Ben-Ami Takes to the Airwaves
By Nathan Guttman November 23, 2009
J-Street, the Jewish communities’ lightening rod, is now taking its debate with other Jewish organizations to the airwaves. It is not every day that Jewish leaders air their communal dirty laundry out in the open, but that is exactly what happened over the weekend when Jeremy Ben-Ami, leader of the dovish lobby, met with David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, at Christian Amanpour’s CNN studio.
Here is the debate in full. It starts off rather mellow but heats up toward the end.
According to Amanpour, AIPAC representatives turned down an invitation to debate Ben-Ami.
Hours after the show aired on CNN, Ben-Ami held a live discussion at the New York 92nd street Y with Alan Dershowitz. There too it was hard to find many points of agreement.
And in between Ben-Ami took some time to exchange punches with the ADL’s Abe Foxman over the timeless Jewish question: Can one attack Sarah Palin’s views on settlements and still call himself pro-Israel?
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
