ADAM KREDO: J STREET ENDORSES LEGISLATORS WHO OPPOSED FUNDING FOR IRON DOME FOR ISRAEL
J Street Endorsees in Congress Refuse to Support Iron Dome Funding for Israel
“Three of the House lawmakers who voted against funding for Iron
Dome—Reps. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.), Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.), and
Walter Jones (R., N.C.)—have received a combined $21,145 in this
election cycle from J Street, according to publicly available Federal
Election Committee (FEC) documents.”The eight other J Street-funded lawmakers who abstained from the vote
are Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D., Ore.), Susan Davis (D., Calif.), Lloyd
Doggett (D., Texas), John Garamendi (D., Calif.), Jim McDermott (D.,
Wash.), Raul Ruiz (D., Calif.), Jackie Speier (D., Calif.), and Ed
Whitfield (R., Ky.).”
Eleven lawmakers backed by liberal advocacy group J Street either
voted against or refused to vote in favor of increased funding for
Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which has been a critical
life-saver during Hamas’s latest assault on the Jewish state.
Congress overwhelmingly approved an emergency increase in funding for
Iron Dome this month by a vote of 395 to 8.
Three of the eight who voted against the funding increase are J
Street-backed lawmakers. Another eight abstained from the pro-Israel
vote and also are financially supported by the group.
J Street’s political action committee (PAC) has already donated and
bundled in this election cycle alone at least $92,387 to lawmakers who
did not vote in favor of Iron Dome funding—which J Street itself
claims is a priority for its endorsees.
The revelation that 11 of the 37 lawmakers who either voted against or
abstained from supporting Iron Dome prompted outrage in the pro-Israel
community and criticism of J Street for financially supporting
lawmakers who take an explicitly anti-Israel line.
It also highlights an ongoing issue for J Street, which has attempted
to garner mainstream credibility but has only attracted the support of
far left fringe lawmakers known for their hostility to the Jewish
state.
While J Street claims on its PAC’s website that to be “eligible for
JStreetPAC endorsement” a candidate must support “robust American
military aid to Israel,” the most recent vote shows that the group it
willing to violate its own tenets.
A J Street spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the
Iron Dome vote.
Three of the House lawmakers who voted against funding for Iron
Dome—Reps. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.), Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.), and
Walter Jones (R., N.C.)—have received a combined $21,145 in this
election cycle from J Street, according to publicly available Federal
Election Committee (FEC) documents.
The eight other J Street-funded lawmakers who abstained from the vote
are Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D., Ore.), Susan Davis (D., Calif.), Lloyd
Doggett (D., Texas), John Garamendi (D., Calif.), Jim McDermott (D.,
Wash.), Raul Ruiz (D., Calif.), Jackie Speier (D., Calif.), and Ed
Whitfield (R., Ky.).
These lawmakers have received a combined $71,242 via J Street in the
most recent election cycle.
While J Street did not take a public position on the most recent Iron
Dome bill, it has expressed support for the military alliance multiple
times in the past.
Pro-Israel community insiders say that this is proof that J Street
cannot even convince its own people to support a vaguely pro-Israel
line
“I suspect that if J Street had its druthers, its few Congressional
allies would have actually voted for Iron Dome funding, just to keep
up appearances,” said Noah Pollak, executive director of the Emergency
Committee for Israel.
“But J Street’s allies in Congress are genuinely dedicated to being
anti-Israel, and so they’re happy to take J Street money and then vote
the wrong way, confident that the checks will clear,” Pollak said.
“It’s embarrassing for J Street, but it’s also the price of
maintaining good relations with anti-Israel members of Congress.”
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