Neocon Kristol group targets Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH) for signing J Street letter

[mod mom]

Sam Stein

Kristol's Hawkish Pro-Israel Group Launches New Ad Against Endangered Dem (VIDEO)

First Posted: 08- 5-10 01:41 PM | Updated: 08- 5-10 01:58 PM

A hawkish, pro-Israel group that includes some of the most prominent neo-conservative and evangelical voices in the country is launching the second salvo in an ad campaign targeting primarily congressional Democrats.

The Emergency Committee for Israel's Leadership went up on air Thursday with a spot going after endangered Democrat, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) for signing a letter that urges President Barack Obama to put pressure on Israel to ease the Gaza blockade.

"Most members of Congress are friends of Israel," the spot goes. "That's why a huge majority, 88 percent, refused to sign a letter accusing Israel of collective punishment when Israel was defending her citizens from the terrorist group Hamas. But Mary Jo Kilroy signed that anti-Israel letter. A fellow Democratic congressman called Kilroy misinformed... Ask her why she joined an assault on Israel."

ECI's ad follows a similar one it ran weeks ago against Senate candidate, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.). That spot engendered a fair amount of controversy and pushback with a lawyer for the Pennsylvania Democrat insisting that the congressman is "willing to put his life on the line to defend Israel" and asking (unsuccessfully) for the ad to be pulled.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/05/kristols-hawkish-pro-isra_n_671998.html

Rep Kilroy is a dedicated hard working progressive. I hope others will join me in supporting her against this well funded neocon attack machine. Although in an adjacent district, I will be sending her a contribution.

[mod mom]

1. campaign's reply (btw signed letter was put together by J Street):

"What we really want to know is when Bill Kristol and his reactionary friends are going to start running ads against Prime Minister Netanyahu and calling him anti-Israel for easing the blockade in accordance with the spirit of the letter," said Brad Bauman, the campaign's communications director.

As Bauman notes, it seems disingenuous to define the letter at the crux of the debate, while sympathetic to the plight of those in Gaza, as anti-Israel. It was put together by J-Street, a pro-Israel group that has endured the wrath of the neoconservative community but argues that its version of Mideast politics is more grounded in reality than Kristol's.


Here who produced the letter:


About Us
J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans.

The organization gives political voice to mainstream American Jews and other supporters of Israel who, informed by their progressive and Jewish values, believe that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essential to Israel’s survival as the national home of the Jewish people and as a vibrant democracy. J Street’s mission is two-fold: first, to advocate for urgent American diplomatic leadership to achieve a two-state solution and a broader regional, comprehensive peace and, second, to ensure a broad debate on Israel and the Middle East in national politics and the American Jewish community.

J Street represents Americans, primarily but not exclusively Jewish, who support Israel and its desire for security as the Jewish homeland, as well as the right of the Palestinians to a sovereign state of their own – two states living side-by-side in peace and security. We believe ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the best interests of Israel, the United States, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole.

J Street supports diplomatic solutions over military ones, including in Iran; multilateral over unilateral approaches to conflict resolution; and dialogue over confrontation with a wide range of countries and actors when conflicts do arise. For more on our policy positions, click here.

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http://jstreet.org/about/about-us

[OZark Dem]

2. This is exactly the way I feel about Isreal

This was possibly Harry S Truman's finest hour and greatest legacy.