However, with the erosion of cabinet solidarity after the Rabin era, the intimate relationship which existed between Diaspora Jewish communities and the Israeli government and its ambassadors rapidly deteriorated.
In stark contrast to former charismatic leaders like David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin and even Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is inclined to release trial balloons to test the waters of public opinion rather than articulate his policy in advance to the nation. This was exemplified by the contradictory rumors floated from government sources before it was resolved not to concede to the outrageous Turkish demands in the wake of the Mavi Marmara affair.
Combining the vagueness of publicly stated government policies with the dramatic upsurge in anti-Israel hostility, it is not surprising that most Diaspora Jewish leaders are now far more hesitant than in the past to criticize their host governments over Israel-related issues.
The change in behavior is especially obvious with American Jewish leaders who were formerly renowned for their feisty domestic and global initiatives on behalf of Israel.
AIPAC continues to effectively lobby the case for Israel on a bipartisan level in Congress but its role is, by definition, limited to this arena.
However, over the past six months, the principal organizations involved in public affairs – the Conference of Major American Jewish Organizations (Presidents Conference), the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Anti- Defamation League (ADL), and Bnai Brith International – while remaining unreservedly committed to Israel have generally been reluctant to explicitly challenge the Obama administration’s pressures and one-sided demands upon Israel.
AMERICAN JEWS are understandably hyper-sensitive about a further erosion in the bipartisan relationship, a crucial factor in maintaining public support for Israel. Yet reluctance to publicly criticize their president contrasts sharply with the dramatic Jewish grassroots backlash against Obama exemplified by the stunning upset in the New York’s 9th Congressional District, a largely Jewish-populated electorate – where the Democratic candidate, an Orthodox Jew, was defeated by a Roman Catholic Republican.
In addition, many Democratic congressmen have themselves uninhibitedly contradicted their president by supporting Israel.
Despite the extraordinary support which emerged when Netanyahu articulated the case for Israel in Congress, since then the Israeli government has consciously avoided airing its differences with the US administration. There are even rumors that Israeli officials encouraged Jewish leaders to remain silent to avoid further alienating the administration.
Irrespective of the merits of such an approach, it would be a major blunder for Israelis to encourage American to behave passively while the Obama administration treats Israel, its ally, in such a shabby manner.
Take for example the Turkish imbroglio and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s intense pressure on the Israeli government to apologize and concede to their outrageous demands. One can imagine how Begin or Rabin would have reacted had the US pressed them to capitulate over such an issue, but our government decided not to respond. Yet why should American Jews not express indignation at the chutzpah of their government pressuring Israel to apologize for its soldiers defending themselves against terrorists? The same applies to Obama’s statement about the 1967 borders with swaps. Israel (mistakenly, in my opinion) may feel constrained in responding to the ongoing pressure in order not to antagonize those countries wavering over the UN Palestinian statehood issue.
But surely American Jews, angered by their government’s one-sided demands, which place Israel at such a disadvantage, should not feel inhibited about protesting against such behavior.
THERE WAS a notable absence of Jewish response to the US endorsement of the despicable UN Human Rights Council resolution to criminalize religious “stereotyping” specifically as applied to Islam. The resolution proposed by the Islamic states sought to prevent any public criticism or discussion of Muslim infringements of human rights or criticism of Islam – a clear repudiation of freedom of expression. One would have even expected Jewish liberals to protest against such a policy.
In talking points for commemorating the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Obama administration listed countries which had suffered from terror. As on a previous occasion, Israel, which has endured more terrorism pro rata from Islamic fundamentalists than the other countries mentioned, was notably omitted from the list. Yet the only organization protesting this glaring omission (as other issues) was the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).
The same applied to the outrageous parting shots by retiring secretary of defense Robert Gates, who castigated Netanyahu for his “ingratitude.”
Again, only ZOA protested against this boorish charge.
Public opinion in the United States is currently overwhelmingly supportive of Israel. But this should not be taken for granted and it would be shameful to rely on Christians and conservative friends of Israel to publicly protest against the double standards employed by the Obama administration in its relationship with the Jewish state.
