(NEW YORK) A leading American Zionist organization has condemned J Street’s decision to partner with CODEPINK and other anti-Israel extremist organizations in a call for the immediate end to U.S. sanctions against Iran.
“We condemn this flagrant display of moral-blindness by J Street. This is a time of increased anti-Semitism throughout the Islamic world and especially in Iran. Israel’s enemies are working to spread dark conspiracy theories blaming Israel for the spread of Coronavirus and this incitement is on daily display in the Middle East. For that reason alone it is shameful that J Street would elect to partner with CODEPINK,” said Karma Feinstein Cohen, the Executive Director of Herut North America.
On March 20, J Street was the only Jewish organization to sign a letter using the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to pressure President Trump and members of his Cabinet to forget about the existential threat Iran poses to Israel and the region on its own and through its proxy terrorist armies. J Street’s letter said in part that it calls for “suspending many of the sanctions imposed by your administration since May 2018 for a period of at least 120 days, including those sanctions affecting Iran’s financial and oil sectors and its civilian industries.” [The letter can be found here: https://www.niacouncil.
“J Street, the controversial Washington, D.C. based Jewish pressure group, was created specifically, and almost exclusively, to lobby for an independent Palestinian state, and has since morphed into being the “go-to” organization when Israel’s harshest critics need a Jewish organization to partner with and make their radical projects and statements appear kosher,” said Herut North America’s National Director Moshe Phillips.
Before the J Street / CODEPINK letter was distributed Foreign Policy reported that members of the Iranian regime were blaming Israel for Coronavirus calling it a “Zionist biological terrorist attack.” [Source: https://
The next day, after J Street’s letter with CODEPINK was issued CODEPINK’s National Co-Director, Ariel Gold, tweeted “Israel is culpable for every coronavirus death in Gaza.”
“If J Street continues on this trajectory of forging alliances with Israel-bashers, American Jewish leaders will be forced to evaluate what place J Street is entitled to in the organized Jewish community, if any at all,” said Herut’s Moshe Phillips. “As far back as 2013 the ADL listed CODEPINK in its report on the “top ten anti-Israel groups in the U.S.” and Street should have known better than to cosign any letter with CODEPINK and its allies–many of whom are just as infamous for their Israel hate. Perhaps some at J Street may have realized that they crossed a line here; as of now J Street makes no reference to the letter on the consistently updated press release page on their website.”
Herut is an international movement for Zionist pride and education and is dedicated to the ideals of pre-World War Two Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky and more about Herut can be found at www.HerutNA.org
