J Street’s Delusions

J Street is a far-left organization that encourages Israel to make suicidal territorial concessions. In the deluded world of J Street, AIPAC [American-Israel Public Affairs Committee] and the rest of the pro-Israel community have too much control. J Street portrays itself as the alternative to AIPAC, though it also denies being anti-AIPAC and claims to be “pro-Israel” and “pro-peace”. J Street gave a moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas during the Gaza war. During Operation Cast Lead, J Street had this to say:

Last weekend, Israeli Defense Forces launched a major military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds dead and wounded – pushing the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict further down a path of never-ending violence.

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As friends of Israel, we felt immediate pressure from friends and family to pick a side. Did we think that Israel’s actions were fully justified or disproportionate? Did Hamas bring this on itself by firing rockets and provoking Israel or are the strikes an act of aggression against a people trapped in misery and poverty? Couldn’t we see who’s right and who’s wrong?

J Street also said this:

Israel has a special place in each of our hearts. But we recognize that neither Israelis nor Palestinians have a monopoly on right or wrong. While there is nothing “right” in raining rockets on Israeli families or dispatching suicide bombers, there is nothing “right” in punishing a million and a half already-suffering Gazans for the actions of the extremists among them.

So J Street gives a moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas. Operation Cast Lead was not intended to punish “a million and a half already-suffering” Gazans. It was there to stop the rocket attacks and to prevent future rocket attacks [it failed because it ended too soon]. Israel sought to minimize the killing of innocent Gazans in that operation, like in any other counter terrorism operation. Hamas hid themselves and their terror infrastructure in civilian areas, in schools, homes, hospitals and mosques. Israel sent warning to the civilians through telephones and flyers; telling them to get out of the area. But Hamas encouraged them to stay and got more civilians into that area. Yet, J Street draws a moral equivalence between Hamas’s rocket attacks and Israel’s delayed and justified response. The irony is that the government that launched Operation Cast Lead wasn’t a Likudnik-led government [though the Likud did rightly support that operation and was united with Kadima then in defending Israel]. Yet despite that, Tzipi Livni, who lost the election for Prime Minister in February 2009, praised J Street. So not even Livni would make a moral equivalence between Operation Cast Lead and Hamas’s rocket fire. At least she understands that it was a justified response to the rocket fire. She even criticized the distorted Goldstone report and said that it was “based on a perverted system of values.” It makes me wonder if she’ll say the same thing about J Street’s moral equivalence between that operation and Hamas’s rocket attacks.

To the deluded world of J Street, if Israel makes more territorial concessions, then there will be peace. J Street’s fantasy world is basically the exact opposite of reality in so many ways. The history of the conflict shows that Israel making territorial concessions actually results in an increase of terror attacks. Look at Oslo. From 1995-1996, there was an increase of terrorist attacks, which included deadly suicide bombings, even while 98% of the Palestinian people were under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. The deadly terrorist attacks got the Israeli public to elect Bibi Netanyahu, who did manage to bring some security to Israel. And the second intifada began in 2000, a few months after then-PA President Yasser Arafat rejected one of the most generous Israeli offers at Camp David. It was since returning from that summit when Arafat planned the second intifada. Ariel Sharon’s visit as used as an excuse.

In 2000, Israel left all of southern Lebanon. As a result, Hezbollah claimed that their “resistance” drove Israel out of Lebanon and set up a terror base there. Hezbollah got a free hand in committing terrorist acts and even provoked a war with Israel six years later. Now, Hezbollah’s terror base is now as big a problem as ever thanks to Israel’s 2000 withdrawal.

In 2005, Israel left Gaza and forced every Jew there back into pre-1967 Israel. Israel dismantled every Jewish settlement. It was painful. Hamas and other Palestinian rejectionist terrorists claimed that their “resistance” drove Israel out of Gaza and set up a terror base. As a result, rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel increased. Two years later, Hamas captured Gaza and imposed a backward Islamo-Fascist society there. Gaza is exactly what decent people don’t want a Palestinian state to be like.

Yet despite this history of suicidal Israeli concessions, J Street advocates for more suicidal concessions from Israel.

J Street wants Israel to give up parts of its capital Jerusalem. J Street has stated that the Arab neighborhoods should be given to the PA [Palestinian Authority]. Yet even most Arabs in east Jerusalem want to remain under Israeli rule. Back when he was Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert considered giving up Arab neighborhoods to the Palestinian Authority. Yet the Mail and Globe had an article about how Arab residents wanted to remain under Israeli rule. The mayor of Ras Hamis Nabil Gheit stated that there would be an intifada against being transferred to the PA’s jurisdiction if the Arabs in east Jerusalem end up being transferred to the PA’s jurisdiction. Years ago, Zohair Hamdam, the east Jerusalemite Arab who promoted peace with Israel and who was critical of Arafat, sponsored a petition against being transferred to the PA. It got 10,000 signatures. He was later wounded by Arafat’s goons when they attempted to assassinate this courageous man.

