Podcast: New Peace Lobby for Israel

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J Street’s coming out party in Washington has caused quite a stir. This episode of the podcast gets into how the new pro-Israel lobby group is establishing itself, and making waves.

J Street calls itself a pro-peace, pro-Israel lobby group that’s trying to change the dynamic of Middle East politics in Washington. One thing that sets it apart from other liberal advocacy organizations is that J Street isn’t just a PR effort. The group is raising money to support candidates running for office in the US who share its views on US policy in the Middle East.

Among the group’s outspoken critics is Isi Leibler – columnist at the conservative Jerusalem Post. I talked with Leibler from his home in Jerusalem about why he thinks J Street is bad for Israel.

MJ Rosenberg is a veteran US liberal activist on Middle East affairs. Rosenberg thinks J Street’s time has come. He told me the group is helping give voice to views long stifled by mainstream pro-Israel groups and their supporters.

But Yossi Shain says that’s rubbish. Shain is an Israeli expert in Jewish diaspora affairs, and he splits his time between Georgetown and Tel Aviv University. Shain welcomes the arrival of J Street and doesn’t doubt their sincere desire to help the state of Israel. But he told me the idea that bigger, more established pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC have stifled debate about US policy in the Middle East is a canard.

Finally on the J Street story, I talked with executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami about his connections to Israel, what he’s trying to do, and why he thinks the group has generated such controversy.

Next, US-supported Palestinian security forces. The American element of the program is led by three star Army general, Keith Dayton. His effort has been held up as a rare example of real progress on the ground in the West Bank. But some Palestinians are still asking questions about these security forces. My report from the West Bank wraps up this episode of the podcast.