<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>Notwithstanding my distaste for JStreet rhetoric, I'm open to a diverse movement, of course. My sense is that J Street wants to be its own movement, and shuns practical connections with those on the left that might conceivably be promising. Having one JVP speaker on an anti-BDS panel doesn't change that. I'm not interested in the left being bad cops to JStreet's Jewish good cop. If J Street is serious, instead of inviting Dennis Ross and posturing barely to the left of him, invite a real leftist for some serious discourse about the movement's strategy and tactics. But they're not willing to have their feet put to the fire. Watching Ross and the follow-up, it's just intolerable. The egos fill up the room to bursting. I can't imagine being in that room and not feeling physically ill. There's
nothing whatsoever that speaks to reality and my concerns. Yet, the audience sounds raucous and enraptured. </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 12:50:56 PM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: [Peace-discuss] J-Street<BR></FONT><BR>So it has. I am not against any criticism of J Street over specific<BR>issues. I'm against a sectarian, totalizing, ultra-left<BR>Spartacist-style rhetoric against J Street that portrays it as an evil<BR>cabal that is worse than AIPAC, and that claims that a broad assault<BR>on J Street ought to be at the center of left critique.<BR><BR>In your last note, you implied that there was something wrong with<BR>anyone who went to the J Street conference. I pointed out that
Rebecca<BR>Vilkomerson, Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace, was at the<BR>J Street conference, where she gave a presentation on BDS. Doesn't<BR>this fact imply that there is something wrong with the idea that there<BR>is something wrong with anyone who was at the J Street conference?<BR><BR>Previously, you posted approvingly a note trashing a speaker at the<BR>conference. I pointed out that the same source claims that J Street is<BR>worse than AIPAC. Don't you think that claim is relevant to whether<BR>that is a trustworthy source?<BR><BR>On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 12:18 PM, David Green <<A href="mailto:davegreen84@yahoo.com" ymailto="mailto:davegreen84@yahoo.com">davegreen84@yahoo.com</A>> wrote:<BR>> That's fine, but J-Street has opposed BDS:<BR>><BR>><BR>> "J Street was slammed by Palestine solidarity activists–including<BR>> Israelis–for actively working with organizations such as the right-wing<BR>> David Project,
Stand With Us and the Jewish National Fund against the<BR>> landmark divestment effort at the University of California, Berkeley. After<BR>> that episode, Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s executive director, said that “J<BR>> Street will not be signing on to letters with organizations like that in<BR>> group settings again,” apparently conceding that J Street was wrong to do<BR>> so. And last June, during a Jewish debate on the BDS movement, J Street<BR>> board member Kathleen Peratis said she would support the boycotting of<BR>> settlement products (although this is clearly not J Street’s position).<BR>><BR>> But in a just-published interview with Hadassah Magazine, Ben-Ami says that<BR>> “this very afternoon I have a meeting with people from Israel’s Foreign<BR>> Ministry on how to address the BDS [Boycott Divestment Sanctions] movement.”<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> What exactly is J Street
doing meeting with the Israeli Foreign Ministry<BR>> over how to “address” BDS?<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> <A href="http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/what%E2%80%99s-j-street-doing-meeting-with-israeli-officials-on-bds.html" target=_blank>http://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/what%E2%80%99s-j-street-doing-meeting-with-israeli-officials-on-bds.html</A><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> But in the final analysis, it's not about inclusiveness (although I'm not at<BR>> all impressed with the speakers list, and the only Palestinian there was<BR>> Abueleish), but about their approach. It's an insider approach, an elitist<BR>> approach, and I don't see why Palestinians would find it helpful or<BR>> credible.<BR>><BR>><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 11:36:04 AM<BR>> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] J-Street<BR>><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<BR>>> wrong<BR>>> reasons.<BR>>><BR>>> Last evening I got most of the way through a 90 minute J-Street panel<BR>>> 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<BR>>> 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<BR>>> 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>>><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>>>><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>><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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