J Street petition against Netanyahu's Congress speech rallies 20,000 signatures
"I'm a Jew. Bibi does NOT speak for me!", campaign of left-leaning American-Jewish NGO trumpets.
By JPOST.COM STAFFJstreet anti-Netanyahu campaign(photo credit: PR)
J Street has launched a petition aimed at raising opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress, scheduled to occur on March 3, two weeks ahead of elections in Israel.The petition, with some 20,000 signatures, according to The New York Times, is meant to show that while the prime minister may represent Israelis, "He certainly cannot claim any mandate to speak for Jews in the United States."Netanyahu has previously declared that he is coming to Washington "not just as the prime minister of Israel but as a representative of the entire Jewish people."With the petition, entitled "I'm a Jew. Bibi does NOT speak for me!", J-Street is hoping to show that not all Jews agree with the prime minister's policies regarding Iran and the relationship with the White House.The campaign also set its sights on Ron Dermer, telling the Israeli ambassador to Washington, who had organized Netanyahu's speech along with John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the house, that the Jewish State's premier is not the de facto spokesperson for the entire Jewish nation.While the planned Congressional address has roused much vitriol, both the Israeli leader and US President Barack Obama have fervently denied that the speech will harm the "unbreakable and "special bond" between the United States and Israel.
