is supporting, and “fascists” ^[4] is what she has called those who criticize the NIF. A well educated professor like herself should know that democracy is not achieved by Hamas viciously controlling a prisoner population and using them as shields from a sovereign army and paying the UN to enable Hamas to further persevere doesn’t help. A democracy does not put over 100,000 Gaza children through summer military training camps. So, in attempting to bring down the only democracy in the world with international war crimes, Chazan hopes to create her “New Israel” democracy where Hamas can cause the death of more of their children, train more of them to fight Jews, and freely fire rockets at neighboring Israeli children.
A well educated professor like herself, Chazan should know that calling people and organizations that criticize the NIF “fascists” is embarrassingly hypocritical — while she pays and supports the ongoing actions of terrorists who use their own civilians to target other civilians. The Sderot Media Center criticizes the NIF and Naomi Chazan. So are we that risk our lives day-in and day-out to show the world that rockets are targeting civilians, and whom the popular liberal newspaper Haaretz described as a ^[5] “tiny organization that fights to make Sderot’s voice heard” — are we fascists? Our center runs a therapeutic drama program, in which traumatized high school girls share and express themselves with psychology professionals. Are these traumatized Sderot girls fascists?
If one reads the report put out by Im Tirtzu about the NIF paying for 77% of the Israeli condemning UN Goldstone Report, one will see how NIF paid more than half a million dollars to Physicians For Human Rights-Israel to send an Israeli condemning report to the Goldstone Committee that completely ignored the over 9,000 psychological patients in Sderot. This is just one example of the strategic financing of biased information that shaped the Goldstone Report.
If the public and donors of the New Israel Fund allow this organization to continue, it will be an upside-down “New Israel” where girls expressing  their trauma are considered fascists and a democracy is where children are put through terrorist training and used as human shields.
I guess, along with an invitation to last week’s Islamic Revolution anniversary rally in Teheran, our New Israel Fund check got lost in the mail.
Jacob Shrybman is a writer for the Sderot Media Center (SderotMedia.org.il). ^[1]

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Article printed from FrontPage Magazine: http://frontpagemag.com
URL to article: http://frontpagemag.com/2010/02/19/the-new-israel-funds-view-of-a-new-israel/
URLs in this post:

[1] Sderot Media Center: http://www.sderotmedia.org.il/

[2] formal report: http://sderotmedia.org.il/bin/content.cgi?ID=484&q=3,6

[3] 30-minute presentation/testimony: http://sderotmedia.org.il/bin/content.cgi?ID=489&q=2,3,6

[4] “fascists”: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1149056.html

[5] Haaretz described as a: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1135894.html

Click here to print.

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J Street's Wheels Coming Off The Bus in Israel

 

Two Sides of the Same Coin

  
The centuries old Islamic doctrine of "Al Taqiyya" or sacralized lying in order to further the interests of the ummah or community of believers has been remarkably taken up by the hard left group, J Street.  Raymond Ibrahim (The Al Qaeda Reader) recently published an examination of this kind of "Holy Lying" here.

For two years, J Street and Jeremy Ben Ami have been lying to Americans in general and American Jews in particular  by branding themselves - ad nauseam - as "Pro Israel."  On bags, buttons, letterheads, websites, on television, in newspapers - everywhere - the label "Pro Israel" has become  indelibly inked onto the brand.

In spite of the presence of virulent, anti-Israel groups and individuals in their midst and recipients of their George Soros-funded PAC money (like the CAIR and Muslim Brotherhood associated Keith Ellison of Minnesota), the lying has pretty much succeeded, especially among Congressmen who tend to give forth a Pavlovian drool when confronted with a putative Jewish group that chants "Pro Peace" from dawn until dusk.

But the latest taqqiya move by J Street is so blatant and disingenuous that  it threatens to vaporize all the lies and all the hype.

J Street has teamed up with Churches for Middle East Peace (CAMERA exposes this other "Peace" group here and here) in bringing a select Congressional delegation to Israel.   Select - in the sense that most of the travelling politicians (who footed the bill?) have a distinct record of anti-Israel statements or policies.  And if they don't - Ben Ami will make certain that they will in the future.
But the wheels on their bus appear to be falling off this week.  The lead Democrat Congressman (they're all Democrats) on the "fact finding" trip to Israel is one William Delahunt, representative for Massachusetts' 10th District for the past 13 years.

                                         Phone:  (202) 225-3111
 In a uni-party state like Massachusetts (a big crack appeared, of course, with the astounding election of Sen. Scott Brown), dominated by a university culture that is distinctly anti-israel and Pro Obama, his presence on a J Street junket was predictable. 

