Plein Air

Ambinder notes a promising shift in influence

... there has been a quiet debate in Washington over the past month over how to talk to Israel: whether negotiations should be kept private or disagreements should be aired in public.

On one side is AIPAC, and the 328 representatives and 76 senators who signed onto a letter earlier this month, who say we should keep things private: "The proven best way forward is to work closely and privately together both on areas of agreement and especially on areas of disagreement,"

On the other side is J Street, the up-and-coming, liberally aligned, peace-promoting lobby group that aims to rival AIPAC. With them is Rep. Barney Frank, who penned a letter to Obama on his own: "it would be a mistake to refuse to discuss important differences on how to achieve our mutual goals in a way that the electorates in both countries could understand,"

Speaking in Cairo today, Obama addressed the issue head on: "America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs," he said, rebuffing AIPAC's call for privacy and restraint.