The executive director of J Street, the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement, Jeremy Ben-Ami speaks tonight, Friday, August 8, at 7 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center.

His topic is J Street: The New Address for Middle East Peace. J Street was founded to promote meaningful American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israel conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. He will discuss the results of a recent poll of the American Jewish community on America’s Middle East policy. Instead of holding the hawkish, the hard-line positions often expressed by many established Jewish organizations and leaders, the survey showed that American Jews actually overwhelmingly support assertive peace efforts and an active U.S. role in helping Israelis and Arabs to resolve their conflict.

Mr. Ben-Ami has served in a number of senior government positions, including as President Clinton’s deputy domestic policy advisor.