But due to a bizarre confluence of events, Delahunt has found himself in an unwanted spotlight this week.  "Snubbed", as he put it, by Danny Ayalon, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister,when he refused to meet with the delegation along with J Street because of the latter's demonstrably hostile policies and statements towards The Jewish State.  Delahunt's wounded pride got worse by the simultaneous revelations surrounding his potential malfeasance in the Amy Bishop murder case when he was Norfolk County District Attorney 20 years ago.  The latest on this embarrassment is here.  His presence on the trip may prove moot in light of rumors that he will not seek re-election.  More and more, he seems to be crying "My Assistant ate My Homework."

As for the other villain in the piece, Churches for Middle East Peace, Solomonia has an excellent backgrounder. 

Pretty soon, we're going to see a national licensing bureau in charge of requiring groups with "Peace" in their title to live up to their billing.  I suspect 99% of groups like CFMEP and J Street will have their licenses revoked.

Let's look at the other members of Jeremy Ben Ami's Congressional group.  Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio has had a long and cordial association with CAIR (The Council on American Islamic Relations) and with its national vice chairman, Ahmad al-Akhras.

 

 

                                        Phone (202) 225-2215
                                                            Pho (202) 225-2015
      It is worth noting that CAIR has seen many of its officers and members indicted and convicted on terrorism related charges.  The organization itself was a named an unindicted co-conspirator in the successful prosecution of the terror-supporting Texas charity front, The Holy Land Foundation in 2008.  Central Ohians Against Terrorism chronicled Kilroy's connections to CAIR.

Mary Jo Kilroy, incidentally, comes in third in J Street PAC's dollar recipients for 2009: $47,132.00

                                    Phone: (202) 225-3601

Lois Capps, Democrat representative for California's 23rd District is the author of this statement on Israel's Operation Cast Lead:

"...I fear the current military operation in Gaza represents a vastly disproportionate response that will further destabilize the region."

Representative Capps received $4303.00 from J Street's PAC in 2009.

While condemning Hamas' rocket attacks, she nonetheless appears to endorse the infamous Goldstone Report.  Indeed, Representative Capps was one of a handful of Congressmen who voted "No" to the resolution condemning the Goldstone Report.

Bob Filner,  from California's 51st District, was also among the few who refused to sign onto the resolution - another member of J Street's delegation to Israel.  Rep. Filner also holds the dubious distinction of being one of only two Congressmen to refuse to sign a letter circulated by AIPAC in May of 2009 which urged:

“absolute Palestinian commitment to end violence, terror and incitement” and urges “far greater involvement and participation by the Arab states both in moving toward normal ties with Israel and in supporting moderate Palestinians.”  

  

Phone: (202) 225-8045

  "Pro Peace" Bob, like Capps, voted "No" in the critical resolution on the Goldstone Report. 

Congressman Donald M. Payne, of New Jersey, currently chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, while generally voting on Israel's side, was a signatory to a CAIR crafted letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which failed to mention the daily threat and actualization of terror against Israel. 
 

 

Phone: (202) 225-3436

While certainly better than the others in fairness to Israel, the overall apparent qualification for joining the J Street mission to Israel appears to be a hyper-critical record on Israel and the relative exculpation of Palestinian violence.


Danny Ayalon was certainly morally and tactically correct in refusing to lend credibility to J Street and CMEP by meeting with their delegation.   Taqqiya, Ben Ami style, is rapidly going out of style.

Mastermind of Coventry Bombing Demises in Instanbul.

 

Churchill Touring Destroyed Coventry Cathedral

 

Helmuth Wilberg

 Hamas Bagman Al-Mabhouh 

In an incident reminiscent of a cheap spy thriller, Helmuth Wilberg, one of the Third Reich's architects of the terror bombing of England, was found dead in his Istanbul hotel room yesterday. Widely viewed as responsible for Hitler's policy of bombing British cities including the November 14, 1940 destruction of Coventry, Wilberg planned the bombing that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. At around 9:00 am yesterday, a chambermaid discovered Wilberg's lifeless body in his Hotel Byzantium suite, an apparent murder victim through suffocation. Witnesses in and around the hotel testified to Turkish authorities that a group of suspicious foreigners had been milling around the lobby. Turkish police have identified this group as a diverse collection of apparently English tourists. Subsequent investigations have revealed that they traveled to Istanbul on forged passports. MI5, the covert British intelligence unit is rumored to have been behind the assassination. Turkey and the world community is outraged over the violation of a neutral country's sovereignty to carry out this heinous act. The League of Nations is considering severe sanctions against England.

