Excerpt:
Sometimes the most important trends are those demonstrated by a lack of reaction, rather than a storm of protest.
Rashida Tlaib, the Democratic nominee and all-but-certain winner of a Michigan seat in the U.S. House of Representatives this fall, had been endorsed by J Street—a group that is highly critical of the Israeli government, but touts itself as being “pro-Israel and pro-peace.” But when the Palestinian American candidate told three different media outlets that she favored a “one-state solution” to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians (and therefore the elimination of the one Jewish state on the planet), J Street was forced to backtrack and withdraw its endorsement.
It was an embarrassing moment for the lobby. Though Tlaib also likened Zionism to Jim Crow segregation (“separate but equal does not work”), J Street was not only at pains not to antagonize her, but seemed to be saying that her views on other issues were just as important as her desire to see Israel erased from the map.