J Street

J Street describes itself as "the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement". Their foundation is based on the following principle:

J Street was founded to change the dynamics of American politics and policy on Israel and the Middle East. We believe the security and future of Israel as the democratic home of the Jewish people depend on rapidly achieving a two-state solution and regional comprehensive peace. Our mission is to promote meaningful American leadership to achieve peace and security in the Middle East and to broaden the debate on these issues nationally and in the Jewish community.

"What we're responding to," wrote J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami at the groups launch in 2008, "is that for too long there's been an alliance between the neo-cons, the radical right ofthe Christian Zionist movement and the far-right portions of the Jewish community that has really locked up what it means to be pro-Israel. In 2008 Ben-Ami denounced conservatives "who, through the use of fear and intimidation, have cut off reasonable debate on the topic." Here, J Street has borrowed heavily from Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, who argued that "the Lobby" controls the U.S. foreign policy debate in part by silencing critics. (J Street adviser Daniel Levy described the Walt-Mearsheimer book as a "wake-up call.").

Criticism

The group had tried to model itself on being a "progressive alternative to AIPAC", however the group has been heavily criticised for not being pro-Israel. Michael Goldfarb wrote the following critique in the Weekly Standard:

What would you call a group that opposes sanctions on Iran, questions Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist groups firing rockets from Gaza, seeks to pressure Israel into making major concessions without regard to the views of the elected government in Jerusalem, and supports a U.N.-commissioned report accusing Israel of committing war crimes in the course of self-defense? That group is J Street, the new advocacy organization that calls itself "pro-Israel, pro-peace.".

Eli Lieber had the following criticism of the group:

In fact, J Street's policies are more extreme than even their radical Israeli counterparts. During the conflict with Hamas, which was endorsed by all Jewish political parties in the Knesset, J Street proclaimed that Israel's "escalation in Gaza would be counterproductive" and was "disproportionate." It also alluded to a moral equivalency between the policies of Israel and Hamas, stating that it found difficulty in distinguishing "between who is right and who is wrong" and "picking a side.".

J Street also "opposes the role of force by Israel or the United States" against Iran and even canvassed Congress to block a bipartisan resolution calling for tougher sanctions. It also urges the US and Israel to negotiate with Hamas. Despite President Barack Obama having done so, J Street chief Ben-Ami refused to endorse Israel as a "Jewish state" relating to it as a "Jewish democratic home in the State of Israel.

Lieber went on to say that:

No one seeks to deny Israeli bashers freedom of expression. But there is a need to make the public aware that J Street represents an insignificant group of uncommitted Jews. It must be exposed as hostile to Israel and marginalized from the Jewish community. If Americans understand this, J Street's ability to undermine Israel will largely be neutralized.

Clash with Neoconservatives

According to a report in IPS:

Neoconservatives and other members of the far-right came into direct conflict with J Street in May 2008 when J Street issued a statement calling on Republican presidential candidate John McCain to, "renounce John Hagee once and for all."

Many Jews took offense with Hagee's characterisation of Hitler as doing God's work by helping to bring Jews to Israel, and AIPAC found itself in the difficult position of fighting to keep its pro-Israel credentials while not severing its valuable ties to the Christian-Zionist movement and the Christian Right.

The divide between moderate Jews and neoconservatives - many of whom see the alliance with Christian Zionists such as Hagee as a valuable relationship - has proven to be a fault line for organisations seeking to characterise themselves as pro-Israel.

Muslim Funds Controversy

J Street were criticised by Right Wing groups for accepting funding from Muslims, IPS Reported:

Right-wing blogs and evening news broadcasts have been reporting the finding that Muslims and Arabs are among the donors to the J Street political action committee (PAC) which lobbies American policymakers to work for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and helps raise campaign funds for candidates who share the views of J Street on promoting American leadership in the peace process.

"Arab and Muslim donors are extremely rare for other organisations that describe themselves as supporters of Israel as J Street does," wrote the Jerusalem Post's Hilary Leila Krieger in an article entitled 'Muslims, Arabs among J Street Donors.'

While the Jerusalem Post took care to present these statistics without crossing the line into making explicit allegations against J Street, far-right pundits quoted in the article and bloggers didn't feel compelled to hold back suggesting that J Street's willingness to take money from Arabs and Muslims undermines their pro-Israel credentials.