One of the most interesting and curious aspects of the J Street membership vote in the Conference of Presidents is the fact that it was conducted by secret ballot. Thus an institution that presumes to be one of the most broadly representative bodies in the American Jewish community takes one of its most fraught and…
Here are some corrections and updates to my earlier post on who voted how in the Conference of Presidents vote on J Street’s application for membership. 1.) I’ve learned from several sources that Mercaz USA, the Conservative movement’s Zionist arm, in fact voted “No,” breaking with the denomination’s other wings. 2.) On the other hand,…
The decision by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to reject JStreet’s application for membership was perverse. More than that, it was pathetic. There are some 5,000 students, on 60 campuses, who are involved with JStreet U, JStreet’s college organizing vehicle, this at a time when the Jewish community is appropriately agitated…
One day after American Jewry’s pro-Israel umbrella group rejected its bid for admission, J Street, the dovish lobby, posted a tongue-in-cheek thank you note on its website. “Thank you,” the letter said, “for finally making it clear that the Conference of Presidents is not representative of the voice of the Jewish community.” The letter, addressed…
The author, center, addresses the J Street conference in Washington in 2013 / Rachel Cohen I’ve watched as millions and millions of dollars have been poured into youth leadership programs, summer camps, Taglit-Birthright trips and other “big initiatives” to foster identity amongst young Jews. And I’ve grown up listening to my parents’ and grandparents’ generations…
The dovish group J Street has lost its bid to gain admission to the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations by an unexpectedly wide margin. In a secret ballot vote held Wednesday evening at the Conference offices in New York, J Street failed to come close to winning the two-thirds majority of participating members…
If you want to know why ordinary American Jews, especially younger ones, are turning away from the communal establishment — not out of anger but out of disinterest or, perhaps, disgust — then look no further than the convoluted argument over whether J Street should be a member of the Conference of Presidents. J Street:…
Several large, mainstream Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, have to decided to vote in favor of admitting the dovish Israel lobby J Street into organized Jewry’s primary umbrella group on Israel. Others, like the Jewish Federations of North America, are leaning towards voting that way, according to informed…
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