‘Far beyond mainstream’: Jewish groups slam J Street for supporting ICC warrant

(JNS) American Jewish groups denounced J Street after the liberal Jewish group, which bills itself as the “pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy movement,” issued a statement in support of the International Criminal Court’s warrants for the arrest of Israeli leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The warrants, which mainstream Jewish and pro-Israel groups reject, represent a “clear sign of the lasting damage this extreme right-wing government is doing to the State of Israel, its place in the world and its long-term security,” J Street said.

JNS sought comments from half a dozen American Jewish organizations about J Street’s statement about the warrants issued by the court, which is based in The Hague but is a stand-alone entity that isn’t part of the United Nations.

J Street’s stance “is not surprising for an organization that endorses anti-Israel candidates to also promote anti-Israel policies,” Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesman, told JNS.

“J Street’s support of blocking arms sales to Israel and the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders are far beyond the mainstream and in direct contrast to the pro-Israel views shared by President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress,” Wittmann added.

Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS that “it is an utter antisemitic disgrace for extremist, anti-Israel J Street to falsely and egregiously support the Jew-hating ICC in its outrageous claim that it is ‘reasonable’ for the Jewish state to be accused by of intentionally ‘starving’ and committing other ‘war crimes’ against Gaza Arabs.”

He added that J Street’s “support of boycotting arms to Israel during its existential war against Islamic terrorists Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran” means “J Street is promoting having more Jews killed.”

ZOA urged “all JCRCs and Hillels to remove J Street from any official involvement and synagogues, Jewish groups and colleges not to invite them as speakers,” Klein said. “Furthermore, we urge every rabbi and cantor and lay leader to resign from their positions on J Street boards or advisory committees.”

“Every Jewish group and synagogue should be joining ZOA in this demand,” he added. “J Street should now be persona non grata in the Jewish community. They are as dangerous as any antisemitic group.”