J Street had YouTube take down the video, claiming copyright infringement.Update II:
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.
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.
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?Now you know why J Street wanted this video removed from YouTube.
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 tothat'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.
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:
Pro-Israel Media does not own the rights to this footage. It was posted online, and is being reproduced according to Fair Use guidelines.
Technorati Tag: Israel and J Street.
Which is completely silly. All the idiots and lunatics have ALREADY joined J-Street. There's no one else for them to preach to except themselves. I mean, seriously, are they going to make Huffington Post and The Foward MORE antisemitic?
ReplyDeleteIn this case, the issue of the video is that it appears that J Street is not advocating for Israel--instead they are advocating for the Obama administration.
ReplyDeleteWhile that may be something many have accused J Street of, having them come right out and say it might be a tad embarrassing for them.