Israel Matzav

J Street causes a schism in Kadima

Kadima is a party that's known for being so wide open that their brains could fall out of their head. But with four of its MK's speaking at the J Street conference that opens in Washington on Saturday (when else?), a lot of party members are worried they will be connected with an organization that is doing damage to Israel.

MKs Nachman Shai, Yoel Hasson, Shlomo Molla and Orit Zuaretz of Kadima will address the conference, along with Labor MKs Amir Peretz and Daniel Ben-Simon. J Street tried unsuccessfully to get more senior Israeli politicians to come, including the most dovish minister in the cabinet, Intelligence Services Minister Dan Meridor (Likud).

J Street angered MKs across the political spectrum when it refused to oppose the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements, a position that precipitated the Israeli Embassy’s decision not to participate in the conference. Though J Street had hoped the resolution wouldn’t come to a vote and that some of the language would be altered, it objected to the US vetoing a resolution in line with long-standing American policy against settlement construction.

Kadima MKs said they were also upset with J Street for undermining the international effort to prevent the nuclearization of Iran, criticizing the IDF’s handling of the Gaza flotilla and Israel’s Gaza policy, and helping facilitate a visit to Capitol Hill by Judge Richard Goldstone, whose UN-sponsored report accused Israel of committing war crimes during Operation Cast Lead.

“I have my own criticism of the current government, but there have to be limits, and this organization is doing tremendous damage to Israel,” said Kadima MK Ze’ev Bielski, a former Jewish Agency chairman.

“J Street may have good intentions and think they want what is best for Israel, but when they oppose an American president vetoing an anti-Israel resolution at the Security Council and take a hostile position against our naval commandos who were trying to save their lives from goons who wanted to kill them on the flotilla, they cross red lines,” he declared.

MK Shai Hermesh added that he could do his job of trying to topple the government while in Israel, but when he went abroad, he wouldn’t cooperate with any organization that worked against the Israeli government.

“It is too bad that some of my colleagues do not understand the danger of supporting an organization that is working against Israel,” Hermesh said.

Isn't a party leader supposed to prevent things like this from happening? I wonder whether they even asked her approval. Hmmm.

Labels: J Street, Kadima, Nachman Shai, Orit Zuaretz, Shlomo Molla, Tzipi Livni, Yoel Hasson

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:17 PM