Ok, now back to reality.  To demonstrate how far insane, Left and dhimmified Londonistan has become, Jeremy Corbyn, a George Galloway wannabe from Islington North, has indicted, tried and convicted Israel of the assassination of Hamas Commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January.  Responsible for multiple murders within Israel, al-Mabhouh was a legitimate target in a genocidal war declared on Israel and Jews by Hamas.   In a BBC World interview today, the Labor MP became virtually hydrophobic in his hatred of Israel.  A perfect guest for the Israel bashing British news monopoly.

Following close on the heels of its British media ally, Haaretz was equally quick to condemn Israel and the Mossad for the putative hit in Dubai.  Yesterday that paper's Amir Oren condemned the supposed assasination by the supposed Mossad and called for the sacking of Maj. Gen. (ret.) Meir Dagan, the "belligerent, heavy-handed chief of the Mossad."  The fact that two Palestinians were quickly arrested in Jordan for involvement in the case was irrelevant to Oren.  Ahmad Hasnin, a Palestinian intelligence operative, and Anwar Shekhaiber, an employee of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, were arrested in the Jordanian capital Amman. 

If the Mossad was indeed behind the assassination, then it's another example of effective action against an enemy that has time and again demonstrated its genocidal aims.  And beyond that, the fact that the PA may have aided in the effort, is perhaps a sign that there could indeed be a rapprochement between Israel and the West Bank Arabs.  No matter how effective Netanyahu proves himself either with Abbas and Arab states, (who despise Hamas as much as Israel does) ,the Israeli Left will demonize him.  They dream of resurrecting the disasters of the Barak administration.


The editorialist refers only to Mabhouh as "a senior Hamas leader", conferring on the murderer a most diplomatic status.  In reality, Al-Mabhough was a killer, chief bagman and purchasing agent for rockets and other weapons supplied by Iran to Gaza to be used against Jewish civilians.  From the safety of his Damascus hideout, Khaled Meshal, Hamas' chief said, incredibly:
"We call on European countries to punish Israel's leaders for violating laws"

True to form, Haaretz has sided with the EU and Arabs against Israel's legitimate use of force to prevent the killing of its civilians. 

The Latest "Pro Israel" Remark from a J Street Conference Participant

 

 Sympathy for Hezbollah's Heilers

  Richard Silverstein, one of J Street's guests at its October Washington conference, has - unremarkably - come out with a statement of support for Hezbollah and Hamas in their endless desire to kidnap Israeli Jewish soldiers wherever they find them. Operating from the sanctity of Koran 9, verse 5, these genocidal groups adhere to the following:

""Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war."

In apparent approval of their operations, Mr. Silverstein states:

"...the next time Israel’s soldiers are captured/kidnapped by Hamas or Hezbollah, I certainly will have very little sympathy considering the depredations by Mossad against their leaders.  What’s good for the goose is good for the gander."

Despite mild attempts to distance his organization from people like Silverstein, Jeremy Ben Ami and J Street have become the national magnet for these visceral Israel haters.  It is astounding that Jeremy Ben Ami &Co. continue to peddle their "Pro Israel" "Pro Peace" malarkey from one coast to another.

Colonel Allen West Answers a Marine's Question

Allen West is running for Congress from Florida.  If his answer to this question is an indication of how well he "gets it", then he should win in a landslide.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar on "Arab Terrorism and the Myth of al Aqsa Part 2

 Part 2 of one of the best presentations on classical Jihad and its application to the Jews:

Dr. Mordechai Kedar on "Arab Terrorism and the Myth of al Aqsa"

   For decades, Palestinian Arabs, following their leaders from the notorious Grand Mufti, Haj Amin al Husseini in the 1920's to Yasir Arafat and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, have resurrected the canard that the Jews are imminently trying to destroy the "farthest mosque", the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  Built by the Umayyads in 705 CE following the invasion and colonization of Jewish Palestine in 638 CE on top of the Herodian temple complex, it has served as a symbol of domination over an indigenous people for centuries.
Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a distinguished professor of  Arabic literature and culture at Bar Ilan University, presents the history of Arab and Islamic views of this mosque in particular, and, a brilliant analysis of Islam in general - as it relates to its foundational texts and worldview.  This talk is indispensable to understanding the current Israeli-Arab-Muslim conflict.
Here is Part 1.  Part 2 will follow tomorrow.  In addition, check out Professor Kedar's memorable appearance on Al Jazeera a few years ago.  Were the faithful of J Street to watch his presentation, I'm sure they would be instantly disabused of their fantasies.