To make matters worse, presumably in their zeal to retain their “liberal” credentials some Jewish leaders seem to compete with one another to defame evangelicals who support Israel.
This was exemplified by the vitriolic attacks leveled against Glenn Beck, who visited Israel to express solidarity with the Jewish people and launch a global movement committed to supporting the Jewish state. “If the world goes down the road of dehumanizing Jews again, then count me as a Jew and come to me first,” he said. What more could one ask from a friend? Besides, Beck’s support for Israel has had a major impact, especially in the United States.
One is not obliged to identify with all policies espoused by allies, but during such difficult times, when many of our former liberal supporters have abandoned us, to condemn someone displaying the courage to support us in this current hostile environment without imposing any reciprocal demands is simply inexplicable.
Besides, Beck, who passionately defends Israel against the barbarians at our gates, has an infinitely better understanding of Middle East politics than his critics and should be commended by all friends of Israel.
We return to the original question. Why are most reputable American Jewish leaders off the radar and reluctant to publicly confront the excesses of the administration? If, for purported diplomatic reasons, the Netanyahu government has asked them to remain silent, this would be scandalous. Diaspora Jews living in a democracy like the US do not require a green light from the government of Israel to speak up and protest if they believe that their government is applying double standards against Israel, its ally. If Jewish leaders persist in remaining silent, their kinsmen at a grassroots level will simply continue bypassing them.
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post
RE: Those groups are mostly political networking clubs for rich Jews to admire themselves.
Well put. Pretty much the case.
Great article, Isi. As an evangelical, your kind words are most appreciated. Thank you.
So, what’s new here? Prior to World War II, major Jewish leaders didn’t protest Nazi treatment and killing of Jews either while they were busy kissing democrat president Roosevelt’s a$$. A sick analogy would be instead of Cholera (Hillery) Clinton’s book title, It Takes a Village, we use the term, It Takes a Holocaust to move the Jewish leadership.
You put too much focus on the old Jewish groups like the Conference, the AJC, the ADL etc. Those groups may at one time have been representative of American Jews, but they have not been for a very long time. Those groups are mostly political networking clubs for rich Jews to admire themselves. The ADL supports anti-Semitism in exchange for money. I have made facts about this knows for over 15 years and still people treat them as if they have credibility. There are plenty of Jews that actually support Jewish issues and a Jewish Israel but most of them are part of the conservative movement, not the Democrat party political machine. Democrats have becomes substantively supportive of open Jew bashing like that done by Obama and his crew. Bill Clinton was pushing for the total surrender of Israel in 2000 and Hillary has been every bit as anti-Jewish as Obama, and yet she still gets respect from Jews. Stop looking to the old line Jewish groups because their Jewishness is always less important to them than their personal ability to make money and to support left wing politics
Oh come on you know exactly why these “major” Jewish organizations remain quiet, its becasue they are no more than shills for the democratic party. Their layman-leadership has no desire to annoy the democratic power base and the professional class does not want to upset their paymasters and then be forced out of their jobs. It’s why the American Jewish Committee has so embarrassingly even said there is no antisemitism problem on college campuses, have refused to stand up for Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem in this falls Supreme Court case and condemned the Emergency Committee for Israel’s add in the NYT a few days ago.(Ironic since their articles in the Huffington Post are decidedly pro-Israel)
I doubt Netanyahu has asked everyone to remain quiet. He doesn’t control Jewish Americans because if he did then no Jew would be voting Democrat anymore. The fact is that these Jewish organizations care about their own power and less and less about Israel’s survival. They really think that they will be able to keep their Mercedes Benz if the Jews of Israel are slaughtered, as long as they try to position themselves as the “good Jews” who back every liberal cause including demonizing Israel. They should be ashamed of themselves. These are the same Jewish organizations that did nothing to help the Jews of Europe during the Nazi era and it seems they really haven’t changed.