News Service from House Harris

US: American Jews split over Israeli offensive

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 AFP - American Jews are divided over the Israeli military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which is being vigorously denounced by an increasingly active progressive Jewish movement.

The war has sown divisions among Jews here, according to Ori Nir, spokesman for the US branch of the Israeli pacifist movement "Peace Now," long overshadowed by the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

"Many American Jews view this as a legitimate war," Nir said.

"There are however people who are very uncomfortable with the way in which it was carried out and with the extend to which diplomatic means were not exhausted ... to prevent this war," he added.

Divisions within the US Jewish community burst open in 2006 with the scandal over the publication of a book critical of the influence of the pro-Israel lobby group, AIPAC, on US foreign policy.

Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, co-authors of "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy," were accused of anti-Semitism and pilloried by AIPAC, which the pair said gave unconditional support to the right-wing Likud party.

However, their criticism made its way to the heart of the US Jewish community and a progressive Jewish organisation, J Street, was established several months ago to defend the goals of pacifist Jews before the US Congress.

J Street circulated a petition calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip just days after Israel's December 27 launch of massive air strikes -- at a time when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice baulked at such calls.

"We reiterate that J Street is deeply committed to Israel, its security and the safety of its citizens," the group's director Jeremy Ben-Ami said on the J Street website.

"However, as Americans and as friends and supporters of Israel, we do not believe the continuation of the present military operation is in the best interests of either the United States or Israel," he added.

He pointed to anti-Israeli demonstrations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where tens of thousands of US soldiers are deployed.

"Demonstrations throughout the Middle East and the Muslim world indicate that this week's events are only further damaging America's image, interests and relationships around the world," Ben-Ami argued.

Another sign that progressive Jews are gaining ground in the United States is that Walt is today one of the authors that the respected Foreign Policy magazine has chosen to launch a series of blogs on US diplomacy.

In 2006, Harvard University distanced itself from the article that gave rise to the book -- which was also written by Walt, a Harvard professor, and Mearsheimer, a University of Chicago professor.

Walt now blasts the response of President George W. Bush's administration to the latest Israeli offensive, comparing it to its decision in 2006 to wait one month before calling for a truce in Israel's war against Lebanon's Hezbollah.

"The sooner we redefine what it means to be 'pro-Israel,' the better for us and the better for Israel. Needless to say, it would be much better for the Palestinians too," Walt noted.