Arabs in east Jerusalem watch what’s going on and made it clear that they don’t want to be under the rule of an authoritarian undemocratic corrupt Arab Muslim Supremacist PA regime. Yet despite that, the loons on the Israeli left and J Street wants to give up Arab neighborhoods in Israel’s historic capital to the Arab Muslim Supremacist PA regime, which continues to violate their signed agreements. The PA regime still turns the territory it gets into a terror base, encourages and supports terrorists, and sponsors hatred towards Jews and the goal of destroying Israel in its controlled media and schools. Yet J Street pushes for more suicidal Israeli concessions.

J Street is among those that believes that there is a moral equivalence between terrorists attacking Israel and Israel defending itself. J Street is in the forefront in pushing for more idiotic suicidal concessions.

Even Arabs in east Jerusalem can see something in the Arab Muslim Supremacist corrupt PA regime that the deluded loons in groups like J Street and Peace Now can’t see.

J Street called the Israeli settlements “an obstacle to peace”. Yet from 1949-1967, there were no Israeli settlements in the disputed territories. Yet there was also no peace. Israeli settlements are not a monolith and require a whole analysis to explain. Some are built in strategic ares; like on hills and in the Jordanian valley and near the Green line for security purposes. Some are Jews retuning to their homes prior to the 1948 war or when they were expelled. Those settlements include the Jewish community in Hebron and Gush Etzion.

Some are expanding cities needed for a growing population. Some settlements are built in order to pressure the other side for peace talks and to be used as bargaining chips. Settlements are not an obstacle to peace. There were settlements in the Sanai. Yet Israel still got a peace treaty with Egypt [it's a cold peace; for Egypt finds promoting anti-Semitism to be useful]. Israel dismantled all of the settlements and handed the Sanai to Egypt. Israel did the same thing with Gaza in the false hope of getting peace. Contrary to opponents of the settlements, the settlements are not an obstacle to peace. The real obstacle to peace is the bloodthirsty Palestinian society. Of course, there are decent and kind Palestinians who want peace and a normal life. But they’re not in control of the society. The ones in control are terrorists who seek Israel’s destruction. So the demented bloodthirsty Palestinian society and the terrorism that comes from that society are the real obstacles to peace. Plus, Arabs can live as a minority with equal rights in Israel. Why can’t Jews live as a minority with equal rights in a Palestinian state?

Jews living in the territories are not an obstacle to peace. It’s the goal of destroying Israel that’s the real obstacle to peace.

Anti-Israel propagandists work closely with J Street. J Street adviser Judith Barnett worked for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Trade. J Street has anti-Israel donors. Some may claim that J Street can’t control what their donors say. Then again, why would they donate money to this “pro-Israel” and “pro-peace” group?

Yet Richard Silverstein’s far-left blog Tikun Olam, which is just as delusional as J Street and which also gives too much of the blame to Israel, defended J Street and misrepresented Stand With US. Richard Silverstein, being the leftist loon that he is, stated that Stand With US had a Likudist platform. Yet Stand With US is non-political when it comes to left-wing and right-wing. Some members are right-wing, some are left-wing and some are centrists. That group doesn’t interfere in American or Israeli politics; but just defends Israel.

J Street has allied itself with left-wing Israeli political parties that lost the 2009 elections and that advocate for suicidal concessions. J Street’s analysis is delusional. That group does have good intentions, which is to get peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians through a two-state solution. Yet this group is way deluded in its analysis. The saying goes,”The road to hell is paved by good intentions”. So J Street’s policy is so delusional and is disastrous to Israel. Israel makes more territorial concessions. Yet J Steet, Peace Now and that far-leftist slanderous schmuck Richard Silvestein still give a disproportionate amount of blame to Israel. J Street seeks to get the US to pressure Israel into more suicidal concessions, something that is against the interests of America and Israel. Suicidal Israeli concessions results in the territories being a terrorist base to Palestinian rejectionist and Islamo-Fascists. Yet J Street can’t see that and chooses to live in its own little world. They have people like Richard Silverstein defending them, the same Silverstein who believes that the Third Jihad promotes Islamo-phobia and an environment conducive to violence against Muslims despite the fact that the film just exposes the tactic used by Islamo-Fascism to impose their society from within and the fact that the narrator Zudhi Jassar, in the film, called Islam “the religion I love”.

When it comes to Iran, J Street does say some praise worthy things. For one thing, J Street affirmed its opposition to a nuclear-armed Iran and calls on the US to stand in support of the Iranian people in wanting democracy. However, J Street also strongly opposes any strikes on Iran’s nuclear weapons program and only wants to have engagement to stop Iran. Diplomacy was tried over and over to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Yet it repeatedly failed. When Iran’s nuclear program got so much attention, Iran did suspend it for a little while and then continued it when the world turns its back. Iran never made a serious effort to stop its nuclear weapons program.

