In Tammy Baldwin, J Street Again Endorses Candidate Who Accuses Israel Of War Crimes

J Street is nothing if not consistent.

As I wrote this morning, J Street defines "pro-Israel" very loosely.

As far as this left-wing Democratic group is concerned, as long as you give lip service to the idea of a two-state solution, you're in.

The fact that the Arabs that Israel are supposed to be negotiating this two-state solution with refuse to sit down and talk is irrelevant.

That's why J Street gushes over the pro-Israel creds of Tammy Baldwin:

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (WI-2) is running to replace retiring U.S. Senator Herb Kohl in what figures to be one of the most expensive and competitive races this cycle. Baldwin is the first openly gay woman elected to Congress and has represented this Madison based district since 1998. She is a strong supporter of Israel and two-state peace and proudly took JStreetPAC’s endorsement in 2010. Prior to serving in Congress, Baldwin served in the Wisconsin State Assembly, Madison City Council, Dane County Board of Supervisors, and practiced law for several years.

Sounds impressive.

But if you want to know the truth about Tammy Baldwin, you will have to go elsewhere.

If J Street Is Really Pro-Israel, Why Does It Support Lois Capps?

J Street, which bills itself as "J Street The political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans" has a list of 66 congressional candidates that it is endorsing.

And they all have one thing in common.

They happen to all be Democrats.

Of course, J Street would have you believe that all of the candidates they back are pro-Israel.

For instance:

Rep. Lois Capps is running for her sixth term representing this Coastal California district in Congress. Trained as a nurse, Rep. Capps serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, sits on the Subcommittee on Health and is expected to face a competitive re-election contest in this newly re-drawn district that includes much of Santa Barbara. One of JStreetPAC’s earliest endorsees, Rep. Capps has been a public champion of pro-Israel/pro-peace issues since being elected to Congress in 1998. As she has stated: “The vision the President has set forth for two states for two peoples reflects longstanding efforts by the U.S. over several Administrations and is the only viable way to move forward and achieve these critically important goals.”

But is Lois Capps really pro-Israel?

Is J Street Admitting That Obama Is Bad For Israel?

According to the New York Times, it appears that no less than the president of J Street admits that Obama is not a friend of Israel

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, a Jewish lobbying group in Washington that favors Democratic candidates, said the effort by Mr. Adelson and the Republican Jewish Coalition would fall short.

“Every single number indicates there is simply no such thing as a Jewish problem for the president,” Mr. Ben-Ami said. “The people who vote only on Israel didn’t vote for Obama last time and know who they are voting for already.” [emphasis added]

It's Official: J Street Starts Its Election Smear Campaign

Remember Obama's infamous Truth Teams?
Well, don't look now but J Street has officially initiated its rapid response hit squad!

After lying about J Street taking money from multi-billionaire George Soros and taking over $800,000 from a Consolacion Esdicul in Hong Kong into J Street coffers, J Street decries in an email that we are in:

an election year, when tens of millions of dollars are poured into creating a false pro-Israel narrative based on misinformation, lies, and smears in the hopes of scaring and swaying voters.

New Video Of J Street Leader Carinne Luck On J Street Strategy

Yesterday, I blogged about a short video from a J Street training session where J Street leader Carinne Luck discussed dealing with the issue of  J Street's large non-Jewish membership.

J Street had YouTube take down the video, claiming copyright infringement.

Here now is a video of the original segment, posted by Elder of Ziyon:

Video: J Street Leader Carinne Luck Says Goal Is To Convince Jews To Support Washington Policies (Updated With Transcript and New Video)

Update:

J Street had YouTube take down the video, claiming copyright infringement.
Keep in mind that J Street has said their goal is Opening Up The Community:

J Street believes that open, vibrant debate about Israel within the American Jewish community is vital to the health of the Jewish community and to the long-term bond between Jewish Americans and Israel. We oppose the adoption of all but the most limited restrictions on speakers, programs and events related to Israel in Jewish communal organizations.

Of course, J Street first got national attention in 2008 when it worked to have Sarah Palin disinvited from speaking at an anti-Ahmandinejad rally.

While the video raises questions about the true goals of J Street, one thing is for sure: J Street is not about open discourse.

Update II:

I did a transcript of the original video, and I think there is at minimum an admission that:

• There is an uneasiness how J Street represents themselves without lying outright
• A sizable percentage of J Street is not Jewish
• The goal of J Street is advocacy to the Jewish community--not representation of it.

Here is the transcript:

Man: We have some support and interest in the Jewish community. We get much more support outside the traditional Jewish community [his emphasis]. We know that for political reasons we have to be sensitive to the composition of the leadership. Can you address this very uncomfortable question?

Carinne Luck: Is this Jewish/non-Jewish? Is that the question you were going to ask?

Man: Yes.

Luck: We've been told as what people in the administration, what they are looking to from us. It is very specific. They want us to see us primarily moving Jews. American Jews. And so that is where the bulk of our resources go...

I think for us building power is "how do we build power in our own community?"

But that is why for our leadership, you know we want our leadership to be comfortable going in and meeting with someone saying "as an American Jew I do this" and if that's inauthentic, you know, I mean look I would never tell someone to lie. If they choose to that's their business.

And I do know there is this feeling like "but there's all these people that are supportive". Certainly there is nothing wrong with telling them they are part of our numbers. Like we do not say we are an excclusivley Jewish organization and if they want to sign up to our list, that's great.

Now you know why J Street wanted this video removed from YouTube.

And here is a video of the original segment, posted by Elder of Ziyon:



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J Street claims to represent the views of American Jews in Washington. J Street Field Director Carinne Luck suggests the opposite--that J Street's real job is to "move American Jews" to the left on Israel to support J Streets Washington allies.

The whole video is online, but it's password protected.
Watch this video excerpt and see why: