Rosner's Domain: The real meaning of Livni's letter to J Street

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So what's the story with Kadima's Tzipi Livni and J Street?

The founder of J Street had told Hilary Krieger that "The party and the viewpoint that we're closest to in Israeli politics is actually Kadima". If that's the case, Livni will be delighted, but she doesn't consider it to be good description of either Kadima's positions nor J Street's.

It was also widely reported that Livni had sent J Street a letter, and this letter was interpreted by some (J Street activists included) as letter of support. Here's the JTA report:

Livni, of the Kadima Party, said she could not participate in J Street's Oct. 25-28 event, but wished the group "much success" at the conference. Livni said she and J Street, a lobbying group that bills itself as "pro-Israel, pro-peace," shared a similar "vision" of a two-state solution.

Steve Clemons called the letter "this thoughtful and politically meaningful expression of support for J Street's work".

But here are the real facts behind this letter. 

1. Livni did not want to participate in the conference, and did not want to appear via video connection. The letter is a way of saying: I'm not boycotting the group, but I'm also quite far from supporting it.

2. The letter was crafted "carefully". And it does not say that Livni wishes the group "much success", it says (as Clemons, first to post the letter, could have seen) "I wish the the organizers and the participants much success in the upcoming conference". You might think that Livni's people are parsing hair with this fine-tuned message, but when the letter was crafted they deliberately chose to wish success for the "conference" not the "work" as Clemons claims.

3. I have reason to believe that the heads of AIPAC were not surprised by this letter.

4. I know for a fact that Livni still feels much closer to AIPAC. It is not yet scheduled, but I also believe that she will make an effort to demonstrate her affinity by showing up at the AIPAC annual conference.

5. Some people have told Livni that J Street leaders was using her letter shrewdly. It serves them well by way of giving credence to their claim that (as the BBC described it): "Opinion in Israel seems divided though; Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni and President Shimon Peres both both sent J Street warm messages of support". She seems not to care much about it.

6. Livni was able to discuss all matters related to this thorny issue in a meeting she's having this week with AIPAC's Howard Kohr.

7. All this doesn't mean that Livni's letter has no significance. It does. If Livni was Foreign Minister today, she would have asked Ambassador Michael Oren to attend the conference. She doesn't think Israel should boycott J Street, because she doesn't believe Israel should take sides in a debate that is a political Jewish American debate.

8. She also have hopes that by way of "engaging", she can have some impact on this group. There are signs that J Street - at least on the leadership level - had entered a period of some moderation (Jim Besser wrote: "There were also ripples of discontent at an unofficial Monday lunch for left-wing bloggers, who expressed both hope that J Street will become a potent force for peace and justice in the Middle East - and fear that it is already doing too much to moderate its positions to win favor with the pro-Israel establishment"). Livni seems to believe that communicating with the group creates the kind of relationships that will make it harder for J Street to disregard Israeli mainstream positions.