J Street - To Be Continued... (originally published Oct. 13, 2010)

J Street is caught between two opposite but equally potent reactions to revelations that it hid the involvement of arch-liberal philanthropist — and Israel critic — George Soros until “outed” by the conservative media. On the right, those who questioned the legitimacy of the liberal lobby’s policies and denied the pro-Israel bona fides of its leadership are gleeful now that Soros’s role and the group’s subterfuge have been revealed. On the other side, many who accepted J Street’s right to diverge from the seemingly monolithic Jewish establishment are feeling betrayed.

Yet another group had seen J Street’s unapologetic, progressive, left-wing offensive as opening more space for their own pragmatic, more center-left approach to issues like Middle East peace and Jewish identity. You might call this third group the intellectual “free riders,” and it would include some “establishment” Jews like myself.

Read more: http://forward.com/articles/132115/#ixzz13y4AsBlr