Letter: Reader responds to letters on J Street event

While I agree with the right to be critical, I must take exception to the letters criticizing the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) for its recent program featuring J Street and the highly respected diplomat, Ambassador Collette Avital (Oct. 27 edition).

When I was the area director for the St. Louis chapter, American Jewish Committee, one of my responsibilities was to attend meetings of the JCRC, a marketplace where the vastly diverse Jewish organizations can congregate, share information, and agree on a communal policy.  It is the responsibility of the JCRC to bring as many different  perspectives to the Jewish community as possible so we can arrive at an informed, intelligent and thoughtful decision about the serious issues facing us, including Israel,  as an individual, as an American Jewish community and as the St. Louis Jewish community.  By learning what others think about a particular topic, in this case Israel, our own opinion may be strengthened or we may find ourselves open to valid ideas we had not considered previously.

The JCRC would be derelict in its duty to the community if it only presented one side in the serious, emotional and often contentious debate about the State of Israel and the policies of its government.  

By sponsoring the open meeting featuring J Street and Ambassador Avital, the JCRC was not endorsing the policy of any organization or individual anymore than if the featured organization was AIPAC; it was not doing harm to Israel and its supporters (and I include myself) but merely doing its job: to inform and educate its constituent agencies and their members.

Rosalyn Borg, University City