Pro-Israel group meets US ambassador, who badmouthed them

JERUSALEM – A liberal pro-Israel advocacy group says its meeting with the U.S. ambassador to Israel, who has made derogatory comments against them in the past, was vital for maintaining diverse dialogue.

J Street said its meeting Monday with David Friedman was off record but recognizes the need for “broad dialogue in the pro-Israel community, even with those with whom we disagree.”

Friedman in the past infuriated many by referring to J Street supporters as “kapos,” a term for Jews assigned by Nazis to assist them in concentration camps in the Holocaust. In his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing he regretted using inflammatory language.

The meeting came at a tense time between Israel and some Jews abroad over a government decision to suspend plans to expand and upgrade the prayer area at Jerusalem’s Western Wall for liberal Jews.