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On Feb. 4, J Street New Jersey held an organizing meeting in Princeton along with similar groups across the United States. Local activists addressed more than 60 attendees, then showed a taped address by the organization's executive director, Jeremy Ben-Ami. According to J Street, nearly 1,700 people were attending similar organizing events across the country.

East Brunswick's Debbie Schlossberg, chair of J Street's New Jersey chapter, opened the meeting by talking about her personal path to J Street. She had made aliyah and lived in Israel with her young family, working as a community organizer. When the Essex County native returned to New Jersey, she said, "I continued to look for a way to work towards my vision of Jewish democracy -- a safe, secure state of Israel, living side by side with a viable Palestinian state." She came to J Street by way of Brit Tzedak V'Shalom, which was recently integrated into the organization.

Schlossberg characterized the purpose of the meeting as putting "heads and hearts together to figure out how we want to move forward." The second half of the evening would involve working in subgroups where, she said, "we will hear from all of you on the ways you think this great effort can and needs to go forward, how we can bring the pro-Israel, pro-peace message to the press, our congregations, and public officials."

The next speaker, Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum from String of Pearls congregation in Princeton, offered a more spiritual message, bringing in Jewish concepts about the land belonging ultimately to God, peace and justice as dependent on economic parity, and the value of considering different opinions. She suggested that J Street is reaching out to Jews in the United States with these values in mind.

"I believe that J Street speaks a resilient language, that J Street dares to speak the language of hope amid deep despair in Israel and to those who love her from afar," she said.

The next speaker, Michael Rappeport, is the chapter spokesman as well as a national advisory board member.

Rappeport noted how he had learned from the Civil Rights Movement how important it is to employ different means in order to reach a shared goal.

"The goal is the same -- a safe, secure Israel," he said, "except we believe the way to get there is more of an emphasis on various kinds of negotiation, working together, and standing for certain kinds of values. To do that, J Street structured itself to be a lobbying/educational/advocacy group based on community."

The group's main job, he added, is to endorse members of Congress, which it will do this year for more than 60 seats.

Just as J Street represents the missing street in Washington, D.C. between I and K, explained Rappeport, so J Street represents an area missing in Jewish opinion on the national scene.

"We decided that it is time to replace the missing street with a pro-Israel lobby that is pro-Israel but also pro arriving at two-state solution that people in Israel can live with, understand, and cope with, and have neighbors they can live with as well," he said.

The next speaker, Professor Ed Witten of the Institute for Advanced Study, emphasized that the missing voice J Street is offering is "the moderate, sensible, pro-Israel, pro-peace mainstream voice that has not been heard in the American Jewish community."

He explained that the status quo in Israel is untenable, and "getting harder to change every month as it gets more cemented into place." Despite the danger, Witten continued, "there is probably still a chance to create momentum for a two-state solution." But Witten felt that this could only happen with the help of the Congress and president.

In terms of policy, J Street plans to influence American foreign policy in support of a two-state solution.

Schlossberg responded to two recent issues raised that involved J Street, emphasizing that she was expressing her personal opinion.

Regarding recent admission by Ben-Ami that J Street U, the organization's college arm, may drop the term "pro-Israel" from its description, leaving only "pro-peace," Schlossberg said that despite that change, no decision was made to change J Street U's mission statement.

J Street has also responded to recent accusations directed at the New Israel Fund from Im Tirzu claiming that 16 Israeli human rights organizations funded by the New Israel Fund provided 92 percent of the critical information used in the Goldstone report. J Street came out in support of the New Israel Fund and, on the J Street Web site, Ben-Ami hit back, calling Im Turtzu "but the latest example of a perfect storm brewing that threatens the core of Israel's democratic character," though didn't dispute Im Tirzu's numbers.

Schlossberg also expressed strong support for the New Israel Fund. Looking at the organizations New Israel Fund supports, Schlossberg continued, "You will see many organizations that promote civil society and social justice. To focus on a handful of organizations whose information may have been used, to put an incorrect focus, is manipulative and unfair to the character of the organization."

Many attendees at the opening J Street event expressed discomfort with Israel's current policies.

Princeton resident David Eden -- formerly a political activist in Israel with Mapam and Meretz, an early member of Peace Now, and a member of a Shomer Hatsair kibbutz Yasur, near Acco -- said, "I think J Street is trying to get the message out that I have believed in for many years."

Gerry Boswell said, "I'm hoping for a peaceful two-state solution soon, so things can become stable and hopefully begin to improve, but this is more a hope than a prediction. If American supporters of Israel don't speak out against delays being put up by the Netanyahu administration, peace may not come about."

Princeton architect David Cohen observed, "I'm very concerned about the peace process. It seems like we need a voice in American Jewry that is concerned for both sides of the conflict and, from what I know about J Street, they are."

Some attendees just wanted to find out what J Street was all about. Harold Shapiro, former president of Princeton University, said he is not a member of J Street but wanted to find out what they have to say.

"I came because I'm interested in alternative approaches to thinking about things in Israel and how Israel will prosper in the long term," he said.

One attendee expressed frustration over how J Street had handled its relationship with Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine and longtime political activist in left-liberal causes. Princeton poet Liz Socolow said she came to the J Street event in Princeton in spite of herself, because was troubled by the fact that J Street would not allow Lerner to speak at its conference. Whether J Street was afraid that Lerner had failed for too long, was too radical, or was too religious, said Socolow, she would have liked J Street to seek the path of compromise.

"I feel like they have mishandled people like me -- old activists," she said of the J Street conference organizers.

Still others were frustrated with what they considered an unwillingness of the American Jewish community to allow expression of a range of positions on Israel.

Kent Roth grew up with the fact of Israel's existence being very important to him, and he retains love and affection for the state. But he is looking for an alternative to the nonpartisan AIPAC, which, he said, "probably reflects the current leadership in Israel."

"Maybe since we do have a stake [in Israel], maybe it's time for us to say something when we disagree with the direction," he said.

Princeton resident Sherry Rosen also came out in favor of open discussion about Israel among Jews in the United States.

"It is important that we understand there are different options and positions -- a diversity of opinion as there has always been in Israel," she said.