Israel Matzav

What J Street has in common with pigs

J Street, which describes itself as being 'pro-Israel, pro-peace,' but advocates Israel's confinement in a best case scenario to what diplomat par excellence Abba Eban referred to as the 'Auschwitz borders,' enjoys key financial support from several Arabs and State Department personnel who have served in Arab countries. If they were really so pro-Israel, would these people be supporting them?

"It raises questions as to their banner that they're a pro-Israel organization. Why would people who are not known to be pro-Israel give money to this organization?" asked Lenny Ben-David, a former Israeli diplomat and staffer for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major Washington lobby but not a PAC that makes contributions to candidates. "Once you introduce a large group and large amount of money from people who are suspect in their pro-Israel credentials, J Street loses some of its credibility in claiming it is pro-Israel and representing the Jewish community."

Ben-Ami described the organization as one that is "primarily but not exclusively Jewish" and said that as the numbers of Arabs and Muslims participating in J Street are low, he would like to welcome more non-Jews into the fold.

The funds that come from these sources indeed constitute a small fraction of the year-and-a-half-old organization's political fundraising, which totaled around $844,000 in 2008 - a key election year - and $111,000 so far in 2009. They comprise several dozen of the PAC's 4,000-5,000 donors.

But some of the contributors play key roles in the organization. The finance committee's 50 members - with a $10,000 contribution threshold - include Lebanese-American businessman Richard Abdoo, a current board member of Amideast and a former board member of the Arab American Institute, and Genevieve Lynch, who is also a member of the National Iranian American Council board. The group has also received several contributions from Nancy Dutton, an attorney who once represented the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

Smaller donors include several leaders of Muslim student groups, Saudi- and Iranian-born Americans, and Palestinian- and Arab-American businessmen who also give to Arab-oriented PACs.

Additionally, Nicole Shampaine, director of the State Department's Office for Egypt and the Levant, gave $1,000 last summer. Lewis Elbinger, who used to serve in Saudi Arabia, gave a combined $150.

A State Department legal adviser said there were no laws or codes prohibiting employees from donating to groups doing advocacy work on the policies they are formulating.

"The State Department ethics rules don't prohibit contributions to lobbying groups," she said.

Shampaine did not respond to a request for comment from the Post and Elbinger could not be reached.

It should be clear to all of you what is going on here, but in case it isn't... J Street's goal is to erode support for Israel from within the Jewish community. It adopts the positions of the American Left - which hates Israel - and labels them 'pro-Israel.' Were they truly supporting Israel, they would not be receiving support from Arabs who wish to see Israel destroyed or from State Department officials who know that the way to get ahead in the diplomatic corps at the State Department is to support the Arabs and not to support Israel.

I am reminded of a Gemara. The Torah says that for an animal to be Kosher, and to be eligible for Jews to eat it, it must have two physical characteristics: It must have split hooves and it must chew its cud. There are very few animals that have one criterion and not the other, but there are some that the Torah enumerates. One is the pig, which has split hooves but does not chew its cud. The Gemara tells us that the pig lies on the ground holding out its split hooves and saying "see, I am Kosher." One might be inclined to believe the pig - after all the pig looks Kosher based on its split hooves, which are what you see. It's only after observing the pig's behavior for a while that one realizes that the pig does not chew its cud, and therefore is an impostor and is not Kosher.

So too it is with J Street. They hold themselves out as 'pro-Israel' saying that they too support Israel's existence. They show their exterior. But when one looks closely into their positions, one sees that they are a fraud. They are showing the outward signs of being pro-Israel without having any of the inner signs. The proof of their not having the inner signs is that people who donate to the Arab American Institute and the National Iranian American Council (which supports the Ahmadinejad regime) feel comfortable donating to and participating in J Street. By accepting J Street as 'Kosher,' we erode our own deeply held commitment to Israel and introduce a Trojan Horse into our midst. No matter how one dresses up a pig, it is still a pig.

We must continue to work to expose this fraudulent organization. As the prophet Isaiah warns in the chapter that we read in our synagogues just last week, those who would destroy us will come from among us.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:09 AM