J Street’s leaders, by contrast, are confident they know better than Israel’s voters. Like many in the pro-Israel community, J Street supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and American pressure on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table and cease anti-Israel incitement. Unlike many of us, however, J Street also favors U.S. pressure on Jerusalem, continuing to see Israel as a barrier to peace despite the Palestinians’ repeated rejections of Israeli offers of statehood. Rather than persuade the Israeli people through reasoned debate, J Street has sought to override their will through American fiat.
The stakes are high and the time is short. Iran has announced it will begin enriching uranium to even higher levels. Hizbullah and Hamas continue to stockpile missiles. We in the pro-Israel camp need to come together to combat these existential threats to the Jewish state we all love.
The time has come for J Street to be true to its founding principles and devote itself to a serious debate on the merits. If it continues its present course, J Street’s only contribution to the Middle East debate will be to import into it the ugliest aspects of America’s broken politics.