An argument over words and ideas -- who speaks them, hears them, sponsors or endorses them -- is escalating within the Jewish community, as two ends of the political spectrum conduct e-mail campaigns objecting to each others' speakers.

The lecturers are appearing at college Hillel chapters at opposite ends of the state. In each case, advocates were urged to contact the sponsors and ask them to change their plans.

In Pittsburgh, liberal supporters of J Street, which calls itself a "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobby advocating a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, are protesting this evening's address by Efi Eitam. A retired general and former leader of two right-wing religious parties in Israel's Knesset, Mr. Eitam will talk to local college and high school students about the threat of a nuclear Iran.

At the same time, the American Israeli Action Coalition, which says it represents 250,000 Americans living in Israel, wants Hillel at the University of Pennsylvania to dis-invite J Street's director, Jeremy Ben Ami, who is to speak there Thursday about the organization's activities.

Rabbi Art Donsky and Naftali Kaminski, J Street activists acting in this case as individuals, sent out alarms last week about Mr. Eitam. The messages called him a "racist" who has advocated expelling Palestinians from the West Bank and banning Israeli Arabs from national politics. They noted that Israel's attorney general warned Mr. Eitam in 2006 that he could face charges for repeating those statements.

Mr. Eitam is considered a war hero by many Israelis for his part in Operation Entebbe, the war in Lebanon and other military actions. Now an emissary of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he is traveling the United States as part of the Caravan for Democracy, a program of the Jewish National Fund, which brings speakers to college campuses to "promote constructive dialogue about Israel and the Middle East," according to its website.

The local grant for his visit to Pittsburgh came from the United Jewish Federation Foundation. It was designed to bring more college speakers to talk about Israel, but was made before a speaker was chosen, according to Jeff Finkelstein, the federation president. He said the federation had no involvement in inviting Mr. Eitam.

Dr. Kaminski said his objection was not to Mr. Eitam's appearance per se, but to the use of community money to bring him here, and to high school students being bused to the event by J-SITE, an educational program that serves local Jewish teens. He called it "a scandal" that unknowing parents might be sending their teenagers to hear "hate speech" without realizing it. He also wants J-SITE to clearly denounce Mr. Eitam's incendiary statements (J-SITE sent out an e-mail yesterday saying it does not endorse the views of speakers).

Mr. Eitam is not scheduled to talk about Israel's internal politics, but Dr. Kaminski said he is not a credible source on any subject because of his anti-Arab views. He said some 30 members of the Jewish community have called J-SITE to complain.

Deborah Fidel, director of the Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee, called Mr. Eitam "a poor choice" to be sending to American college campuses.

"My organization builds bridges between the Jewish and Muslim communities," she said. "Having Efi Eitam represent the Isreali government in our community to our young people makes my job that much harder. I lose credibility when I object to speakers the Muslim community might want to bring in that have said problematic things about Israel or Jews. How can I call them on that when this is who we are listening to?"

Meanwhile, Harvey Schwartz, chairman the American Israeli Action Coalition, was raising a ruckus in Philadelphia about Penn-Hillel having a J Street speaker. His letter called J Street "a far left, radical, anti-Israel group ... whose purpose is to undermine the safety, security and continued vitality of the State of Israel." It went on to call it "inconceivable" that Hillel would "collaborate with the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people."

Directors of both Hillels have said the programs would proceed as scheduled. They said their charge is to present speakers with a variety of viewpoints and that giving them a platform did not constitute an endorsement.

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