Can J Street compete with the hawkish committee?

Occupied Jerusalem: For decades, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobbying organisation, has worked to ensure strong American support for Israel.

It is the most important group that has considerable influence on American policies towards Israel.

Known for its right-wing views, AIPAC, founded in 1953, exerts considerable influence in the legislative and executive branches of the American government and is supported by some 100,000 supporters.

J Street, defining itself as the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement, was founded in 2008 as a dovish alternative to AIPAC.

Close watch

Diplomats, officials and think-tanks are closely watching the dovish J Street to see how successful it can be in establishing a presence among the large Jewish community in the United States.

So far, J Street has shown that there is more than one voice in the Jewish community, but it has not been welcomed by the Israeli establishment that has identified with AIPAC since its inception soon after the creation of the state of Israel.

At its first annual conference on Sunday, J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami said his group seeks to "change the direction of American policy in the Middle East and to broaden the public and policy debate in the US about the Middle East.

We support strong American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts peacefully and diplomatically.

"But when it comes to Israel, our voices and our positions have been drowned out by those to our right with the intensity and passion of single-issue, single-minded advocates. As we care deeply about the state of Israel and the security of the Jewish people, so too does this passionate minority," he said.

J Street has made the point that AIPAC doesn't monopolise the American Jewish voice, and is working with Congressmen and politicians in the US to sway them in their favour.

J Street advocates a peaceful settlement with the Palestinians based on a two-state solution, and is made up of Jewish liberals advocating an active American involvement in the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Their task might not be easy since many Americans and Jews in America fear that active involvement on the part of the US may mean pressuring Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians. Israel also fears the discord among the Jewish community in the United States may weaken Israeli arguments on security and peace.

 Wafa Amr is a journalist based in Ramallah.