J Street’s new campaign: funny but oh so sad

Mairav Zonszein By Mairav Zonszein April 13, 2011 | Edit

I gotta hand it to J Street for the video they just disseminated as part of its new campaign encouraging its younger constituency to “have the (Israel) talk at home.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68PLokUMnkY[/youtube]

It’s pretty funny, I must admit.  The acting is superb. And to be honest, I wish conversations in my family would go that smoothly. But of course, it is quite sad that the message is simply that the US should actively broker a two-state solution, something the Obama Administration has been failing miserably at doing. If J Street wants the US to push Israel to a two-state solution, why does it insist on maintaining “robust US foreign aid to Israel“? It is not enough to say the US should be an honest broker, but it must do something about it, which demands brave action.

J Street is foundering on its most important objective: changing US foreign policy on Israel. Yes, it is creating a space for open dialogue and conversation, yes it is bringing some of the silent and disenchanted American Jews back into the fold. Yes, it is making many liberal American Jews feel better about their Zionism. But if it is to call itself a lobby (forget the “pro-peace” and “pro-Israel” part, that’s easy!) it must step up and take the difficult steps necessary to change the game –  it did not do so at the recent UN Security Council Resolution vote condemning settlements, nor in its recent letter signed by 116 members of congress calling for continued foreign aid to Israel – the letter looked like it could have easily been written by AIPAC.

For J Street to have an impact, its rhetoric must focus on the US administration and explicitly call it out for failing to be a credible broker of Israeli-Palestinian peace. Every time Israel announces a thousand more housing units in East Jerusalem, J Street should concentrate its energy on criticizing the US, not Israel.  As was poignantly argued in a recent article:

Some analysts optimistically see J Street as a sort of gateway drug that will lead its youngish adherents to eventually support a very different role for the United States in the conflict. But for now, J Street will continue to support dialogue, “expanding the tent”, and $3 billion in cluster bombs, white phosphorous and other armaments from the US government to the IDF, no strings attached, year after year.

While a campaign about talking about Israel around the dinner table is important, for J Street to make a difference in Washington, it needs to step up its game.

Mairav Zonszein

Mairav Zonszein is a journalist and editor who writes about Israel-Palestine and its role in U.S. politics. Her publications include The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, The Intercept, VICE News, Foreign Policy and many more.

<p>End of article module for Members</p>

TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.    We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.   This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.   We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.   Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

Make a Donation