James Besser in Washington

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Can you stand one more item about J Street, the year-old pro-peace process lobby and political action committee?  It’s the last for a while, I promise.

Initially I posed the question:  why are so many Jewish leaders so upset about a group that may represent the views of many American Jews, but is still in its early stages of development?

This week I heard from a longtime Jewish PR professional who wanted to weigh in.  This writer focused on why J Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami has been able to attract so much press attention – part of what irks pro-Israel “establishment” leaders.

“I understand just how Jeremy does it,” this Jewish activist said. “He  moves quickly. He does not have to consult fourteen staff members, call six conference calls with Israel and then run it by the Board of Directors.”

Playing the news cycle “quickly and incisively is key to gaining attention,” this activist said. “The many other progressive Jewish organizations are hobbled by their own bureaucracy and need for internal discussion and consensus.”

In other words, J Street,  largely Ben-Ami’s creation, doesn’t have the bureaucratic layers and competing constituencies that slow most other pro-Israel groups down and keep them from competing effectively in the 24/7 news cycle.

But that may be a mixed blessing for the group.  J Street’s new video attacking Avigdor Lieberman has made even some supporters uneasy with its dark, almost demonic portrayal of the Yisrael Beiteinu leader.  Did J Street cross some important lines with the video? A lot of people think it did.

The American Jewish Committee’s David Harris, who sharply criticized Lieberman in a February Jewish Week op-ed, doesn’t like the J Street video.   “We need much more focus on the eight ball; what does demonizing the new foreign minister get you?” he told the Jewish Week.

Here’s the video; decide for yourself.

Check out this week’s Jewish Week story on how a range of Jewish groups are responding to the Lieberman dilemma and more on the strong reaction to the J Street video.  It will be posted later today on the Jewish Week homepage.