Netanyahu targets J Street in Facebook post, claiming the organization is glad to see him out of office due to their support for the Iran nuclear deal. J Street: Hopefully next PM will repair relationship with Dems and U.S. Jews
Goldberg: Kushner s absurd peace plan has failed
Michelle Goldberg, New York Times
May 19, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
Israeli police and Palestinian protesters clash in Jerusalem s Old City, Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Justice for the Palestinians is crucial for peace.Mahmoud Illean /Associated Press
“We are witnessing the last vestiges of what has been known as the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Jared Kushner crowed in The Wall Street Journal two months ago.
He was surveying the results of the Abraham Accords, the ersatz Middle East peace plan he helped negotiate under Donald Trump. At the heart of his supreme self-assurance, and of the accords themselves, was the deadly fiction that the Palestinians were so abject and defeated that Israel could simply ignore their demands.
SHARE
After days of ignoring mounting tension in Jerusalem despite weeks of warnings from two Arab governments, US President Joe Biden finally acknowledged the issue on Wednesday – but only after the crisis had led to a barrage of Hamas rocket attacks and deadly Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Mr Biden’s first public comments on the crisis largely stuck to the traditional pro-Israel talking points, emphasising Israel s right to self-defence without addressing the forced displacement of Palestinians in occupied territory such as Sheikh Jarrah.
He stressed the need to avoid civilian casualties in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but his reluctance to emphasise Palestinian rights and exert pressure on Israel as he belatedly tries to manage the crisis stands in contrast to much of the Democratic Party – from pro-Palestinian progressives to pro-Israel centrists – including advocacy groups that worked to get him elected in the first place.
Get email notification for articles from Jeremy Ben-Ami
Follow
May. 5, 2021 12:58 PM
I appreciated Rabbi Eric Yoffie’s recent opinion piece in Haaretz (Hate the Occupation? Back U.S. Military Aid for Israel) recognizing J Street’s growth over the past decade, the breadth of support we have in Washington and the success of our annual conference.
I appreciated as well his acknowledgement that the most challenging issues critical to Israel’s future never receive the meaningful discussion they need at prominent Jewish organizations such as AIPAC.
The end of Bibi? LISTEN to Anshel Pfeffer’s quick-fire guide to the latest political drama