J Street: From Blocking Back to Quarterback?

"Our No. 1 agenda item is to do whatever we can in Congress to act as the president’s blocking back."
J Street co-founder Jeremy Ben-Ami, "The New Israel Lobby," September 9, 2009

And in order to do whatever they could in Congress to support Obama, J Street took -- and continues to take -- a different approach than AIPAC.

AIPAC supports the policy of whoever is elected to lead Israel. In order to do that, AIPAC backs the idea of bipartisan support:

AIPAC is not a political action committee (PAC) and we do not rate or endorse candidates for elected or appointed office. AIPAC members in all 50 states are encouraged to be politically active and develop relationships with their members of Congress to help educate them about the importance of U.S.-Israel ties.

J Street is different on both counts:

The Middle East Media Sampler 3/7/2012: J-Street vs AIPAC

From DG:

1) AIPAC vs. J-Street

J-Street, the "pro-Israel, pro-peace" organization praised President Obama's speech at AIPAC:

We commend President Obama’s sensible approach to this urgent problem outlined in his speech to AIPAC (March 4) and in his interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic (March 2) – a commitment to continued international economic pressure and an open offer to return to the diplomatic table if Iran is willing to negotiate verifiable assurances that it is not seeking nuclear weapons.