Jerusalem Post Defends J Street Story

By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country

Though J Street is dismissing a Jerusalem Post story on the group's college arm deciding to drop "pro-Israel" from its slogan, the newspaper is standing by its story.

In a follow-up to her original story, the newspaper's Washington bureau chief changes her tune slightly, asserting that the group has decided to exclude "pro-Israel" from its messaging, not from its official slogan, as she originally reported:

Following controversy in some quarters of the Jewish community over the decision of the J Street U student board not to include "pro-Israel" in its messaging, J Street sent out statements this week affirming the organization's commitment to Israel.

Some 250 students were among the 1,500 participants at the first annual J Street conference.

They also referred to "incorrect reports" on the decision, with student board president Sophia Manuel putting out a statement Wednesday that, "The national board of J Street U neither discussed nor voted on any action to remove the term 'pro-Israel' from our platform, policy or the way we describe ourselves at J Street U's national conference."

The Jerusalem Post, which first reported the decision, did not suggest it had been made at the national conference, held this weekend. But participants told the Post that it had been disseminated then to students in attendance.

Read the full Jerusalem Post piece here.

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