<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV>That's fine, but J-Street has opposed BDS:</DIV>
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<P>"J Street was slammed by Palestine solidarity activists–<A href="http://mondoweiss.net/2010/04/israeli-activists-to-j-street-stop-trying-to-gain-political-capital-at-the-expense-of-dedicated-peace-activists.html"><FONT color=#0000ff>including Israelis</FONT></A>–for <A href="http://mondoweiss.net/2010/04/a-constellation-of-jewish-groups-j-street-to-david-project-seeks-to-block-any-accountability-for-cruel-occupation.html"><FONT color=#0000ff>actively working</FONT></A> with organizations such as the right-wing David Project, Stand With Us and the Jewish National Fund against the landmark divestment effort at the University of California, Berkeley. After that episode, Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s executive director, <A href="http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/july2010bds" target=_blank><FONT color=#0000ff>said that</FONT></A> “J Street will not be signing on to letters with organizations like that in group settings again,” apparently
conceding that J Street was wrong to do so. And last June, during a Jewish debate on the BDS movement, J Street board member Kathleen Peratis <A href="http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/36485/boycotting-hits-the-mainstream/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0000ff>said she would support the boycotting of settlement products</FONT></A> (although this is clearly not J Street’s position).</P>
<P>But in a <A href="http://www.hadassahmagazine.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=twI6LmN7IzF&b=5698175&ct=8923819" target=_blank><FONT color=#0000ff>just-published interview with <EM>Hadassah Magazine</EM></FONT></A>, Ben-Ami says that “this very afternoon I have a meeting with people from Israel’s Foreign Ministry on how to address the BDS [Boycott Divestment Sanctions] movement.”</P>
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<P>What exactly is J Street doing meeting with the Israeli Foreign Ministry over how to “address” BDS?</P>
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<P><A href="http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/what%E2%80%99s-j-street-doing-meeting-with-israeli-officials-on-bds.html">http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/what%E2%80%99s-j-street-doing-meeting-with-israeli-officials-on-bds.html</A></P>
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<P>But in the final analysis, it's not about inclusiveness (although I'm not at all impressed with the speakers list, and the only Palestinian there was Abueleish), but about their approach. It's an insider approach, an elitist approach, and I don't see why Palestinians would find it helpful or credible.</P>
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<P>DG</P><BR></DIV>
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<B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> Robert Naiman <naiman@justforeignpolicy.org><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> David Green <davegreen84@yahoo.com><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Cc:</SPAN></B> Peace Discuss <peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Fri, March 4, 2011 11:36:04 AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: [Peace-discuss] J-Street<BR></FONT><BR>Lots of good people were at the J Street conference. There was a panel<BR>at the conference on BDS. Here is the presentation made at the panel<BR>by Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace:<BR><A href="http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/remarks-at-j-streets-bds-panel" target=_blank>http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/remarks-at-j-streets-bds-panel</A><BR><BR><BR>On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 11:31 AM, David Green <<A
href="mailto:davegreen84@yahoo.com" ymailto="mailto:davegreen84@yahoo.com">davegreen84@yahoo.com</A>> wrote:<BR>> Granted that Weiss is erratic, and often says the right thing for the wrong<BR>> reasons.<BR>><BR>> Last evening I got most of the way through a 90 minute J-Street panel which<BR>> included an arrogant talk by Dennis Ross, and follow-up comments by Daniel<BR>> Levy and Bernard Avishai after Ross left (also Roger Cohen). Ross treated<BR>> the crowd like it was AIPAC, and got tepid applause (but applause<BR>> nonetheless) for reassuring them about the "unbreakable bond" or some such<BR>> thing. Are such people (I mean the audience) a constituency for a just peace<BR>> for the Palestinians?<BR>><BR>> The whole thing strikes me as insider politics, which is why I find it<BR>> repulsive. The Palestinians need a revolution, and there will be no<BR>> revolution from the top down. There isn't a
Palestinian whose views and work<BR>> I respect who would be in that crowd, I don't think. It's all based on a<BR>> denial--especially noticable with Avishai--of the revolt against<BR>> neoliberalism. That has to happen on the streets, not in such conferences,<BR>> in any of the countries involved.<BR>><BR>> DG<BR>><BR>> ________________________________<BR>> From: Robert Naiman <<A href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" ymailto="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</A>><BR>> To: David Green <<A href="mailto:davegreen84@yahoo.com" ymailto="mailto:davegreen84@yahoo.com">davegreen84@yahoo.com</A>><BR>> Cc: Peace Discuss <<A href="mailto:peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net" ymailto="mailto:peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</A>><BR>> Sent: Fri, March 4, 2011 10:47:47 AM<BR>> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] J-Street<BR>><BR>> Phil Weiss
praises J Street:<BR>><BR>> J Street is liberating Jews from Zionism. So far so good<BR>> <A href="http://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/j-street-is-liberating-jews-from-zionism-so-far-so-good.html" target=_blank>http://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/j-street-is-liberating-jews-from-zionism-so-far-so-good.html</A><BR>><BR>> On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 9:30 AM, David Green <<A href="mailto:davegreen84@yahoo.com" ymailto="mailto:davegreen84@yahoo.com">davegreen84@yahoo.com</A>> wrote:<BR>>><BR>>> Phil Weiss, no leftist, turns against J-Street.<BR>>><BR>>><BR>>> <A href="http://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/ignoring-the-arab-spring-j-st-lobbies-for-more-money-for-a-govt-thats-cracked-down-on-protesters.html" target=_blank>http://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/ignoring-the-arab-spring-j-st-lobbies-for-more-money-for-a-govt-thats-cracked-down-on-protesters.html</A><BR>>><BR>>><BR>>> "So the best J Street could do in lobbying
was to push for aid to the PA<BR>>> for a force that will crack down on Palestinian demonstrators -- in the<BR>>> midst of revolutions against such forces all over the Middle East?"<BR>>><BR>>> _______________________________________________<BR>>> Peace-discuss mailing list<BR>>> <A href="mailto:Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net" ymailto="mailto:Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</A><BR>>> <A href="http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss" target=_blank>http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss</A><BR>>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> --<BR>> Robert Naiman<BR>> Policy Director<BR>> Just Foreign Policy<BR>> www.justforeignpolicy.org<BR>> <A href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" ymailto="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</A><BR>><BR>><BR>>
_______________________________________________<BR>> Peace-discuss mailing list<BR>> <A href="mailto:Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net" ymailto="mailto:Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</A><BR>> <A href="http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss" target=_blank>http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss</A><BR>><BR>><BR><BR><BR><BR>-- <BR>Robert Naiman<BR>Policy Director<BR>Just Foreign Policy<BR>www.justforeignpolicy.org<BR><A href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" ymailto="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</A><BR></DIV></DIV></div><br>
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