Regarding Adam Dickter’s front-page article last week (“Left, Right Spar Over De Blasio’s AIPAC Speech”): The 58 rabbis, writers, journalists and sundry others who found New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Jan. 23 visit to AIPAC something to evoke their venom, signed onto a letter shouting, “Your job is not to do AIPAC’s bidding when they call you to do so.”
Their apparent anger at the mayor’s rather traditional support for Israel seemed to be grounded in the misunderstanding that AIPAC is a “powerful right-wing lobby.” This is a falsehood, since AIPAC is known to take whatever side the Israeli government is espousing. Right now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is verbally going along with the Obama administration’s pressure for a “two-state solution.”
AIPAC supports that position. How does one call that “right-wing?” We at Americans for a Safe Israel/AFSI, often labeled a “radical extreme right” organization, know what it is to look at the Israeli/Arab situation with wide-open eyes. We see the reality. We have often differed with AIPAC and the Israeli government on their versions of what is best for Israel.
Thanks to Jeff Wiesenfeld and his small group that came together to fight the uber-liberals. It is only through constant diligence and willingness to fight back against the darkness that we can bring the light of truth into these debates.
Executive Director Americans for a Safe Israel/AFSI
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