He recently appeared at Rabbi Jonathan Hausman's synagogue, Ahavath Torah, in Stoughton, MA.  Rabbi Hausman has been singularly brilliant in his presentation of world class scholars and dissidents on the subject of Jihad.

Let's Help Elect Joel Pollak to Congress (Illinois)

Joel Pollak, stalwart for the United States and Israel, is running for Congress in Illinois' 9th Congrerssional District.  His victory will be a defeat for J Street (in addition to being a victory for sound fiscal and economic policy).  His opponent, Jan Schakowsky, is a recipient of J Street Pac money.  Bought and paid for by Jeremy Ben Ami and George Soros.  
A Harvard trained attorney, Joel has fought for America and Israel and last year took on the humble, Barney Frank at a Harvard Kennedy School forum:

Jan Schakowsky Leads Offensive Against the US-Israel Relationship

Peggy Shapiro  February 5, 2010

"What she [Jan Schakowsky] has said to me for the last ten years on questions of the Middle East is, 'Where are you guys?' You march on the war, you do everything, civil rights, you get Barack elected, but when it comes to Middle Eastern politics, the only folks I ever hear from are the AIPAC people.'...

Marilyn Katz, President of MK Communications, speaking at the J Street Chicago Launch on February 4, 2010.

Representative Jan Schakowsky, apparently tired of hearing from those pesky Jews who are worried about Israel’s security, is leading the charge against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a  bi-partisan lobby whose single mission is a strong US-Israel relationship. (AIPAC does not endorse, rate or support candidates.) To neutralize AIPAC’s effectiveness, Schakowsky joined forces with J-Street, the political action committee which, according to its founder Ben-Ami, was founded to counter AIPAC. She hosted the J Street gala in D.C. and spoke via teleconference at the launch of J StreetChicago on Feb. 4, 2010. (Transcript and audio link of Schakowsky’s remark below)

In her address, Schakowsky proudly announced, “I’ve been a supporter of J Street since its inception.”

Although J Street calls itself  a “Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace PAC,” it spouts the staples of the anti-Israel narrative (Walt and Mearsheimer) which blames the nefarious pro-Israel lobby for stopping the U.S. from imposing concessions on Israel and  accuses mainstream Jewish organizations of being "right wing" and having a strangle-hold on Congress. Michael Oren, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. characterized J Street as “a unique problem in that it not only opposes one policy of one Israeli government, it opposes all policies of all Israeli governments.” It defends the egregiously biased Goldstone Commission Report; (Note:  Morton H. Halperin, J Street council member, was discovered to be the author of the letter supposedly written by Goldstone defending his report.), opposes further sanctions on Iran and advocates rescinding those in place, demands  a freeze on all Jewish construction beyond the 1949 armistice lines, including  Jerusalem,  calls for indefensible borders for Israel, blames Israel for the absence of peace and calls for increased U.S. pressure on Israel, but does not demand a cessation of violence against Israelis or even a recognition of Israel.     

The Congresswoman who is annoyed by pro-Israel advocates finds herself more at home with J Street presenters, who include Israel bashers such as Salam al-Marayati, a proponent of the theory that Israelwas the likely source of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Even liberal commentators such as Matthew Yglesias  understand that J Street attendees share Schakowsky’s discomfort with a pro-Israel message. “My J Street button said “Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace.” … “But when we moved to the Q&A time it became clear that a number of people in the audience really were quite uncomfortable self-defining as “pro-Israel” in any sense and that others are uncomfortable with the basic Zionist concept of a Jewish national state.” 

Schakowsky, one of the major recipients of J Street funding, stated at the Chicago event, “I’m proud to be among J Street’s first round of endorsed candidates.”  The source of J Street’s funding shines a light on its real mission.  J Street's political action committee received contributions from traditionally anti-Israel groups. According to filings with the FEC, one tenth of J Street's budget of $3 million comes from. Arab-, Iranian-, and Muslim Americans,board members of the discredited Human Rights Watch, and the Iranian lobby.

Jan Schakowsky needs the radical left J Street for her offensive against the 62-year US-Israel relationship, an alliance of democracies with shared values. “I know my friend Jan Schakowsky has said to her girlfriends: ‘Help me. Help me have a progressive wing so I can resist the kind of pressure I get from those who would see only Israel’s defense and not its annihilation of the Palestinians.’” - Marilyn Katz, President of MK Communications February 4, 2010

I have a message for Schakowsky, my congressional representative. “Girlfriend, I will be happy to relieve you of all the pressure you get from Americans who believe that Israel is entitled to the same self protection and self determination as all other nations. Since we are here to stay, we will be happy to show you out in the 2010 election.”

