JustASC

William Kristol’s  Emergency Committee for Israel (EIC) is running TV ads accusing Rep. Rush Holt of being anti-Israel.

According to USA TODAY:

A pro-Israel group affiliated with conservative commentator William Kristol released a TV ad today targeting Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., and questioning his commitment to the Jewish state.

In the ad, the slammed Holt for signing a letter this year that called for lifting the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The group criticized the six-term Democrat for participating in a conference organized by J Street, a liberal Jewish group that has grown more active in politics this year as it tries to become a counterweight to the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC.

EIC called J Street’s event “anti-Israel” in the ad; J Street says it is pro-Israel but backs a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Kristol, the founder of The Weekly Standard, and Gary Bauer, a well-known conservative who briefly ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2000, serve on the board of the Emergency Committee for Israel.

Ben Smith’s take for Politico:

The ad seeks, in part, to establish the boundaries of acceptable American politics on the issue of Israel.

Jennifer Rubin’s counter-take for Commentary:

ECI is not trying to define ”boundaries of acceptable American politics” but rather to recapture the term “pro-Israel” from those who invoke the label but who take positions that are antithetical to Israel’s interests and that are supportive of Israel’s enemies.

Me  — I think it is possible to be a friend of Israel, on the right or the left, and still take positions that are antithetical to Israel’s interests. If Israel weren’t complicated, and its citizenry itself so divided over the issues, this thing would have been solved decades ago. Good friends can disagree.  I just wish we could talk about it without labeling one another “enemies” or “friends.” But then I’m not trying to win elections.

Here’s the ad: