Jeff Ballabon

Jeffrey Ballabon is a driving force behind the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem, an umbrella organizations for Jewish organizations who "oppose any negotiations which involve possible concessions of Jewish sovereignty or control over Jerusalem".

He is president of Ballabon Group, an issue campaign consultancy advising clients on government relations, crisis management and media strategy. He is a member of The Livingston Group, a D.C.-based lobbying firm and Global Policy Partners, an international business and political consulting firm.

He is trained as a lawyer (Yale Law School), has degrees in rabbinic law (Ner Israel Rabbinical College) and literature (Yeshiva University), and served as Republican counsel to the US Senate Commerce Committee and as legislative counsel to Senator John Danforth of Missouri.

The Forward, which labeled Ballabon one of the "50 Most Influential Jews in America," called him "the architect of Bush's 2004 re-election effort in the Orthodox community." Ballabon has been a key point of contact for the Jewish community with Christian leaders, as well. "If you're looking for a New Yorker with deep ties to the Christian right - you know, the folks running America - Mr. Ballabon is your man," wrote the Observer (the Observer profile is here, Mishpacha Magazine profile here).


Readers can send questions to rosnersdomain@haaretz.co.il.

Dear Mr. Ballabon,

I very much agree with you, but one thing is still missing from your plan: What can I do to really influence this destruction of Jerusalem?

Best regards,

Michael N.

Dear Michael and Shmuel,

CCJ is a coordinating group for organizations. We have been very active and our plan is, thank G-d, proceeding apace with gratifying results. But the danger is quite real and I appreciate the question about what individuals can do.

I think the most effective thing is for individuals to leverage the media as a platform: Write letters to the editor, op-eds, even blog. Listeners to talk radio should call in and make the case.

My previous responses mentioned the overwhelming support for our position in polls both in the U.S. and in Israel and noted the widespread support in the Knesset from various factions, including Ehud Olmert's own Kadima.

The media is trying to spin this as an effort of one narrow sector of society when the reality is quite different. Jerusalem is an issue which unites so many of us for so many reasons that it is important you be heard - and the Internet democratizes information.

Israelis and Americans also should e-mail and call their respective governments - if you want more information on how to do this contact CCJ at info@ccjer.org.

If you are active in any Jewish or Zionist organizations, push them to take action. Don't let them get off the hook by saying they have to wait and see what the Israeli government does - that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If that is all they do, they are of no value at all in saving Jerusalem. In fact, if and when the time comes, those are the very organizations that will be lobbying to give up Jerusalem; tragically that is exactly what happened eight years ago with Oslo.

If you give money to PACs in the U.S., start making it conditional - demand that they commit to only give money to elected officials who support a united Jewish Jerusalem. It's your money, why give it to politicians who are willing to create a Palestinian capital in a divided Jerusalem? And if your PACs won't make the demand in the clearest, most unequivocal way, then they are just sending the message to the politicians that you don't care about the issue or you are unsophisticated, because you'll keep sending them money no matter what they do.

We will be launching the Jerusalem Covenant, a signed commitment to keep Jerusalem intact, safe and united under Jewish sovereignty. We will ask elected officials and candidates to sign the covenant and we will ask "pro-Israel" organizations and PACs, as well.

We will publicize the list of those who have taken the Jerusalem Covenant. Insist that you will only support candidates and organizations that are willing to go on record by signing the covenant.

And, of course, pray. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.


Dear Mr. Rosner and Mr. Ballabon,

You discuss the question of Jerusalem in great detail but ignore what Prime Minister Olmert said - that it's all a political trick that was used against Peres in 1996 and Barak in 1999. I think he is right. And I want to ask Mr. Ballabon: is he only against concessions in Jerusalem or against the peace process in general? Does he think Israel should be more flexible on borders and refugees and the wall in exchange for Palestinian concessions in Jerusalem?

Thank you,

Amit Levy

Dear Amit and Shmuel,

I am afraid that I don't fully understand this question.

First, how can it be a "political trick?"

If Olmert has no intention of dividing sovereignty of Jerusalem, let him come out and say so. So far he has sent the opposite signals quite clearly.

And I also am not sure what is meant by "Palestinian concessions in Jerusalem". What concessions would Israel want? Israel already holds Jerusalem.

As for "the peace process in general" - and here I certainly speak only for myself and not for the organizations on CCJ which definitely have a variety of divergent views - I think that calling something a "peace process" does not make it so and Annapolis has all the earmarks of disaster.

I think Israel has been on the wrong track since Bill Clinton and Ehud Barak teamed up for Oslo and validated the revisionist narrative of the enemy so badly that today the world and even many Israelis doubt the morality of Israel's very right to exist.

Annapolis is built on the same pernicious foundation.

Back in 1980, everyone understood and even Jimmy Carter (!) said openly that the creation of a new separate state for Palestinians would be a destabilizing disaster for the region and that political suffrage for Palestinian Arabs needed to come about through the combined agencies of at least 3 states - Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

Today, as a result of Oslo, thousands have been killed and the creation of "Palestine" is viewed not merely as a possible strategy contingent on results, but as an absolute entitlement, regardless of how destructive its impact may be on Israel and which terrorists are in control.

And that is why there is pressure to continue on the same failed path - even while it is clear to anyone that creating another Gaza/Lebanon-type border for Israel out of Judea and Samaria is asking for trouble.

I recently heard Henry Kissinger (no pro-Israel hawk) answer the question: "What would you do about the Palestinians if you were the prime minister of Israel?" He pondered for a while and then replied, "If I were the prime minister of Israel my first responsibility would be to secure the safety of my citizens. After seeing what happened in Gaza and South Lebanon, I would not even consider creating a Palestinian state in the West Bank. I would take care of my people and only then, once I knew they were secure, I would think about how to help the Palestinians."

The truth is, politicians and media promote it ad nauseum, but the American public doesn't really think there is a need for or a point to creating a new Palestinian state - support for it mostly comes from the idea that Israelis want it - and lots of Israelis want it because they think there is no choice and the whole world demands it.

As far as I can tell, for most of the rest of the world, it still won't be enough and for the US, it's way too much.

In Washington, the senators and congressmen I talk to mostly think it's crazy, but figure "if that's what the Israelis want, okay."

Does that mean the Jerusalem issue is a "trick"? Absolutely not - not for Jews in Israel and not for Jews in America. An American Jewish Committee poll this week found that 58% of American Jews would not support ceding any sovereignty over Jerusalem even in the context of a comprehensive peace agreement.

A recent poll of Israelis found that by a ratio of 4:1 they oppose giving away any part of Jerusalem and more than 7:1 oppose giving away any part of the Temple Mount.

Thanks,

Jeff


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