J Street Gives Livni Weak Applause for Praising IDF

J Street, the pro-Palestinian Authority Jewish lobby that calls itself “Pro-Israel,” offered weak applause to Israel’s chief negotiator Tzipi Livni when she defended the IDF in a speech Saturday night at the opening of the annual J Street conference.

While Livni received a rousing welcome and warm support from the crowd for her comments defending the two-state solution, the reception was more ambivalent when Livni switched gears to defending the Israeli army.

She made an impassioned case for peace with the Palestinians, arguing, “It’s not a favor to the Palestinians, to the Arab world, to President Obama; It’s in our interest” to give up land for peace.

J Street has been warmly received by the Obama administration. The same day that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak with President Barack Obama in Washington, Vice President Joe Biden will address J Street, which opposes a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria and areas of Jerusalem occupied by Jordan before the Six-Day War in 1967.

The JTA contributed to this report.