Biden to address J Street on heels of AIPAC

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WASHINGTON (JTA) – Vice President Joe Biden will address J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group announced April 11.

The April 18 event comes a month after Biden, the Obama administration senior figure closest to the pro-Israel community, addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a prominent Israel lobbying group often at odds with J Street.

Biden will speak to the group as media speculation increases over whether President Barack Obama will outline the parameters of a two-state solution before he leaves office in January. J Street since its inception has backed an assertive U.S. role in advancing peace talks, while AIPAC counsels greater U.S. deference to Israel on whether and how to initiate peace talks.

The 2013-14 peace talks spurred by the Obama administration collapsed in mutual recriminations; officials on both sides are wary of what Obama would include in his vision for a permanent peace deal.

Biden last spoke to J Street in 2013, months after he had addressed AIPAC.