Abbas refuses to meet with the Israeli president or with US peace negotiators or even with Democratic members of the US Congress.
But he is eager to meet with those American Jews who he knows are solidly on his side in every single issue that real Zionists cannot possibly ever accept, like Jerusalem and "return."
Abbas treated Ben-Ami like a head of state.
Among the Palestinian delegation was a member of the Fatah central committee, Hussein Sheikh, who is not even in the government. Fatah's official platform supports terrorism. Sheikh supports terror explicitly:
The gun is the way to get rid of this occupation, the shortest way to get rid of this occupation. This is Abu Ammar's promise and this is his will and we will continue to be true to them, Allah willing.
The "pro-peace" J-Street happily met with terror supporters who say that "armed resistance" is their right.
Ben-Ami stressed how he is working to restore funding to UNRWA and to defeat the Republicans in the mid-term elections.
J-Street bitterly complains when Israeli officials won't meet with them. Here's one very good reason why they won't - J-Street identifies fully with, and openly cooperates with, Israel's enemies.