Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter last night (Tuesday) sharply attacked the Jewish-American left-wing organization J Street - a Jewish-liberal body that defines itself as 'pro-Israel, pro-peace and pro-democracy' - and defined it as: "a cancer within the Jewish community.".
According to a JNS report, in remarks he delivered at a gathering of the National Task Force on Combating Anti-Semitism at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, the ambassador attacked the organization's calls to limit American aid to Israel due to its "treatment of the Palestinians.".
""The worst thing about J Street is its duplicity. How can you be pro-Israel and support an arms embargo on a country that is fighting on seven fronts against Iran's proxies?" Leiter wondered.
He added that he has no problem meeting with groups that define themselves as pro-Palestinian, but accused the lobby of presenting itself as supporting Israel - but actually working against it.
""When you come and say in such a two-faced way, 'We are pro-Israel, we are pro-democracy' - there is a democratically elected government in Israel. You don't like Netanyahu? Immigrate to Israel, vote in the next elections and express yourself. Don't say you are 'pro-democracy' and condemn the position of Israel's democratic government.".
The ambassador also harshly criticized Senator Bernie Sanders, who is leading bills to stop arms sales to Israel. "Don't be fooled by the fact that they look Jewish," the ambassador said. "One senator told me that the sponsor of the legislation is Jewish, but he's not. He's a communist who may have Jewish ancestry, but that doesn't make him Jewish.".
He added, sarcastically: "I play tennis sometimes - that doesn't make me a tennis player.".
Leiter also addressed the trend among some lawmakers to distance themselves from AIPAC donations, and called on Israel supporters to create a reverse reality with respect to J Street. "We need to create an atmosphere in which there will be competition between candidates who say, 'I have no connection to J Street,' and competition between candidates who say, 'I am proudly identified with AIPAC.'".
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami responded: "The organization defines itself as pro-democratic to emphasize its commitment to defending liberal values and democratic institutions in the US and Israel. Instead of belittling friends of Israel who disagree with the government and calling us names, the Israeli ambassador to the US should have a serious dialogue with us.".
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