Israel Matzav

J Street wins, Israel loses

Whenever you see Tzachi HaNegbi, pictured here with his former party, you have to ask how much he's being paid. HaNegbi will become the first member of the Likud to attend a J Street convention later this year, giving the pro-'Palestinian,' pro-Iranian organization an undeserved dose of credibility as representing the broader Jewish community.

Also participating will be Yitzchak Vaknin of Shas. Given that Vaknin already attended a convention of the Geneva Initiative two years ago, and given that Leftist Aryeh Deri seems to have pushed out the more right-leaning Eli Yishai for the party's leadership, this is less surprising than HaNegbi.

This is from the first link.

Hanegbi’s participation at the J Street conference, a result of outreach efforts conducted by the lobby’s office in Israel, is viewed by organizers as a mark of success. It is a sign, said Jessica Rosenblum, the group’s director of media and communications, “of the growing acceptance of J Street and the growing recognition of the common purpose,” of advancing a two-state solution.

J Street’s founding in 2008 was initially met with a cold shoulder by the Israeli government. Officials refused to meet with the lobby’s activists and the Israeli embassy boycotted its events. Since, however, the group established working relations with the embassy and an Israel senior diplomat delivered a speech at last year’s conference gala dinner. Hanegbi’s participation will signal yet another step by J Street away from its lefty image and closer to the Israeli mainstream.

Another first at this year’s conference will be the participation of Yitzhak Vaknin of Shas at the event. Shas, a Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party has supported in the past Israeli-Palestinian negotiations but has since shifted to the right. Currently it is not a member of the Netanyahu governing coalition.

Labels: Geneva initiative, J Street, Likud party, Shas, Tzachi Hanegbi

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:26 PM