Ambassador Leiter, leave your poison machine in Jerusalem

Ambassador Leiter,

In attacking J Street, calling the liberal Zionist lobby a “cancer within the Jewish community,” you demonstrate a severe misunderstanding of your role as Israel’s ambassador to the United States and of the American citizens and residents whom you seek to influence. While the “poison machine,” of which you are a cog, has operated around the clock for years to demonize and delegitimize the left in Israel, we do not want that machine here in the US.

Your role as a diplomat is to represent the State of Israel to our government and to us, citizens and residents of the United States. It is not, despite how some individuals and organizations may perceive it, to dictate or manage the political activities of American citizens, nor to define who and what are legitimate parts of the diverse fabric of the Jewish community here.

As activists in an organization of Jews and Israelis in the United States, we know that this is not the first instance of the Israeli government’s attempt to silence our voices and we know that it will only get worse from here. The poison machine is a well-documented, coordinated cohort of government officials, political operatives and media allies that floods the information space with misinformation and virulent attacks to destroy and delegitimize anyone who speaks out against the Netanyahu government.

Beyond Israel’s borders, it has been turned against the expat protest groups including September 2023, when Netanyahu compared protestors to the PLO, last month when Consul General Marco Sermoneta attacked members of the Israeli expat community in Silicon Valley during the most sacred of events, the annual Memorial Day ceremony, and in the frequent attacks on the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism to which most American Jews subscribe.

Just as the poison machine has been operated against the most worthy, most loyal, most deserving groups and individuals in Israel, in the United States, it did not start, and will not end with J Street.

As a political action committee, J Street seeks to influence American policies and American elections to the benefit of the United States as it relates to a healthy relationship with the State of Israel. While they represent the left flank of pro-Israel organizations, they are far from alone in their growing concern that the actions of the government you represent are detrimental to the interests and security of both Israel and the United States. In that capacity, it is well within their prerogative to advocate for policies that they believe will lead to change here.

Israeli diplomats have a unique, additional responsibility to liaise with Jewish communities around the world, not only to strengthen their bond with the homeland, in which they are entitled to citizenship, but also to fortify their standing in the Diaspora, where antisemitism is always a threat at some level. J Street, and the majority of Jews who consider themselves progressive or liberal, are no less exposed to antisemitism just because they frequently oppose Israeli government policies.

Whether the rejection of J Street U specifically at Sarah Lawrence College, or anti-Jewish violence in Washington or Colorado against people who may have turned out to be progressive, Jews who align with J Street are no less exposed to the challenges of being Jewish in the world than others, are no less a part of the Jewish community that is confronting those challenges, and no less entitled to the embrace of Israel’s emissaries than any other Jews.

Attacks on J Street and progressive Jews in general not only isolate them and sow division within the Jewish community when cooperation is so necessary, but it also risks the departure of growing numbers of Jews from the Zionist camp. For many, J Street is the “last stop on the train,” the only space that believes in the Zionist project and is aligned with their values.

We, Jews and Israeli expats in the United States, will continue to argue politics non-violently and with mutual respect. We will aim to keep a broad coalition of Zionist organizations working for a stronger and better Israel. We will continue to support each other in the face of external threats. And, we will not be activated as cogs in the gears of a virulent poison machine that has done so much damage in Israel.

So, Ambassador Leiter, pack up your poison machine and return it to sender. Here in the United States, act like the diplomat you are supposed to be.

This piece was co-authored by Offir Gutelzon, founder, UnXeptable – Saving Israeli Democracy