Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid met on Monday with a visiting congressional delegation of Democrats on Monday organized by J Street, drawing backlash from right-wing politicians.
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The delegation was comprised of Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Ct.) Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Melania Stansbury (D-N.M.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.). J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami was also in attendance.
On the Israeli side, Lapid was joined by Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli (Labor), Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev (Labor), Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frej (Meretz), and Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg (Meretz).
The liberal Israel lobby group had been shunned for years by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because it works to undermine official Israeli policy on a broad range of issues.
An Israeli government official told Israel Hayom that "J Street is the only lobby that defines itself as 'pro-Israel,' but actively opposes the policies of the [various] governments – whether this means actively supporting a return to the nuclear deal with Iran, or promoting members of Congress who oppose Iron Dome funding. When other lobbies don't agree with Israel on a certain issue, they simply keep quiet and don't take a position. [J Street] are the only ones who come out against [Israel]. Therefore the meetings with them, until [Monday], were at the lower levels."
In a tweet, Lapid thanked the delegation "for supporting the replenishment of the Iron Dome missile-defense system, and we discussed the importance of continuing to strengthen the US-Israel relationship."
This evening at the Knesset, I met with a delegation of Democratic members of Congress. I thanked them for supporting the replenishment of the Iron Dome missile defense system, and we discussed the importance of continuing to strengthen the US-Israel relationship. 🇮🇱🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DBiJI8gDcL
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid🟠 (@yairlapid) November 8, 2021
According to J Street, the trip emphasizes "balance and providing equal time to Israeli and Palestinian voices, the delegation will meet with ministers in the Israeli government, Members of Knesset, and representatives of the IDF, as well as with leaders of the Palestinian Authority, and with a wide range of Israeli and Palestinian civil society leaders, issue experts and activists."
DeLauro, who heads the House Appropriations Committee, helped spearhead the $1 billion resolution on Israel's Iron Dome missile-defense system in September after funding had been removed from a larger government spending bill over the objections of several progressive Democratic lawmakers. This incident touched off criticism among Republicans and even some moderate Democrats over the Democratic party's commitment to Israel.
Among others in the delegation is Pocan, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel in recent months. In May, during Israel's 11-day conflict with Hamas in Gaza, he led a group of nearly a dozen progressive Democrats in censuring Israel's policies towards the Palestinians on the House floor, accusing Israel of "disproportionate discrimination and treatment" of the Palestinians.
Bowman, who has been included as a member of the far-left "Squad," has been critical of Israel and called for restricting aid to the Jewish state, though recently voted for funding for the Iron Dome. Last year, Bowman ousted prominent pro-Israel Democrat Eliot Engel in a heated primary.
Likud MK Dr. Shlomo Karai said in response to the meeting that the "radical left-wing government continues to strengthen our enemies at the expense of those who love us. J Street has proven time and again that it doesn't care one iota about Israel's best interests. Just the opposite, every time it has been able to choose whether to stands alongside Israel or our enemies, it has chosen the worst of our enemies. This too, as with the dangerous diplomatic process, is on the hands of [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett and [Interior Minister Ayelet] Shaked, [Justice Minister Gideon] Sa'ar and [Housing and Construction Minister Ze'ev] Elkin, and with their full backing. This is the same Bennett who in the past praised [former President Reuven] Rivlin for refusing to meet with them. The man knows no bounds. In the next election, the public will make sure they pay the price of this negligence and neglect."
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It should be noted that Bennett did meet Monday with the Democratic delegation but refused to meet with J Street representatives.
Likud faction chairman MK Yariv Levin in response to Lapid's meeting with J Street: "Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid's meeting with representatives of the radical left-wing organization J Street, which actively works to impair American support for Israeli positions, and whose members supported the dangerous nuclear deal with Iran, proves yet again … this government is not 10 degrees to the right. It is 180 degrees to the left."
Lapid's bureau said in a statement: "The foreign minister met with a delegation of important congressmen. The minister's policy is to meet and speak with whoever has influence and to try convincing them that Israel's positions are just."
Parts of this article were reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
