J Street Is Leading Pro-Israel PAC, Filings Show, Though Year-Old Group Has Attracted Criticism
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 17, 2009When a group of Jewish liberals formed a lobbying and fundraising group called J Street a year ago, they had modest hopes of raising $50,000 for a handful of congressional candidates.
Instead, the group’s political arm ended up funneling nearly $600,000 to several dozen Democrats and a handful of Republicans in 2008, making it Washington’s leading pro-Israel PAC, according to Federal Election Commission expenditure records. Organizers say 33 of the group’s 41 favored House and Senate candidates won their races.
“It certainly exceeded our expectations,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s executive director. “We didn’t know what level of success we would have. But we think this is a message whose moment has come.”
Riding alongside the ascent of President Obama and other liberal Democrats, J Street blends old-style politicking with a media-savvy approach aimed at altering the U.S. political debate over Israel and other Middle East issues.
The group bills itself as the “political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement” and argues that the debate over Israel in the United States has tilted to the right despite the liberal sympathies of most Jewish Americans. J Street supports a “two-state solution” for Israel and the Palestinians and generally favors diplomacy over military force, according to its Web site and statements.
Read More: WP - New Liberal Jewish Lobby Quickly Makes Its Mark
