J Street And The Problem Of Palestinian Antisemitism

What did J Street—which now speaks of “moderate Palestinian leaders”— say about Abbas’s speech? In a May 1, 2018 press release, J Street said that it “strongly condemns remarks made by President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday that featured absurd anti-Semitic tropes and deeply offensive comments on the history of the Jewish people and Israel.” J Street called Abbas’s speech “incendiary” and said “there is absolutely no excuse” for what he said.

If, less than three years ago, Abbas was—according to J Street—an antisemite, how is it that he is now “moderate”? Does antisemitism have a shelf life and an expiration date?

Or does J Street simply wait until everybody has forgotten about Abbas’s speech, so that it can resume calling him “moderate” in order to advance the Palestinian cause?

And is J Street simply hoping that the rest of us will not notice that under Abbas, antisemitism still fills the PA-controlled media and school textbooks?

Or does J Street acknowledge that Abbas is still an antisemite? And if so, where are those mysterious, unnamed “moderate Palestinian leaders” to whom Dylan Williams referred and whom J Street wants the U.S. to shower with financial aid and political support?

J Street’s May 2018 condemnation of Abbas was a rare and impressive criticism of a figure whom J Street had almost never previously criticized. Publicly challenging a leader whose policies you generally support is never easy.  At the time, some skeptics, myself included, wondered if the condemnation was sincere, or was just a quick gesture intended to make

J Street look reasonable but with no intention of actually confronting Palestinian anti-Semitism.