A month after AIPAC talk, Biden to address J Street
Published April 12, 2016
Vice President Joe Biden addressing the 2016 American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., March 20, 2016. (YouTube screen capture)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Vice President Joe Biden will address J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group.
The April 18 event comes a month after Biden, the Obama administration senior figure closest to the pro-Israel community, addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a center-right group often at odds with J Street.
It also comes as speculation increases over whether President Barack Obama will outline the parameters of a two-state solution before he leaves office in January. J Street has since its inception backed an assertive U.S. role in advancing peace talks, while AIPAC counsels greater U.S. deference to Israel on whether and how to initiate peace talks.
The 2013-2014 peace talks spurred by the Obama administration collapsed in mutual recriminations; officials on both sides are wary of what Obama would include in his vision for a permanent peace deal.
Biden last spoke to J Street in 2013, months after he had addressed AIPAC.
