Abraham Foxman, the longtime national director of the Anti-Defamation League, is retiring. Photo by David Karp
There is more tolerance for dissent in Israel than in the Jewish community, Abraham Foxman told me yesterday at the Anti-Defamation Leagues annual Washington conference.
Thats one reason the ADLs national director gave for why it makes sense for J Street to be admitted to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
We will support the admission of J Street not because we agree with them, not because we support their views, but in order to ensure the integrity and credibility of American Jewish advocacy and of the Conference of Presidents, he said.
The ADL nod swells mainstream, centrist support for the admission into the communitys foreign policy umbrella of J Street, a group that calls itself pro-Israel, pro-peace and is often critical of Israeli government policy.
Backers of J Streets admission say they have reached critical mass for J Streets entry 34 of the conferences 51 members.
Also favoring entry in the secret ballot that may take place Wednesday afternoon are the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the communitys domestic policy umbrella; the Union for Reform Judaism, and the Conservative movements Rabbinical Assembly. The RA will be voting affirmatively for J Street to become a member of the COP, its executive vice president, Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, told me in an email.
I understand that the Jewish Federations of North America also likely will vote in favor.
Declarations of support and opposition are unusual ahead of admission to the Presidents Conference the ballots are secret. But J Street is eliciting public comment in part because groups hope to influence the vote.
Among the most outspoken of those opposing is the Zionist Organization of America. Last week, it took J Street to task for its statement suggesting there may be value in the interim governance agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. J Street reasoned that a Palestinian Authority with broad backing was perhaps better capable of making hard choices for peace.
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