New lobby group on Israel offers an alternative to hawks

Steven Stanek, Foreign Correspondent

• Last Updated: October 24. 2009 7:23PM UAE / October 24. 2009 3:23PM GMT

WASHINGTON // A left-leaning lobbying group that seeks to overhaul US policy towards Israel kicks off its inaugural conference today, raising new questions about whether the influence of hawkish pro-Israel groups, long dominant in the US capital, is waning.

J Street – founded last year and named as a nod to Washington’s K Street, a hub for lobbying firms – will host a four-day gathering attended by top political figures including James Jones, the US national security adviser, whose presence some see as tacit approval from the Obama administration.

At least six members of Congress will also attend, as will members of Israel’s parliament and several former US diplomats, such as Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel.

The conference, and its guest list, has been the subject of much debate as a battle for influence over US policy towards Israel is being waged here. On one side is the emerging progressive lobby, led by J Street, which urges US leaders to lean harder on Israel, and publicly criticise its government when necessary. On the other side is the more established conservative Israel lobby, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), a powerful group known for its unwavering support of Israel and its wide reach in Congress.

A sign of the fallout came last week when the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, announced he would not attend the conference because of “concerns over certain policies of the organisation that may impair the interests of Israel”. Several US legislators followed suit; some cited concerns over the group’s left-leaning positions, which also include support for negotiations with Iran and criticism of Israel’s recent incursion into the Gaza Strip.

Until now, such views have been limited to advocacy groups operating on the sidelines while Aipac and other established lobbyists have monopolised the influence-peddling market. But with the election of Barack Obama, who has shown a willingness to apply greater pressure on Israel than previous US presidents, some see an opening for groups such as J Street to play a greater role.

“There really is a sense of momentum behind what we’re doing,” said Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for J Street, who said the group was founded to provide US leaders the “political space” to challenge the status quo on the country’s policy towards Israel.

Competition between J Street and the well-entrenched Israel lobby is something of a David and Goliath scenario, at least on paper. Aipac alone has a budget close to US$60 million (Dh220m) and its conference in May was attended by three-quarters of Congress. The broader Israel lobby is estimated to have spent close to $14m in the last election cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website affiliated with the Center for Responsive Politics that tracks the influence of money on US politics and public policy.

J Street, by contrast, has an annual budget of about $3m and just four lobbyists on staff.

But the organisation has scored some recent victories. It brought in a surprising $600,000 in individual donations during the 2008 elections, which it directed to 41 candidates. Thirty-three of them won.

No one at J Street openly talks about a confrontation with their more hawkish colleagues. Though views vary widely between J Street and groups such as Aipac, both consider themselves “pro-Israel”. Aipac, for its part, has not publicly stated any opposition to J Street and a spokesman declined to comment for this story.

Yet in recent weeks, J Street has faced a barrage of attacks from conservative groups and bloggers, and some have claimed that prominent lobbying groups, while not admitting it publicly, are working behind the scenes to discredit J Street.

“The established organisations in the Israel lobby hate dissent. They want everyone who thinks about Middle East policy to support Israel down the line,” said John Mearsheimer, a political scientist at the University of Chicago. “If you don’t … you are almost certain to be smeared by them, and this is what’s happening to J Street.”

Prof Mearsheimer is the coauthor of The Israel Lobby, a book that critics, including many lobbying groups, have dismissed as anti-Semitic.

One of the most vocal critics, Lenny Ben David, a one-time Israeli diplomat and former Aipac staffer, has accused one of J Street’s founding members of ties to anti-Israel groups. Other detractors have focused on J Street’s decision to invite Salam al Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, who, in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, suggested Israel should be considered a suspect. Mr al Marayati later apologised for the comment.

StandWithUS, a pro-Israel group that operates on many college campuses, faxed letters to 160 members of Congress saying, “J Street frequently endorses anti-Israel, anti-Jewish narratives”.

Amid such criticism, about a dozen Republican and Democratic members of Congress, including both senators from New York, which is home to the largest Jewish population in the world outside Israel, have asked that their names be removed from the list of “honorary hosts” for a gala dinner on Tuesday that will cap off the J Street conference.

Ms Spitalnick said 1,200 people are expected to attend the conference and that the movement has a bright future in the US, where many are looking for change in the stance on Israel.

sstanek@thenational.ae