Today at Haaretz.com, Bradley Burston decries Israeli ambassador Michael Oren’s refusal to address the first national J Street conference this weekend:
Months after inviting Ambassador Michael Oren to address the conference, J Street last week renewed its request. It noted research which has shown younger Jews increasingly alienated from the Jewish community and from Israel, and increasingly questioning many of Israel’s right-wing policies, public statements, and actions.
The erudite, often outspoken Oren had been uncharacteristically mum in response to the request, despite, or perhaps because of, the long list of some 150 U.S. senators and members of Congress which J Street has published as honorary hosts of a gala dinner during the conference. The list has apparently dismayed both AIPAC and conservative commentators.
When an answer finally came, it came in the form of a slap. “In response to the question about J Street’s invitation to participate in its conference, the Embassy of Israel has been privately communicating its concerns over certain policies of the organization that may impair the interests of Israel,” the embassy said in a statement, an apparent reference to such J Street positions as support for the Obama administration’s push for an absolute settlement freeze, and the group’s opposition to immediate sanctions against Iran.
Read the entire article here.