On November 3, 2009, the Syrian daily Al-Watan published an article by columnist Tahsin Al-Halabi about the Jewish-American advocacy group J Street. Al-Halabi wrote that the goals of this organization were no different from AIPAC's, and that its positions were similar to those of the Israeli party Kadima, which was responsible for the Gaza war. J Street, he added, was founded to gather information about the Middle East and sell it to the Democratic Party in the U.S., while AIPAC provides the same service to the Republicans, and both promote the interests of Israel.
Conversely, the government Syrian daily Al-Thawra published an article by Syrian academic Dr. Faiz 'Izz Al-Din, who wrote that J Street was founded as an opposition to AIPAC, and that its positions were opposed to those of the current Israeli government. The establishment of this organization, he argued, reveals the concern of American Jews over the policies of the Israeli government and of AIPAC.
Following are excerpts from the articles:
Syrian Columnist: J Street Another Version of AIPAC
Columnist Tahsin Al-Halabi wrote in Al-Watan: "It seems that the best way to describe the Jewish lobby J Street (meaning 'Jewish Street') is to call it a replica of the Kadima party, which Ariel Sharon founded after he left the Likud... Asked about [the organization's] political positions a few days ago, its executive director, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said that they were similar to Kadima's. At the moment, Kadima serves as the parliamentary opposition to Netanyahu's government, but its political [positions] and goals are no different from the Likud's. The only difference [between them] is tactical, and concerns the means they employ to realize their goals.
"It should also be noted that it was Kadima – headed by former [Israeli] PM [Ehud] Olmert and [his foreign minister Tzipi] Livni – that launched the last war on Gaza on December 28, 2008, and was directly responsible for the decision to exterminate Palestinian civilians and for the war crimes mentioned in the Goldstone report...
"We can thus infer that J Street is just another version of AIPAC, the Jewish American umbrella lobby group in Washington. It is a version that can serve as a tactical opposition to AIPAC [by spouting] pro-peace slogans, but it employs the same means and addresses the same sector, [namely] U.S. congressmen and other administration officials, whom it aims to influence just like AIPAC.
"Consequently, the position of the two organizations on the Goldstone report is virtually identical, [except in details]. AIPAC thought that the way to keep the report from [reaching] the Hague International Criminal Court was for the Netanyahu government to form an investigative committee that would investigate the charges [against Israel] and then publish a decision that would enable to remove the [Goldstone] report from the world's media and political agenda. J Street [on the other hand], thinks that it would have been better for the Israeli government to cooperate with Goldstone from the beginning of his investigation, before [he] published its conclusions and submitted them to the U.N. [However, just like AIPAC], J Street has advised the Israeli government to consider forming an committee to investigate the charges and then submit proposals that would end the affair [and its negative impact] on Israel. In this, This position [again] corresponds to the position of Kadima's leaders on this affair...
"So whoever thinks that J Street is [a branch of the Israeli peace movement] Peace Now in America is deluding himself. In fact, some of the supporters of the Israeli peace movement have expressed positions opposed to those of J Street...
"At present, J Street's annual budget is no more than two million dollars, but the [rapid] growth of this organization, and of the interests of the Democrats within it, will ensure that its [annual] budget grows to tens of millions of dollars in the next few years. This, for the following reasons: its leaders are Democrats, it provides services to Democrat businessmen dealing in the Middle East, and it is financially supported by the Israeli government...
"If today's world can accurately be described as 'the world of the media and information revolution,' then the most valuable commodity that a Jewish-American organization can sell is information aimed at realizing America's and Israel's interests. The [commodity] in question is information about the region [i.e., the Middle East] and about America's and Israel's interests within it. [This is what] organizations like [J Street] gather and circulate, and this is what makes the establishment of a second American lobby, in addition to AIPAC, a highly profitable enterprise [for various elements] including for the organization itself. The money comes from donations and funds paid by the economic and political decision-makers in the U.S., especially the rich [magnates] of the Democratic Party, [who pay well] for the services of these organizations. This is also what led one American to describe J Street as a branch of the Democratic Party and AIPAC as a branch of the Republican Party, with Israel standing in the middle and gaining the most from [the activity of] both organizations."[1]
Syrian Academic: J Street Opposes AIPAC, Israeli Government
Dr. Faiz 'Izz Al-Din wrote in Al-Thawra: "...A group of Jews in the U.S. felt that the Zionist policy, which was and is led by AIPAC, is a sterile policy. AIPAC is the mother organization of [all the Jewish] lobbies in America, enjoying [exclusive] control and broad influence, but in spite of this, calls began to emerge about 18 months ago for the establishment of a new organization named 'J Street,' or The Jewish Street. This is meant to be an umbrella organization of several Jewish groups that supported the policy of Israel's previous [government] but do not support those of the current one.
"J Street is now preparing a conference in Washington, meant to formulate a strategy for Israel's future. The organization opposes the policy of [Israeli PM] Netanyahu and [his foreign minister] Lieberman, and demands that President Obama maintain pressure on Tel-Aviv in order to prevent it from expanding the settlements and deepening the rift among the Palestinians...
"Polls conducted by J Street found that 76% of American Jews support the two-state solution, which AIPAC still opposes. The organization also maintains that 69% of American Jews oppose Lieberman's [proposal] to require Israeli Arabs to pledge allegiance to the Hebrew state because they live within its borders.
"The establishment of J Street reveals the obvious concern of American Jews for Israel's future in light of the policies of [the current Israeli government] and of the umbrella Zionist lobby AIPAC..."[2]
