Jstreet holding big event for Ackerman tried to hide it

[mord]

 


http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/j_street_fundraiser_ackerman









     

 
     
 

     
 
J Street Funder For Ackerman
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Adam Dickter
Assistant Managing Editor

J Street  founder and executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami  will be in New York tonight to host a fundraiser for three Democrat House members, including Queens/Long Island Rep. Gary Ackerman.

Here's a copy of a letter accompanying the invite, forwarded to us by someone who is not a fan of Ackerman or J Street.

I am writing today to invite you to an event for J Street, an organization I feel very strongly about. J Street is having an increasing impact on today's political discourse about the Middle East and the involvement of congressional members and their support for J Street policies and policies are vital to the organization's work.

On Wednesday evening, October 13, 2010 at 6:30pm, I am hosting a J Street PAC event benefiting Representatives Gary Ackerman (D-NY5), Dan Maffei (D-NY25) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME1) who each support J Street. They are excellent advocates for pro-Israel, pro-peace positions in Congress and courageous leaders on other progressive issues as well, such as health care and climate change. Jeremy Ben-Ami , the Executive Director of JStreet, will be there to introduce the Congress Members and give an overview of J Street's work and the current state of the peace process in the Middle East.With direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians having begun, but yet again stalled this week over the settlement issue and the mid-term elections coming up in the U.S, this will be a great opportunity to hear from Jeremy about the intersection between U.S politics and the Middle East. Please consider attending, learning about the organization, and supporting its endorsed candidates.
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Demonstrating significant political and financial support for candidates who support strong US leadership in moving the peace process forward gives Members of Congress the political cover they need to stand by the courage of their convictions on this issue. J Street PAC has already raised over $1,000,000 for 62 candidates in this election cycle, making it the single largest pro-Israel PAC. The more funds we can raise for our 62 endorsees -- including our most recent endorsee, Ann Mclane Kuster in NH -- the stronger our views and federal position become.

[snip]

Thank you in advance for your time and support. I wouldn't ask if it weren't important. If you cannot attend, please consider making a contribution to this vital work.

Warmly,

Alexandra

The invite may have come from J Street advisory council member Alexandra Stanton - a call to the included phone number was not returned.

Ackerman faces Republican challenger James Milano, a physican at St. Francis Heart Hospital in Roslyn.

On Sunday, a group of right-leaning Jewish activists will gather at consecutive events in Hillcrest, Queens, and Great Neck to denounce Ackerman, who they believe has a mixed record on Israel because he has supported President Barack Obama's Mideast policies and did not support an initiative by Long Island Rep. Pete King calling for the U.S. to withdraw from UN Human Rights Council. The Council is often critical of Israel.

Included in the anti-Ackerman group are Jeff Weisenfeld, a former aide to Gov. George Pataki, Jan Fenster, a former president of the Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council, Dr. Joseph Frager, president of American Friends of Ateret Cohanim (a group that reclaims formerly Jewish land in Jerusalem's Old City) and others.

Ackerman is "the Jewish equivalent of [Yasir] Arafat," said Weisenfeld, "not because of terrorism but because he says one thing to a Jewish audience and one thing to another, and it's all empty."

Of course, Weisenfeld and Co. aren't happy with the J Street endorsement either.

J Street has been reeling after it was revealed that the lobby group concealed major funding from left-wing Israel critic George Soros.

More on the protest and Ackerman's reaction to come.

[JTFenthusiast2]

Finally, a thread with something pertinent pertaining to the survival of Israel and America   

[eb22]

mord,   thanks for posting this info.     I found out about this article about 90 minutes before I went to the Candidates Forum/  Debate that was held in Manhasset.     Interestingly the part of the debate that featured the Candidates from the 5th Congressional District was delayed because Gary Ackerman was stuck in traffic on the L.I.E.     He was almost certainly coming from the J Street Fund Raiser.    While I didn't mind the 7th State Senate District Candidates   (   if anyone reading this lives in that district,   I highly recommend you voting for Republican Jack Martins  ) having extra time with their portion of the debate,     once again Gary Ackerman acts like he's the center of the universe.       Many people didn't have the luxury of waiting 15 minutes because they have to get up early tomorrow.


The info in the article regarding Gary Ackerman's continued ties to J Street is something that was predictable.       Elizabeth Berney made the Ackerman/  J Street connection a point of emphasis when she was actively campaigning for the 5th District Congressional Seat.     I made sure she knew of the latest development.     I also gave a copy of the article to  Dr. James Milano,   the Republican Primary winner in the 5th Congressional District.       No one was surprised.


One of the Tea Party people in the audience made a great point to me after the debate.     After I mentioned in our conversation that Gary Ackerman proudly stated he's an Obama Democrat during the debate,    the Tea Party person said that practically all other Democrats running for office in the upcoming Nov, 2 elections  are trying to hide from being associated with Obama.     Not Ackerman,   whose arrogance is apparent day in,  day out.      

[eb22]

It sounds like Jan Schakowsky is attempting to be the Chicago Metro Area version of Gary Ackerman:



http://blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2010/10/14/2741304/j-street-raises-money-off-efforts-to-raise-money-off-j-street


J Street raises money off raising money off J Street
By Ron Kampeas · October 14, 2010


I wrote earlier about how J Street remained in the political mix, despite its George Soros-related problems earlier this month.

Last night, the group's political action committee hosted Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and two other House members for a fundraiser in New York.

Now, the PAC wants backers to outmatch whatever Joel Pollak, who has called on  Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill) to distance herself from J Street, raises tonight at a Skokie, Ill. fundraiser where J Street is bound to be the bogey man in the room.

J Street claims to have outraised Pollak at a previous encounter, when he earned $30,000 from an appearance by his old law school professor and frequent J Street critic, Alan Dershowitz. J Street says it got $45,000 in online contributions from an email blast-appeal.

Schakowsky has endorsed tonight's effort, signalling the continued association with the group of, with Ackerman, another Jewish lawmaker with strong AIPAC ties.

She's quoted in the J Street PAC email blast as saying:

I reject calls by my GOP opponent to return campaign contributions from JStreetPAC and his cynical attempt to turn Israel into a partisan wedge issue at this delicate and potentially historic moment. I stand behind President Obama's efforts to provide Israel with the lasting peace and security that only a two-state solution can achieve. And I commend JStreetPAC for its ongoing efforts to encourage debate and broaden the pro-Israel tent.

The Pollak flyer -- "The U.S. and Israel, Winning the Media War" is how the event is billed -- does not mention J Street, or for that matter, Schakowsky; but with J Street uber-critic Jennifer Rubin on board, the likelihood of the "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobby being raised is on a par with the pope's Catholicism, etc.

Pollak also released a poll showing him trailing Schakowsky 30-48 percent. The New York Times Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight forecast has Schakowsky at 68-30. Either way, he's at 30.

J Street PAC uses Rubin and another speaker, Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum, in its pitch, signed by Isaac Luria, the PAC's communications director .

Yes, this is the same Jennifer Rubin who claims that American Jews have a "sick addiction" to liberal values.  And yes, this is the same Daniel Pipes who has opposed every peace process in the past two decades and said that a vibrant American Muslim community "presents true dangers to American Jews." They'll be following the lead of Alan Dershowitz, who headlined his own anti-Jan fundraiser this past summer.

I couldn't paint you a clearer picture of what we're up against. And you won't find a clearer picture of who we support than Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.