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Just Out: J Street: "New 'Pro Israel, Pro Peace' Political Group Launches in Washington: 'J Street' Hopes to Prod Washington Middle East Policy Back Towards the Center"
Read the whole thing here.... So began the motivation for the creation of J Street and J Street PAC, a new nonprofit lobby group and affiliated political action committee being launched today in Washington, whose leadership describes the new organizations as “pro Israel, pro peace.” And unlike most other small Washington MidEast-oriented policy shops that primarily issue position papers and opeds, J Street was designed to be distinctly political.
“It’s the first time that there has been a political arm for those of us who are pro Israel but pro peace, and who believe that reaching a negotiated settlement in the Middle East is absolutely essential for the security of both Israel and the United States,” Jeremy Ben-Ami, the executive director of J Street and J Street PAC told me. “That is the reason for this effort. We believe the majority of American Jews and many other Americans friendly and supportive to Israel really do recognize that a policy both here and there that would be geared towards really pushing for a two state solution is in Israel’s and the US’s best interests.” [...]
One of J Street’s Israeli supporters in Washington, former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy, says Israeli leaders need encouragement from Washington to make concessions that could contribute to the peace process. “I think there comes a point when, if the Israeli leadership actually wants to see this thing resolved, it’s clearly easier to say yes to the president of the United States, rather than to the [Palestinian Liberation Organization],” Levy says. “You need to have the president of the United States to help carry you there.”
For now, Ben-Ami tells me he is working out of his basement, the organization has no headquarters and doesn’t plan for one, and plans to operate heavily in the online world. “We’re following the MoveOn model, of being virtual, and heavily online,” he says. “Part of our goal and plan in the coming year is to develop an online presence in the way that Obama and Dean and MoveOn have done … and to tap into that and have a large base of small donors.” ...
More from the Post, MJ Rosenberg, Gershom Gorenberg, Daniel Levy, Ron Kampeas, Matt Yglesias, Ben-Ami, and Dana Goldstein.