Jeremy Ben-Ami, founder and president of J Street—the self-proclaimed “Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace” lobby—has faced a lot of flak since his organization arrived on the scene three years ago. Facing controversies from the left and right, on and off of Capitol Hill, J Street–and Ben-Ami–have at times struggled to get their message across.
“A New Voice for Israel,” Ben-Ami’s first book hits the shelves next month. The book describes Ben-Ami’s personal and professional journey to the helm of J Street, the issues Israel faces and why he thinks the American Jewish conversation on Israel needs to change. Ben Sales spoke with Ben-Ami about the book. Here are some of the lobbyist’s thoughts on students’ place in J Street, Jewish organizational dynamics and that other Israel lobby–AIPAC.
Ben Sales: J Street has a robust campus network, J Street U, but you hardly talk about college students in the book. Why is that?
Jeremy Ben-Ami: I don’t feel like I wrote that much about J Street. I tried to write about the issue, the underlying dynamics and the solution. I wasn’t trying to write an institutional manifesto. I feel like I addressed how there’s an evolution of the relationship [between American Jews and Israel] that’s different in the 21st century for young people than when I was in college.
Part of the prescriptions [in “A New Voice for Israel”] about opening up more space in the community, that’s what J Street U’s all about: a much wider space where you can have these conversations.
BS: What role do you want college students to play in supporting J Street’s cause?
JBA: College students have an incredibly important role to play in helping their parents and grandparents to open up their own minds. You’ve got a special key to the heart of these folks who want to see the connection [between American Jews and Israel] carried forward and see the next generation keep alive a legacy and heritage.
BS: What effect do you think students can have in terms of influencing American policy and politics on Israel?
JBA: The problem is that the politicians and elected officials and even non-elected officials are far too concerned with the political impact of what they say and do. That skews their policy. What we in the movement need to do is open up the political space. A lot of that tends to revolve around money.
When politicians worry about the impact on their political fortunes of what they’re about to do, they’re usually talking about fundraising. The grassroots work that needs to be done is a piece of the pie, but the overwhelming problem is money. It is less likely that college students can be a key to fixing the political dynamics the way they can be a key to fixing the communal dynamics.
BS: Given the tension between J Street U and Birthright a few months ago, and in light of J Street U’s recent trip to Israel, how would you want young people to experience Israel?
JBA: What is so engaging is that the whole situation is so complex and there are no easy answers. I think the greatest connections can be made by giving people a very wide ranging set of experiences. That is where Birthright should be aiming. Anyone organizing trips should be showing the perspective from the Palestinian side and from the Jewish side.
BS: How should pro-Israel students approach Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that supports BDS?
JBA: I don’t think that the global BDS movement has the best interests of the state of Israel at heart. Are they part of the pro-Israel community? Probably not. That’s not their perspective. Are they part of the Jewish conversation? Absolutely. I think its a mistake to deal with those with whom you disagree by shutting the door on them. The whole community will be stronger as a result of the disagreement.
BS: Would you be sympathetic toward a right-wing anti-Establishment group?
JBA: No matter who holds the views and where they are on the spectrum, the community will be stronger if it engages dialogue. That applies to people who hold right-of-center, left-of-center views. We are a community and a people that have always engaged in vibrant debate. We have benefited from that. We oppose when people try to interrupt [Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi Netanyahu. There’s probably some limit, if someone is inciting hatred.
BS: Would you like to see J Street someday become part of the Establishment?
JBA: I think the types of positions that J Street is articulating are squarely in the center of the community. The majority of American Jews support a two-state solution. The majority of American Jews are in favor of some sort of limit on the settlements. The majority of the Jewish community favors a strong US role in trying to bring about peace. That’s where the mainstream and the Establishment should be. If it can be brought back in alignment with the views of the majority, that would be the best outcome of all.
BS: Polls have consistently shown that support for Israel in America extends far beyond the Jewish community. Why doesn’t J Street do more to recruit non-Jewish supporters, like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee does?
JBA: The relationship of our people toward the national homeland of our people, that’s what I’m most concerned about and what J Street’s more concerned about. The single greatest factor that influences the political policy toward the Middle East tends to be Jewish communal votes and political contributions.
I appreciate what AIPAC is trying to do in broadening the base for support for Israel in the American public. They’re right to do that. What J Street’s doing is something different: to prove to the political world that a substantial portion of Jewish Americans would support strong American leadership to end the conflict. Politicians believe they’re going to get killed if they talk about a two-state solution and peace. They have a narrow definition of what it means to be pro-Israel, defined by the political voices from the Jewish community. We need to create a different communal voice from the Jewish community.
BS: Could J Street exist without AIPAC having already existed?
JBA: J Street is not a reaction to a particular political organization. It’s a reaction to a vacuum. Existing organizations no longer actually represent a large swath of us. AIPAC is one of those organizations.
Ben Sales is an incoming masters’ student at the Columbia University School of Journalism. He was the editor of New Voices from June 2009 to June 2011, and gets more sleep now.
