Jeremy Ben-Ami
Encyclopedia
Jeremy Ben-Ami is executive director
of J Street
, a liberal advocacy organization in the United States
whose stated aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli
and Israel-Palestinian
conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. He is also the executive director of JStreetPac, which endorses and raises money for federal candidates.
Ben-Ami was President Bill Clinton
’s Deputy Domestic Policy Adviser, and later Policy Director on Howard Dean
’s presidential campaign. He was most recently Senior Vice President at Fenton Communications
. Earlier he was the Communications Director for the New Israel Fund
and started the Israeli firm Ben-Or Communications while living in Israel in the late 1990s. Ben-Ami has worked with Jewish peace groups, including the Center for Middle East Peace and the Geneva Initiative-North America.
Ben-Ami's father, born in Tel Aviv, was a founder of the American Friends for a Jewish Palestine and other Zionist organizations. His grandparents were among the first settlers of Tel Aviv, where many relatives continue to live. He graduated from Princeton University
and received a law degree from New York University
. He married Alisa Biran in 2001. Biran, who was working in fundraising at a music school, happened to be the daughter of a cantor from Ben-Ami's childhood synagogue. Despite a near set-up by their parents, they met on a popular dating website; "We had both tried JDate
and we were both disillusioned with it, so we met on Match.com
."
Articles
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of J Street
J Street
J Street is a nonprofit liberal advocacy group based in the United States whose stated aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israel-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. It was founded in April 2008....
, a liberal advocacy organization in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
whose stated aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli
Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab–Israeli conflict refers to political tensions and open hostilities between the Arab peoples and the Jewish community of the Middle East. The modern Arab-Israeli conflict began with the rise of Zionism and Arab Nationalism towards the end of the nineteenth century, and intensified with the...
and Israel-Palestinian
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. He is also the executive director of JStreetPac, which endorses and raises money for federal candidates.
Ben-Ami was President Bill Clinton
Presidency of Bill Clinton
The United States Presidency of Bill Clinton, also known as the Clinton Administration, was the executive branch of the federal government of the United States from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001. Clinton was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term...
’s Deputy Domestic Policy Adviser, and later Policy Director on Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
’s presidential campaign. He was most recently Senior Vice President at Fenton Communications
Fenton Communications
Fenton is a public interest communications firm based in the United States. Founded by David Fenton in 1982, the firm’s client list includes organizations associated with a diverse array of social issues. -Overview:...
. Earlier he was the Communications Director for the New Israel Fund
New Israel Fund
The New Israel Fund is a U.S. based non-profit organization established in 1979, and describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis.-Ideology:...
and started the Israeli firm Ben-Or Communications while living in Israel in the late 1990s. Ben-Ami has worked with Jewish peace groups, including the Center for Middle East Peace and the Geneva Initiative-North America.
Ben-Ami's father, born in Tel Aviv, was a founder of the American Friends for a Jewish Palestine and other Zionist organizations. His grandparents were among the first settlers of Tel Aviv, where many relatives continue to live. He graduated from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and received a law degree from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. He married Alisa Biran in 2001. Biran, who was working in fundraising at a music school, happened to be the daughter of a cantor from Ben-Ami's childhood synagogue. Despite a near set-up by their parents, they met on a popular dating website; "We had both tried JDate
JDate
JDate is an online dating service aimed at Jewish singles. The service is one of a number of demographically focused online match-making websites operated by Spark Networks plc.JDate offers two tiers of service: free and premium...
and we were both disillusioned with it, so we met on Match.com
Match.com
Match.com is an online dating company which reportedly has more than 20 million members, made up of a 49/51 male/female ratio, and Web sites serving 25 countries in more than 8 different languages. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas and the company also has offices in West Hollywood, Tokyo, Rio,...
."
Viewpoints
In March 2011, Ben-Ami commented,External links
- Jeremy Ben-Ami blog archives at The Huffington PostThe Huffington PostThe Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
- Staff biography at J StreetJ StreetJ Street is a nonprofit liberal advocacy group based in the United States whose stated aim is to promote American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Israel-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. It was founded in April 2008....
- A New Voice for Israel official book site at Macmillan
- Ben-Ami, Jeremy Tel Aviv, Then and Now The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, April 9, 2009
Articles
- Kirsch, JonathanJonathan KirschJonathan Kirsch is a Biblical scholar, an attorney, and columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He is a bestselling author of books on religion, the Bible, and Judaism. He earned a B.A. degree in Russian and Jewish history from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a J.D. degree from Loyola...
. The J Street Zionist, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los AngelesThe Jewish Journal of Greater Los AngelesThe Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. The Journal was established in 1985. As of 2010 it had a verified circulation of 60,000 and an estimated readership...
, November 17, 2011. - Goldberg, Michelle Same As It Ever Was? The American ProspectThe American ProspectThe American Prospect is a monthly American political magazine dedicated to American liberalism. Based in Washington, DC, The American Prospect is a journal "of liberal ideas, committed to a just society, an enriched democracy, and effective liberal politics" which focuses on United States politics...
, April 7, 2009 - Traub, James The New Israel Lobby, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, September 9, 2009 - Jacobson, Louis A moment with ... Jeremy Ben-Ami ’84, on speaking out about Israel, Princeton Alumni WeeklyPrinceton Alumni WeeklyThe Princeton Alumni Weekly is a magazine published for the alumni of Princeton University. It was founded in 1900 and until 1977, it was the only weekly college alumni magazine in the United States. Upon changing to biweekly publication in 1977, the number of issues per year decreased from 28 to...
October 7, 2009 - Goldberg, Jeffrey. J Street's Ben-Ami on Zionism and Military Aid to Israel, The Atlantic, October 23, 2009.
- Katz, Mandy The Man on J Street: The Story of Jeremy Ben-Ami, MomentMoment (magazine)Moment is an American Jewish magazine. It publishes articles related to Jewish culture, lifestyle, politics, and religion. Moment is not affiliated with any Jewish organization or religious movement, and its articles and columnists represent a diverse range of political views.-History:Nobel Peace...
, March/April 2010. - Hoffman, Allison. Heads Up: J Street chief Jeremy Ben-Ami calls the plays for the first self-confident alternative Jewish establishment, Tablet MagazineTablet MagazineTablet Magazine is a two-time National Magazine Award-winning online publication of Jewish life, arts, and ideas. Sponsored by Nextbook, it was launched in June 2009. Its Editor in Chief is Alana Newhouse....
, October 28, 2010.