US:DURING THIS week's Democratic debate in Philadelphia, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were at each other's throats much of the time but they were in total agreement on one issue - United States policy towards Israel.
Both candidates said that an Iranian attack on Israel would lead to massive US retaliation, although Clinton went further, suggesting that Washington should extend its security umbrella to other states in the region, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier in the week, Obama met Jewish leaders in Philadelphia to reassure them of his bona fides on Israel, promising to oppose any division of Jerusalem and - according to one of his congressional supporters - ruling out the Palestinian right of return. Republican candidate John McCain is at one with Clinton and Obama in his approach to Israel, as are most members of Congress and US political commentators.
Among Jewish-Americans, however, views on the future of Israel are more diverse - as they are within Israel itself - and a new Jewish lobby group in Washington is convinced that US policy towards Israel no longer reflects Jewish-American opinion or the long-term interests of Israel.
The J Street Project, which was launched this week, is designed as a moderate, left-wing alternative to the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) which has long been the most powerful pro-Israeli voice in Washington.
"The term 'pro-Israel' has been hijacked by those who hold views that a majority of Americans - Jews and non-Jews alike - oppose, whether supporting the war in Iraq, beating the drums for war with Iran or putting obstacles in the path to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," said Jeremy Ben Ami, a former domestic policy adviser in the Clinton administration and policy director for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, at the group's launch.
"It is time that mainstream, pro-Israel Americans made it clear that the single most pro-Israel thing any American politician or policy-maker can do is help to bring about a two-state solution and a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and her neighbours."
Alan Solomont, a former finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee and a prominent Obama fundraiser, said a separate political action committee would raise money for candidates who support a moderate position on Israel, challenging conventional political wisdom that in order to ensure the support of the American Jewish community and its allies, candidates must take hawkish positions to prove their pro-Israel credentials.
"Most American elected officials and policy-makers understand that substantive US engagement in bringing about a negotiated resolution to Israel's conflict with her neighbours is the right course of action for Israel and the United States," he said.
"J Street will mobilise popular and financial support behind candidates willing to stand up for an agenda that is at once proactive, pro-peace, and pro-Israel, making it smart to do so not only in a policy way, but in a political one as well." J Street hopes to raise $1.5 million (€930,000) in its first year - paltry in comparison to AIPAC's $100 million endowment. Much of AIPAC's strength lies in its formidable research department that provides briefing notes for congressmen in both parties on issues of concern to Israel and a network of influential academic and political contacts throughout Washington.
The J Street Project is not AIPAC's only rival: about two dozen Jewish organisations, including several Orthodox and Zionist groups, have formed the Co-ordinating Council on Jerusalem to oppose any partition of the city. The group says Jerusalem "is the capital of the Jewish people and the heritage of all Jews everywhere and . . . we oppose any negotiations which involve possible concessions of Jewish sovereignty or control" over the city.
J Street has attracted more attention in Washington, however, not least because it has the support of so many leading Jewish-American liberals and prominent Israeli moderates.
Its supporters include such establishment figures as former ambassador to Israel Sam Lewis, and ex-director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry David Kimche. AIPAC has not made any public comment about the new group but it will be watching closely to see if J Street succeeds in changing US policy towards Israel - particularly in the event of an Obama presidency.
