Israel Matzav: Gillibrand drops out of J Street

Gillibrand drops out of J Street

Well, you can remove another Senator from the J Street list.

Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has dropped out of the J Street gala dinner hosts list.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has asked to be removed from the host committee for a conference of the left-leaning Jewish group J Street and was "unaware" she had been included on the group's list of supporters, spokesman Matt Canter said.

Her withdrawal comes after her political mentor, Chuck Schumer, also refused to participate in the event, and as the place of J Street -- positioning itself as liberal but staunchly "pro-Israel" -- remains hotly contested in American political circles.

The group's host committee includes prominent center-left Israel backers in Congress, including Florida's Robert Wexler and New York's Steve Israel, and an Israel spokeswoman confirmed he intended his name to be on the list. Many pro-Israel Democrats, however, continue to shun J Street: Steve Israel is the only Jewish member from New York, for instance, on the host list. (His spokeswoman confirmed he intended to be on the list.) And the group's stance, sharply to the left of the current Israeli government, and the presence of a controversial speaker at the conference, seem to have prompted Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware to back out when asked about his attendance by the Weekly Standard.

Schumer asked not to be included, after initially agreeing to be on the list, which includes 158 members of Congress, a J Street official said.

The real pro-Israel community should be going after every Senator and Representative on that list and pushing them to withdraw.

Israel Matzav: Gillibrand drops out of J Street