J Street Conference 2011

As sunset falls on Washington, the lights are coming up on the 2011 J Street Conference. Founded in April 2008, J Street is a closely watched organization both in Israel and the United States. Since its last conference in October 2009, the organization has gained both legitimacy and stirred controversy. Israel activists, scholars, writers, and journalists will be watching the Washington Convention Center very closely over the next week.

The speaker line up for this year includes a notably higher policy focus. Well respected individuals from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Project on Middle East Democracy are among the panelists. The speakers will also include Imam Feisal Rauf, known for his leadership of the Park51 Project to build a mosque in the vicinity of Ground Zero, and Maen Areikat, Chief Representative of the PLO in the United States.