 |
| Opening Night |
J Street’s third annual conference just concluded and it was a huge success by any measure. It was attended by 2,500 supporters, including nearly 700 college students. President Obama sent two representatives, with his closest confidant, Valerie Jarrett, bringing a packed room to its feet several times. The Israeli government dispatched its number two diplomat to address the conference, the first time one of its representatives appeared at the annual gathering. Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister, presented his remarks at the gala dinner, which was emceed by the legendary Theodore Bikel. And perhaps the most memorable moment was delivered by one of Israel’s pre-eminent authors, Amos Oz, telling a raucous opening night audience: “J Street, I’ve been waiting for you my entire adult life.”
The press coverage was equally
impressive. Articles appeared throughout the conference in Haaretz, Ynet, TheJerusalem Post, and the Forward. Notice of the conference was not limited to
the Israeli and Jewish press. The New York Times covered J Street’s Lobby Day efforts
on Capitol Hill, as 700 activists pressed the case for a two state solution and
diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
While the plenary sessions and the
panel discussions presented matters of great substance and varying
perspectives, the impromtu meetings with Americans, Israelis, and
Palestinians who are doing the hard work in the trenches provided the most
insight on what is actually happening on the ground.
With all that was packed into the
three day conference, reading some of the post conference wraps I can't help but notice some of the attention given to the tangential issue of where J Street and its
supporters are found on the left-right political spectrum. First, let me say
that I get it.Writers gotta write and bloggers gotta
blog. And true, some of the analysis can be interesting to read. But this sort of discussion,
like its sister debate in political campaigns, focuses too much on the horse
race, obscuring the point that brought 2,500 people together – the urgent push
for a two state solution in order to secure Israel’s future as a Jewish and
democratic homeland. Viewed against the existential threat that the lack of a
viable peace process presents, trying to place J Street and its supporters
along a left-right political spectrum or gauging who earned the loudest, most
polite or tepid applause serves only to diminish the dire moment in which we
find ourselves.
Israeli Prime Minister and Likud
Chair Benjamin Netanyahu has, himself, acknowledged the need for an independent
Palestinian state living along side a safe and secure Israel. The former heads
of Israel’s
security branches overwhelmingly support a two state solution along the 1967
borders with land swaps. A two state solution is both the official policy of
the United States
government and the PLO. So what’s with the obsession with trying to place J Street, which was
founded for the express purpose of advocating for a two state solution, on a
left-right continuum? In 2012, a two state solution is simply no longer a
left-right issue. It’s a matter that is necessary for Israel’s
survival.
Supporters of a two state solution
arrive from a variety of perspectives. Many, like former Brigadier General Amram Mitzna, view the matter as necessary from a military-security vantage.
Some, like Rabbi Donniel Hartman, come to the conclusion from their understanding
of what Judaism requires of us. Others advocate for this solution to
vindicate the human rights of the Palestinians. Certainly some see a peace
agreement between Israelis and Palestinians as serving American security
interests. And I welcome anyone who is willing to work for a two state
solution regardless from which camp he or she comes; although befitting the
complexity of human thought many of us find ourselves as belonging to more
than one of these camps, or perhaps all of them.
So as we push forward toward the
same goal – a safe and secure Jewish and democratic Israel, it is time to move past the
false left-right dichotomy. Instead of trying to pigeon hole each other, we
should be talking about how to make a two state solution a reality, or at the
very least, preserve its possibility. Because we may well discover that while
we are taking the temperature of the room, the house has collapsed around us.
Make no mistake. This is what we face if we do not change the current dynamic. Every day that goes by
without progress on a two state solution is one day closer to the end of the
Zionist enterprise. It is therefore incumbent upon all who care about Israel to ask
ourselves every morning what we will do
that day to make it happen. The
choice now before us is not which path to pursue, but whether we will actually
pursue it.
Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a member of the J Street Board of Directors and was privileged to open this year's conference alongside Hannah Fishman of the J Street U chapter at Reed College.
Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a member of the J Street Board of Directors and was privileged to open this year's conference alongside Hannah Fishman of the J Street U chapter at Reed College.