In a nutshell, here's why Schakowsky must go.
Read Joel's column in American Thinker

The Prophet Outraged

 
Out of the spotlight for a number of months since its disastrous October 2009 national conference which went unattended by scores of congressmen including Senator John Kerry, J Street attempted to thrust itself back into media prominence last night by kicking off "J Street Local", a two hour convocation of the faithful in 21 cities around the U.S..  The highlight of the evening was The Leader himself streamed live from Philadelphia.    Most of the local events featured the alliance between J Street and two other left wing groups: Brit Tzedek v'Shalom and The New Israel Fund (often referred to as The No Israel Fund).  The timing couldn't have been worse for the self-anointed, "Pro Israel-Pro Peace" group.
  Just two days ago, the head of the NIF in Israel, Naomi Chazan, was forced to cancel her trip to Australia over the growing scandal that her organization provided dubious "evidence" of Israeli atrocities to the discredited Goldstone commission.  Daniel Sokatch, the Director of the American NIF, assessed the situation and decided that attack was the best defense when he said the report - apparently confirmed - was "the worst kind of vicious hate speech." Another hard left Knesset member went even further dubbing the revelations a "show trial" (an odd choice of words, considering that the antecedents of his party, Meretz, were enthusiasts for the original Stalinist show trials of the 1930's).

And now, this morning comes the news that Ms. Chazan has been fired from her position at The Jerusalem Post.  According to an analysis by Im Tirtzu, the new grass roots, Israeli Zionist movment, the NIF supplied 92% of the negative references about the IDF to Goldstone "researchers."    Needless to say, none of this important, breaking news was conveyed by either NIF staffers or Jeremy Ben Enemy to the faithful around the U.S.  In fact, his constant invocation of that organization and its alliance with J Street may well come back to bite him.  NIF's embarassment, however, proved no deterrent to Israeli Consul, Nadav Tamir, embracing their regional director. 
Ben Enemy's performance was more negative than upbeat.  He sounded almost bitter that his prophecies weren't being taken as holy writ by the American Jewish community.  The evening - at least in Boston - was more about process than substance.  We heard all about building local constituencies, organizing university chapters and so on.  Of course, substance had to be avoided, considering  the moribund efforts and results of the Obama-Mitchell initiative that has produced exactly zero for Israelis and Palestinians.  The Middle East peace process has obviously become a back burner issue for a beleaguered President facing the worst economic crisis in decades, not to mention the Scott Brown embarrassment.  At one point, The Leader let slip his frustration with Obama's apparent, unshared obsession with applying more pressure on Israeli Jews when he half-jokingly said "Well, Mr. President, with all due respect, we're going to hold you to that (Obama's commitment to resolve the conflict)..but expect us to press you to do more - a lot more. As a community organizer, you would expect no less from us."  And there you have it:  Israel's existence is really all about making American left wing Jews feel empowered through community organizing. 
I recall a telling comment from Ben Enemy's colleague, Dan Sokatch of the New Israel Fund at the October conference.  Commenting on the controversy  at last summer's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (the Festival decided to feature the intensely anti-Israel film, "Rachel") when he was CEO of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation, Mr. Sokatch said that the forces critical of him were enemies of "community organizing."  A bizarre accusation, but now fully understandable and revealing of  his and J Street's primary, radical focus. 
Departing from his upbeat style back in October, Ben Enemy decided to invoke the full array of "victim"imagery.  If J Street was not being embraced by every American Jew as he had planned, then, clearly, it was a result of "enemies all around."  He began his talk by a wave of the bloody shirt, claiming that his prophecy was being "demonized, ostracized and shut out" from the American Jewish dialogue.  It was a bitter, angry speech designed to paint a picture of the faithful as victims of an oligarchic, censorious Jewish "right wing." 
It was a classic of demagoguery - rallying the troops by pointing out the Zionist barbarians at the gates.  After all, J Street has always been primarily about the perceived, existential, Left-Right struggle and less about Israel's survival.   The assembled crowd looked more like an SDS or CPUSA reunion than the "Pro Israel" supporters they claim to be.  This was really all about the struggle against the fanatics of the Right. 
If one can characterize the outlook of the American Jewish Left in a single phrase, it's all about demolishing the colonialist notion of "The Other".  Yet, how ironic this evening was which amounted to constructing,defining and labeling the Bad Jews -"Settlers" and the "Pro Settler Movement" -  as "The Other."   In spite of George Soros' millions (I presume, absent J Street's opaque refusal to disclose its major donors) it's a product that more and more Americans aren't buying.