J Street also supports appeasement toward Syria. J Street stated that Syria would be occupied more by radical forces if they are isolated. Yet J Street seems unable to understand Syria’s expansionist ambitions. What about Syria’s occupation of Lebanon that lasted for decades until 2005 when they were forced to leave thanks to the Cedar revolution? Syria still seeks to take control of at least much of the Middle East including Lebanon and Israel. Syria supports terror groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, the PFLP [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine], DFLP [Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine], Palestinian Islamic Jihad [PIJ] and the insurgents in Iraq. Appeasing Syria would isolate the pro-democracy forces there such as the Reform Party of Syria [RPS], which is a valuable ally of the free world.

J Street fully supports Obama’s appeasement efforts toward America’s totalitarian enemies in the Middle East. J Street even launched “Obama Smears Busters”, which essentially attacks any criticism of Obama’s appeasement efforts and any criticism of his bullying posture toward Israeli settlements. However, at least Obama calls on the Arab and Muslim world to end their incitement toward Israel. That is praise worthy. The incitement doesn’t actually get mentioned by J Street [I didn't see J Street mention it; but if I'm wrong there, then someone show me how by providing the source].

In the myth and fact section, J Street has put the allegation that it calls for negotiating with Hamas as a myth; but says that it is not opposed to Israel or America finding unofficial ways to negotiate with Hamas in order to advance US and Israeli interests like when it comes to the kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

J Street says:

J Street believes that Hamas’ consistent opposition to the peace process, its support for terror against Israeli civilians, its use of violence for political purposes, and its repeated denial of the Holocaust are all reprehensible and abominable.

We also recognize, however, that one makes peace with one’s enemies not one’s friends. Hamas is a political movement that has an important and significant base of support within Palestinian society and politics. Ultimately, a political resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will require Palestinian political reconciliation and we support efforts by third parties to achieve reconciliation and a unity government, whose officials will work within a diplomatic process to achieve an acceptable two-state solution.

J Street does call for negotiations with Hamas there. J Street is right that you do make peace with one’s enemy, not one’s friend. You also make peace with someone who wants peace, not someone who wants your destruction. Hamas is committed to Israel’s destruction. Peace with any non-Muslim state [let alone Israel] contradicts Hamas’s Islamo-Fascist ideology, since imposing that ideology on the world is a fundamental part of that backward ideology.

In WWII, it would be foolish to attempt to make peace with the Nazis, who didn’t want peace and who were a global threat to the free world. Neville Chamberlain had foolish appeasement policies toward Hitler. He gave him the Sudetenland. Look what happened. Hitler still continued with his expansionist aims of putting the whole world under an Aryan empire. Hitler also continued his genocide on the Jewish people, which became known as the Holocaust.

J Street is a far-left group that blames Israel not giving more territorial concessions for the continuation of the conflict. J Street’s appeal is motivated by delusion. J Street appeals to anti-Israel leftist self hating Jews, to anti-Israel propagandists and to Jews who are so desperate for peace that they’re willing to give more pressure to Israel and to believe that the situation is more capable of having peace than it truly is. Peace can’t come without the end of the incitement in the Arab and Muslim world [especially in the Palestinian Authority]. It’s the incitement that fuels the terrorists and gives them encouragement, as well as spreading the ideology of the suicide bombers. Peace will only come when the Palestinians get a leadership that’s truly committed to peace, that encourages it and that seriously cracks down on terrorist activity on Israel [seriously putting terrorists behind bars; not just occasionally putting them there when there is too much attention and then releasing them when the world turns its back] and one that follows the signed agreements. When that happens, I’ll be in the forefront in supporting the two-state solution. Israel will be glad to make more territorial concessions. Israel has already made suicidal territorial concessions in the false hope of getting peace. Yet despite the fact that suicidal territorial concessions results, not in more peace; but in more terrorism and terror bases, deluded groups like J Street and Peace Now push for more suicidal concessions. Anything that has the world peace in it and involve Israeli territorial concessions, no matter how foolish and suicidal it is, groups like Peace Now and J Street are in the forefront in promoting them. J Street is very much a successor of the prominent sellout Diaspora Jews who appeased anti-Semites. Those Diaspora Jews legitimized anti-Semitism, and instead of fighting it, they embraced its accusations and called for Jewish self reforms. Groups like J Street call for more suicidal Israeli concessions despite the fact that history repeatedly shows how suicidal and stupid they are now. Kenneth Levin, in his book The Oslo Syndrome and in his article, show the similarities between Jewish appeaseniks during the Diaspora era, who sought to appease anti-Semites, and groups like Peace Now that call for more Israeli territorial concessions and that holds Israel not making more of them as responsible for the continuation of the bloody Arab-Israeli conflict. And J Street fits very well into that deluded Chamberlain-like appeasement mentality.