Well, maybe not quite a U-Turn, but let’s just say that the fledgling lobby has walked back its pick-no-side position on Gaza . This it did in an unsigned response to Eric Yoffie and a message from executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami. In the former, it portrays itself as part of a large company of worried Israel supporters; the latter includes these lines:
J Street unequivocally condemns Hamas’ indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel and its use of terror against civilians over the years.
We reiterate that J Street is deeply committed to Israel, its security and the safety of its citizens.
J Street’s skepticism about the Israeli assault and its earnest desire for a ceasefire remain intact, but it has rhetorically made clear that it is a pro-Israel more than a pro-two-state-solution enterprise. That puts it (back) in the mainstream of Jewish peace organizations, in Israel and abroad.
