I would like to let Jeremy Ben-Ami know what my view on the issue is.
Let's start with the following: Until the embassy won't be moved I won't be excited about it. Many Presidents had the chance to move it and until today no one has done so. That day, and if it will move at all, I will make sure to get excited about the issue.Now let's get to the point.
J Street is not a pro-Israel organization. An organization that backs up its decisions and articles in paragraphs like "Danger to US Interests, Misunderstanding the American Jewish Community," cannot say they are pro-Israel. Maybe J Street isn't anti-Israel like others but they are not pro-Israel.
An organization that is pro-Israel will first worry about Israeli interests before they will worry about how the American Jewish community will be seen and judged here; they should worry about how their cousins in Israel won't be killed by their other cousins in the Middle East. J Street = not a pro-Israel organization.
Ben-Ami in his article IGNORES the Jewish connection and the Israeli connection to Jerusalem. Mr. Ben Ami, I understand that your capital is Washington D.C. and that maybe one day you will try to get into politics here in the US. However, Jerusalem is the one and only united Israeli capital. This was our capital for thousands of years and this will be forever our capital, so... you are afraid to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem? The place we pray towards three times a day? The place we swear in our wedding, we will never forget? Are you out of your mind?Let's talk about the article itself:
Ben-Ami writes, while Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its “eternal and undivided capital,” the city is, in fact, neither. Jerusalem is a clearly divided city between easily defined Jewish and Arab neighborhoods.I say: Yes Jerusalem has Jewish and Arab neighborhoods but so does Chicago- they have South Chicago that is mostly black and they have the suburbs that are fully white. So does LA, which has Compton that is mostly black and other areas that are mostly white. So does Dearborn, MI that is almost fully Muslim and Detroit. Does it make these cities, not part of the US based on your logic?Ben-Ami writes, When the city’s status is resolved, undoubtedly many nations, including the US, will move their embassies there – both to Israel and to Palestine. At the moment, not one nation has its embassy there.
I say: When the city status is resolved? The city status is resolved! In 1967 we freed the city. For years Jerusalem was occupied by many forces and finally 50 years ago we freed the city; the city is now united once again under Israel's control. Were you there lately? Did you see how much the city developed? How Jerusalem became even more beautiful that what it was before? Currently, no countries have their embassy in Jerusalem not because of the Israeli-Arab conflict but due to this reason: many countries are afraid of the reaction of the Muslim world if they would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Other countries are just not willing to recognize the simple fact that this city is controlled by the Jewish people again. It seems like you aren't brave enough either.Ben-Ami writes Jerusalem is a powder keg. Upending the status quo with an announcement like this is a surefire way to make it explode.
I say: aren't you the one that fights against the status quo in order to solve the conflict? So when it comes to Jerusalem, you want to keep the status quo? The double standard that you and your organization show is unreal, there is no backbone. The city to explode? You weren't there in the past months when terror was in the city on daily basis, were you? You weren't there in 2003 when I was, and buses were blown up left and right? What are you talking about? The city right now wasn't exploding because our cousins can't handle the fact it is under Israeli control?
Ben-Ami writes, 'Ill-advised, short-sighted steps in Jerusalem – like moving the US Embassy – move us further away from the two-state solution' – which is actually supported by the majority of American Jews.I say, moving the embassy will make the two-state solution closer, and actually the two-state solution is supported by the Israeli PM whom you are so much against. Only when the Palestinians will have something to lose, will they come to the table; with President Obama they had NOTHING to lose and we had 8 years of nothing. In negotiations there are two sides: the stronger one and weaker one and right now we are the stronger side which I hope will be the case forever. When the Palestinians will realize they have something to lose they will come to make peace. About the majority American Jewish community - at the end, they don't live in Israel and what makes one happy in D.C. doesn't make one happy in Jerusalem.
I'll end by saying that until today I had a narrow problem with J Street and what it stands for. Today, I believe J Street is an organization that hurts me as an Israeli. It doesn't speak for me, it doesn't support me and it does anything it can to make sure more pressure will be applied to me.
One day J Street will realize that for their values they sold out the Israeli people. For their values without terror and war, they sold out my family and myself. And as for their JEWISH values that they follow - they don't even live in the Jewish land. Shame on you Ben-Ami and shame on your organization.
I'll end up by saying that when you spoke at the University of Minnesota a few years ago we asked you a question: "Aren't you afraid that for your vision and your beliefs more Israelis will be killed?" And I'll never forget your answer: "Yes there will be casualties but this is the right thing to do." Well, when you will live in Israel you can say that, but when you live in the US don't gamble on my family who live in Israel.