J Street CEO announces major pivot in advocacy for restricting U.S. aid to Israel over its human rights abuses.
By Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss
The American Jewish establishment’s support for Israel as it violates Palestinian human rights is undermining “Jewish values” and causing “large swaths” of Jews to abandon the community, Jeremy Ben-Ami, the ceo of the liberal Zionist group J Street, warned in a speech to that organization on Saturday night (video here).
Ben-Ami announced a major pivot in his group’s advocacy: for restricting U.S. aid to Israel over its human rights abuses, and away from emphasizing the two-state solution.
Maybe it’s time for some serious oversight and accountability for how our aid to Israel is actually being used.
He likened Palestine to Ukraine under Russian invasion and said we have to ensure that in our “tax dollars aren’t being used to abet settlement construction, home demolitions or other actions that deepen occupation.”
He said such accountability is key to the survival of the U.S. Jewish community:
We believe our community for its own sake even more than for Israel’s sake must root its identity in a commitment not to a flag or a piece of land but to a set of principles and values. My friends, if we don’t do this, we will see large swaths of our community walk away. Not only will they walk away from engagement with Israel– that’s already happening. They’ll walk away from the Jewish community itself.”
Recent Posts
Students On The Front Line For A Free Palestine
April 26, 2024
Take Action Now The Gaza protests are moral, brave, and part of a much broader struggle. by Richard (RJ) Eskow, The Zero Hour Report It’s…
Nuclear Power’s Lethal, Larcenous End Game
April 26, 2024
Take Action Now For the first time since 1954, no large new atomic reactors are under construction or on order in the United States. By Harvey…
200 Caring People Are Ready To Sail On The Freedom Flotilla To Gaza
April 25, 2024
Take Action Now For decades, corporations have used taxpayer-funded fellowship opportunities to help them secure billion-dollar defense contracts.…
Is The Iran Nuclear Deal Dead Forever?
April 25, 2024
Take Action Now Trump blew up the deal — why hasn’t Biden taken the opportunity to fix it? by Bob Dreyfuss, Tom Dispatch One, erratic and…