Pro-Israel, pro-peace group J Street launches in Utah


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SALT LAKE CITY — The founder of a pro-Israel, pro-peace movement that is gaining a toehold in American politics was in Salt Lake City on Sunday, arguing for a two-state solution to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jeremy Ben-Ami is president of J Street, which he described as a basement startup that began in 2008 on a shoestring budget but with a wealth of commitment to a safe and secure Israel.

Ben-Ami was hosted at the Jewish Community Center on Sunday for an event described as the launch of J Street's presence in Utah.

The organization, according to its literature, has 180,000 supporters, more than 50 college chapters and 10 offices in the United States and in Israel.

It is also the largest pro-Israel political action committee since 2008, distributing nearly $2 million to candidates.

Ben-Ami, who has a law degree from New York University, was a political appointee in the Clinton administration and has been involved in more than a half-dozen U.S. presidential campaigns, said to be pro-peace is not to be anti-Israel, even it means endorsement of a Palestinian state.

"Without a two-state solution, we have a one-state nightmare," he said, pointing out that it is politically unrealistic to think that Israel can somehow manage 6 million Palestinians and ever hope for peace.

J Street, he added, was organized represent the mainstream views of American Jews who felt cut out of a system that insisted to be pro-Israel you have to agree with the politics of the country.


Without a two-state solution, we have a one-state nightmare.

–Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street


Just as all Americans don't agree with their political leaders, it is possible be pro-Israel but disagree with the stance of its president.

In particular, he pointed to the tempest surrounding the Iranian nuclear agreement reached with the members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union — a framework to stop Iran's march to nuclear militarization.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has soundly denounced the agreement, which Ben-Ami said needs to survive because it blocks all of Iran's paths to acquiring nuclear weapons. Without such an agreement in place, the country pursue its nuclear program absent a rigorous inspection program.

The fervor over the pending deal is likely to be stoked to even higher dimensions in early September, when Congress is scheduled to return to session and possibly act on components dealing with sanctions.

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