Friday, March 29, 2024 -
Print Edition

JCRC rejects J Street; two-thirds bar not reached

The decision last week of the Jewish Community Relations Council not to admit the Colorado chapter of J Street as a member organization has raised questions about tolerance and illustrated a deep divide over how to support Israel.

At a May 23 meeting, the membership of the JCRC — the multi-body, federation-run collective that calls itself “the representative voice of the organized Colorado Jewish community” — voted 16 in favor of J Street membership, with seven opposed and seven abstentions.

Under the JCRC bylaws, last week’’s vote —— which was in response to a J Street appeal after the JCRC membership committee rejected its application several weeks ago —— needed a two-thirds majority for J Street to gain membership.

It fell four votes short of that mark.

However, after a 48-hour period in which JCRC members unable to attend the first meeting were allowed the vote, the final tally came in at 18 in favor, 12 opposed and eight abstentions. Since the total JCRC membership is 38, J Street was eight votes short of gaining the needed two-thirds majority.

J Street, whose Colorado chapter was organized three years ago, “promotes “peace, security and democracy in Israel,”” in its own words, but has generated strong opposition nationally from Jewish supporters of Israel for positions that many see as excessively liberal, particularly with regard to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Its Colorado chapter, led by steering committee chair Saul Rosenthal, originally applied for JCRC membership in February.

Rosenthal told the IJN this week that J Street Colorado wanted JCRC membership for reasons of fairness and balance.

“”The JCRC in this community is supposed to be the place where important issues facing our Jewish community are discussed, including positions on Israel,”” he said.

“Given J Street’’s status as an important voice on Israel and Middle East peace, it seemed appropriate to us that we should have a seat at that table.”

Read earlier IJN coverage of J Street, “Does J Street harm Israel? Sparks fly during IJN facilitated discussion

After a weeks’-long application process that consisted mostly of “straightforward” factual questions, Rosenthal spoke and answered questions at last week’’s JCRC meeting.

Also speaking in favor of J Street membership were community activist Herzl Melmed and Rabbis Ben Greenberg of BMH-BJ and Joe Black of Temple Emanuel. Rabbi Bruce Dollin of HEA sent an email in support of that position.

The vote itself was conducted with only the representatives of the JCRC’’s member organizations present.

JCRC chairperson Jacki Cooper Melmed told the IJN this week that she doesn’’t think that the negative vote necessarily indicates any sense of communal intolerance —— or  misunderstanding —— of J Street’s points of view.

““I suspect that J Street understands that when you are new or when your focus is Israel that ignites a lot of passion,”” Cooper Melmed said.

““The membership of the JCRC reflects in that sense what’s going on in the community. This is a time of pretty intense and sometimes opposing views about Israel. That’’s no secret to anyone. J Street just touches that nerve.”

“If there is any misunderstanding about J Street’’s stances at the JCRC, or within the community as a whole,” Cooper Melmed said that J Street should make an effort to clear them up.

“”One of the things I know Saul is interested in is educating people about what J Street does. I think that’’s a good idea. They’’ve been involved in that for the last three or four  years. I personally think they play an important role in this community.

““To the extent that some individuals might have misconceptions about that, sure. Do we, as an institution, have any misconceptions about that? No.””

In fact, Cooper Melmed said, J Street’’s engagement with pro-BDS activists could be “very helpful” in Jewish community efforts to persuade such activists to change their positions.

“”We were surprised,”” Rosenthal said of the ultimate decision, ““and we were also very disappointed, not just for ourselves. I will tell you it was a very sad day for this Jewish community.

““The vote wasn’’t really about J Street. It was about what kind of community we want to be. Do we want to be, like Abraham and Sarah, our ancestors, a community with an open tent, open from all sides?

“”Or do we want to be a Jewish community where certain points of view are considered inferior or unacceptable and are not therefore even inside the tent when important discussions are taking place?

“”From what we saw last week, 16 believe in the open tent, seven clearly do not and seven lack the fortitude to even take a position. What it says is that there are people on the JCRC who don’’t like the mission or the tactics or the language of J Street. That’’s the reality.””

Rosenthal believes that at least some of the JCRC’s opposition to J Street membership was based on “misinformation” about J Street’’s positions.

Some Jews, he said, believe that J Street supports a nuclear Iran, the BDS (boycott-divest-sanction) movement, and a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“All are “falsities,”” Rosenthal stated. “J Street has publicly opposed a nuclear Iran, the BDS movement (although it has sometimes allowed pro-BDS speakers at its gatherings) and the idea of a one-state solution, calling it “a one-state nightmare, not a solution.”

“J Street is “pro-Israel and pro-peace,”” Rosenthal said, acknowledging that some of its positions and statements indicate that “we’ve broken ranks in a sense from what has been a paradigm for how one supports Israel for many decades here.”

“In essence,” he said, “J Street’’s positions conflict with those Jews who believe that Israel should be able to negotiate peace terms with Palestinians in a unilateral manner, while “J Street believes that Israelis and Palestinians need help, which aligns us with the position of the US government. We need to be active in the process of encouraging the parties to come to the table.””

While acknowledging that it can be an “uphill battle to educate people about what the organization is all about,” Rosenthal doesn’’t feel that J Street suffers from a serious image or public relations problem.

He noted that some 4,000 people locally and regionally have expressed support for J Street online, and some 200,000 nationally. Such support reflects his belief that J Street is not an outsider group, but actually a accurate barometer of a majority of American Jewish opinion.

He calls J Street “the voice of the future of the pro-Israel community.”

While Rosenthal expects that J Street will continue attracting support, he acknowledged that some opponents will remain opponents, even when presented with hard facts.

“”The world can be divided between those who can be educated and those who can’’t be,”” Rosenthal said. “”We won’’t waste time trying to convince those people who, in their guts, are opposed to us. It didn’’t work the other morning.””

In spite of disappointment over last week’’s vote, however, J Street Colorado is considering reapplying for JCRC membership.

“”It’’s only been a few days and it’s premature in my opinion to make a decision one way or another,”” Rosenthal said, adding that the chapter will closely observe how the community reacts to the JCRC rejection.

For her part, Cooper Melmed said that J Street should reapply for membership and that she has already encouraged Rosenthal to do so.

“”I think they should reapply,”” she said this week. “”They should continue their outreach efforts they’’ve done so far.

““Somebody once said that the future doesn’’t come fast enough for some of us. I think that’’s an apt comment. We’re talking about very deep-seated and in some cases emotionally based beliefs here when we talk about Jews and Israel.

““In a larger community sense, we have maybe a generational issue. The differences and attitudes between the younger and older generations shows up in all kinds of ways in our community.

“”With more outreach and education, I think that sometime in the future J Street could be a member of the JCRC. I think it would be a good idea.””

Copyright © 2013 by the Intermountain Jewish News


TAG

Avatar photo

IJN Assistant Editor | [email protected]


Leave a Reply