Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week turned down a request to meet with a congressional delegation that was visiting Israel under J Street auspices.
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D–Marin and Sonoma) was one of five members of Congress who participated in the weeklong trip, which was to conclude June 10.
“I’m disappointed that the prime minister chose not to meet with the J Street delegation,” Woolsey said in a written statement. “All of us could have benefited from a frank discussion about the peace process. We were curious to hear his perspective, and it’s important that the prime minister understand the concerns of the U.S. constituencies we represent. It was a missed opportunity.”
Jeremy Ben-Ami, who directs the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” J Street, confirmed June 6 that the prime minister and other senior government officials refused to meet with the five-member delegation.
“I just don’t really understand what would be in Israel’s interest to refuse to meet with members of Congress who are year in and year out supporters,” Ben-Ami said. “Why would one not welcome them when the greatest threat to Israel’s safety is growing international isolation?”
Ynetnews.com reported that Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the delegation did not submit a formal request and that there were scheduling conflicts.
Multiple calls from JTA to the Israeli embassy in Washington were not returned.
The group was hoping to meet with Miki Eitan, a second-tier minister, and also had meetings scheduled with opposition figures and top Palestinian Authority officials. The Egypt leg of the tour was to include visits with top officials of that country.
Last year, a J Street congressional delegation was similarly snubbed. This year’s delegation was composed of Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Sam Farr (D-Carmel), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), John Yarmuth (D-Ken.) and Woolsey, whose district includes Marin County and a big chunk of Sonoma County. Cohen and Yarmuth are Jewish.
“As members of Congress who care deeply about the survival of a strong and vibrant Israel, we have been very pleased to meet with a broad array of Israeli leaders,” Cohen told Ynetnews. “Unfortunately, the Israeli prime minister and other senior ministers were not among them, which would have been appropriate and proper.”
J Street has had a contentious relationship with Netanyahu’s government and its envoy in Washington, Michael Oren. The group has been critical of Netanyahu’s policies and advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Israeli government wanted little to do with the group as long as its support of Iran sanctions and its opposition to a U.N. investigation charging Israel with war crimes was not ironclad. Once J Street clarified its positions on those issues in early 2010, the relationship improved.
However, the relationship deteriorated again after J Street urged the Obama administration earlier this year not to veto a U.N. Security Resolution blasting Israel for its settlement building.
The congressional visit came on the heels of Netanyahu’s trip to the United States last month, when he spoke at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington and was enthusiastically received at a speech to both houses of Congress.