U.S. antisemitism envoy met Israeli minister who called J Street a ‘hostile organization’
The meeting between Deborah Lipstadt and Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli took place amid the latter’s remarks about the ‘Soros-funded’ organization
Israel’s Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, in May 2023. Photo by Ilan Assayag
This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz’s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, met this week with an Israeli minister who justified Elon Musk’s attacks against George Soros and called J Steet a “hostile organization.”
Her meeting with Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli took place during a three-day visit to Israel, which focused on the American Jewish Committee’s conference in Tel Aviv.
Chikli made headlines last month when he justified billionaire Elon Musk’s attacks on Soros. Musk wrote on Twitter that Soros “hates humanity.” After the Israeli Foreign Ministry accused Musk of failing to stop the spread of antisemitism on Twitter and warned that his own tweets on Soros had an “antisemitic scent,” Chikli came to Musk’s defense and said that attacks on Soros are the opposite of antisemitism.
Chikli’s recent remarks about J Street and Soros were received with widespread condemnations – including from Lipstadt herself.
“As Israel’s minister who’s entrusted on combating anti-Semitism, I would like to clarify that the Israeli government and the vast majority of Israeli citizens see Elon Musk as an amazing entrepreneur and a role model,” Chikli wrote at the time. He added that “Criticism of Soros – who finances the most hostile organizations to the Jewish people and the state of Israel is anything but anti-Semitism, quite the opposite!”
Lipstadt, for her part, said at the time that “Irrespective of how one feels about George Soros’ politics or policies, it is entirely disingenuous to deny that many ad hominem attacks on him rely on classic antisemitic tropes and rhetoric. In bygone eras, the antisemites invoked the Rothschild family to advance their conspiracies about Jews. Today they use Soros to do so.”
Irrespective of how one feels about George Soros’s politics or policies, it is entirely disingenuous to deny that many ad hominem attacks on him rely on classic antisemitic tropes and rhetoric. In bygone eras, the antisemites invoked the Rothschild family to advance their…
— Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt (@StateSEAS) May 19, 2023
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem did not share any information about her meeting with Chikli. During her visit to Israel, Lipstadt shared two updates on social media – one from a meeting with the director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, and one from the AJC event.
Lipstadt responded to her meeting with the minister and said that “In my position as special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, I meet with people of varying beliefs and opinions throughout the world. As I have always emphasized, it is imperative to meet with individuals across the political spectrum as we work toward the same goal—to combat the rising scourge of global antisemitism.”
On Sunday, shortly after his meeting with Lipstadt, Chikli called the left-wing Jewish group J Street a “hostile organization,” citing the funding it receives from Soros. Interviewed on the Kan TV channel, the minister accused the organization of “receiving funds from one of the greatest haters of Israel in our times, George Soros” and said J Street tried to sabotage his meetings with U.S. officials. Chikli is referring to a meeting he had with representatives of the Jewish Federation of Washington D.C.
That meeting was believed to be cancelled due to significant pressure from protests, leading the UnXeptable protest movement to claim victory in forcing three cancellations following Barkat’s Boston synagogue appearance and Science Minister Ofir Akunis cancelling an event is Los Angeles.
Chikli later published a tweet confirming the meeting took place.
מסכם את ביקורי בארה״ב ובקנדה בפגישה חשובה ביותר עם המנהיגות היהודית הבכירה בוושינגטון, בה נכחו ראש ועידת הנשיאים, ראש התנועה האורתודוקסית, ראש התנועה הקונסרביטית, ראש ארגון הרבנים הציוניים בארה״ב, ראש ארגון בני ברית ועוד כ-30 מנהיגים יהודים אמריקאים ומקומיים. אוהבי ישראל אמיתיים! pic.twitter.com/P4qZQXyc5B
— עמיחי שיקלי - Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) June 8, 2023
J Street responded that the minister was attacking a group “standing with Israelis to help defend the country’s democratic future – and standing up to the extreme, dangerous agenda of [Netanyahu’s] far-right government.”
Chikli took to Twitter on Tuesday to further air his grievances against J Street, claiming the group “supported indicting Israel with ‘war crimes’ by the Goldstone Report,” referring to the UN report on the 2008-2009 armed conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The minister also claimed J Street is “behind the harassment and violent attacks against MKs and ministers, something even the BDS movement hasn’t allowed itself to do.” He also claimed that J Street is “aggressively” working to thwart the IHRA’s definition of antisemitsm, which includes anti-Israel sentiments. Chikli took things further by saying that J Street had attempted, unsuccessfully, to thwart his meetings with U.S. officials.
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