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J Street is coming to California Street.

The so-called “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby, which has drawn fire from some in the Jewish community for its left-of-center Middle East policies, will roll out its Bay Area organizational effort with a kickoff event next week at Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco.

The event takes place Thursday, Feb. 4. Organizers hope to fill the California Street synagogue’s spacious Newman Hall with supporters.

“This is a chance for us all to meet one another and celebrate this emerging movement in the local community,” said J Street volunteer Molly Freeman. “A lot of people who joined J Street online will be coming to meet face-to-face with those of us who have been active.”

The purpose of the event is more than simply a meet-and-greet. Attendees will watch a live Webcast greeting from J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami (who will simultaneously address 21 other meetings around the country). They will also break up into working groups to strategize their grassroots activism, from fundraising to community outreach.

Organizers expect a good turnout, especially since J Street merged last fall with Brit Tzedek v’Shalom: Jewish Alliance for Justice & Peace. That merger brought 40 local Brit Tzedek chapters and 50,000 activists into the J Street fold.

Carinne Luck, former Brit Tzedek director of organizing, is now J Street’s Washington, D.C.–based deputy field organizer. She says the Feb. 4 launch will bring together new and existing activists, and get them talking — not just to each other, but also to synagogues, federations and other Jewish community institutions.

There won’t be a J Street office in the Bay Area, but organizers will be working to help the 21-month-old organization establish a firm presence here.

“We often hear from people who say they feel alone on this issue,” Luck said. “What we hope is this will become a large cadre of active volunteers. We’ll look to them to provide the creative energy. They know their community best.”

Added Freeman, “There are strong supporters of J Street who feel comfortable articulating our positions and promoting very respectful, open discussion among people who have different points of view about what is in Israel’s strategic interests. So we’re contributing to the moral fiber of the community.”

The J Street positions have irked some, who feel the organization is overly critical of the Israeli government while failing to forcefully condemn Palestinian obstruction when it comes to a viable two-state solution.

Last month, in a speech to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism biennial, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, blasted J Street, saying it is “a unique problem in that it not only opposed one policy of one Israeli government, it opposes all policies of all Israeli governments. It’s significantly out of the mainstream.”

Such criticism has not impeded J Street from expanding. In addition to its efforts as a D.C.-based lobby and political action committee, it is also seeking a presence on college campuses with J Street U. That entity’s West Coast coordinator, Elizabet Wendt, lives in Berkeley, and after four months on the job is just starting to make inroads at Bay Area colleges.

She says the region’s history of campus activism can help her, though she admits the Bay Area poses challenges.

“[Bay Area] campuses have been polarized,” she said, “and since we’re very new here, we’re just getting on our feet. It takes time to build trust, especially since we’re trying to build a third way that doesn’t fit in with the extreme right or extreme left.”

Wendt also feels J Street offers a way back in to community involvement for college students who may have grown disaffected from Jewish communal life or alienated from Israel.

“I think we’re offering a way for people to strengthen the community and be involved in the American Jewish community discussion on Israel,” she said.

J Street detractors don’t want to hear that discussion  straying from strong support of Israel and equally strong condemnation of Israel’s enemies. But critics have accused the organization of doing just that, especially after J Street executive Isaac Luria condemned Israel’s strike against Hamas in Gaza last year.

J Street activists say they welcome the debate.

“We really believe in what we’re doing,” Luck said. “We want open dialogue and respectful conversation among Jews. As activists we come to this issue from many places, but we all care deeply about Israel, we care about peace in the region, and we believe negotiating a two-state solution is going to be the best way to secure Israel’s future.”

Added Freeman, “I don’t think we’re necessarily saying anything new, but we’re saying it with more self-confidence. You do wish there was more consensus, but I would say we do speak with one voice insofar as we’re very committed to what is in the interests of Israel’s long-term security.”

The J Street kickoff event will begin 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4 at Congregation Sherith Israel, 2266 California St., S.F. For more information or to RSVP, visit http://www.jstreet.org/sfbayarea or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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