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| John 'Tsuris' Soros (tsuris - 'trouble' in Yiddish) |
J-Street is the supposed liberal alternative to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
J-Street has been accused -- including by me -- of being nothing more than a front group meant to undermine U.S. support for Israel by playing the "balance" card pushed by groups like the Center for American Progress (which runs Think Progress), Media Matters, and a host bloggers and pundits who subscribe to the Walt-Meirsheimer view of foreign policy.
Now it is revealed that George Soros secretly (through his children) has been funding J-Street. As reported by The Washington Times:
The Jewish-American advocacy group J Street, which bills itself as the dovish alternative to the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobby, has secretly received funding from billionaire George Soros despite previous denials that it accepted funds from the Hungarian-born financier and liberal political activist.
Tax forms obtained by The Washington Times reveal that Mr. Soros and his two children, Jonathan and Andrea Soros, contributed a total $245,000 to J Street from one Manhattan address in New York during the fiscal year from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.
The contributions represent a third of the group's revenue from U.S. sources during the period. Nearly half of J Street's revenue during the timeframe — a total of $811,697 — however, came from a single donor in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, named Consolacion Esdicul.
Jeremy Ben Ami, J Street's executive director, said in an interview that the $245,000 was part of a $750,000 gift from the Soros family to his organization made over three years. Mr. Ben Ami also said that in this same period he had raised $11 million for J Street and its political action committee.
