Stop delegitimization
Israel needs to stop attacking Reform Jews
Among all the hardships Israel is facing – the submarine scandal, gifts and other forms of political corruption, renewed rocket fire from Gaza, Iranians on our northern border, and the Teva layoffs – another drama that is equally (if not even more) important will completely alter Israel’s future. The public is not really aware of this drama, and has expressed even less interest in it.
The drama I’m referring to is the divorce from our Jewish brothers and sisters in the United States that’s being forced upon us by our leaders. I believe this is one of the greatest scandals of the modern era, and a commission of inquiry must be set up to investigate it so that judgment may be recorded in the annals of history. This tragedy will be remembered for generations.
American Jewry is one of the State of Israel’s greatest strategic assets.
The IDF and our moral superiority over our enemies (which is slowly eroding) are the only things that take precedence over this relationship. The American Jewish community is our power base within the greatest global power. Not only do they donate money to Israeli institutions, they provide a canopy of protection, a logistical backbone that is all-powerful, loyal and committed, and is always there to support us in times of need. The US is home to the largest Jewish community in the world (outside of Israel) and they fill the ranks of AIPAC and the myriad vibrant organizations that engage day in and day out in Zionist activity.
And we are losing the support of this incredible asset at this very moment.
This is neither a threat nor a burst of rage. Just a statement of fact.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prefers the integrity of his coalition (i.e. the historical alliance with the ultra-Orthodox) over the integrity of the Jewish people.
I spent the past two weeks traveling throughout the US, including New York and Washington, where I met with Jewish community leaders, rabbis, public figures and ordinary Zionists, and I spoke on the phone with former and current Israeli diplomats. I served as the Ma’ariv correspondent in New York for four years in the 1990s and am well acquainted with sentiment in the US and the importance of American Jewish communities. What I experienced on this last trip was absolute devastation. And what’s worse – according to many of the individuals I spoke with, the damage is irreversible.
And one more thing: In all fairness, it must be noted that this trend did not begin with Netanyahu’s government. However, instead of trying to reverse the trend, Netanyahu has accelerated it and it is now irreversible. HERE IS a summary of recent conversations I had with former and current Israeli diplomats: “Bibi [Netanyahu] has lost his way on the topic of the Jews. He just decided to give up on them. He claims that anyway none of them are going to remain Jewish, so why should we bother? When he’s told that despite all of prophecies of fury and high assimilation rates, there are still over six million Jews in the US, he just snorts in contempt.
“He says that although the graph has plateaued, it will soon reach a precipice. The numbers will plummet, and then the American Jews will just disappear off the face of the earth. They won’t remain Jewish, so it’s a waste of time. We shouldn’t bother counting them as part of us anymore.”
Yes, Netanyahu reportedly said the above to more than one diplomat in recent months.
From his point of view, the true Jewish lobby in the US is the Evangelical Christian community. As far as he is concerned, American Jews have completed their historic role, and can move on with their lives.
A leader of Netanyahu’s stature should be expected to do just the opposite.
After all, they are an integral part of the Jewish people, an indispensable organ of our body. If Netanyahu were an IDF brigade commander standing next to a cliff overlooking a regiment below engaging in battle, wouldn’t he do everything in his power to save them? He probably would. So why isn’t he making any effort to save American Jewry? How dare he give up on them! He’s practically declared war on them.
This campaign of delegitimization against the Reform community is making us nostalgic for the antisemitism of Europe from the previous century. Many tall tales are being circulated, while at the same time most Israelis are not aware that most Reform and Conservative synagogues in the US fly an Israeli flag next to an American one. Last Passover, the commander of the New York Fire Department led a Seder for Jewish firefighters, most of whom are secular or liberal Jews, as are most American Jews. At that event too, the Israeli flag was proudly displayed.
Until recently, a large portion of American Jews viewed Israel as a most precious jewel. They didn’t always love the Israeli government, but they never let that get in the way of their special relationship with the only Jewish country in the world. Now, unfortunately, this unique connection is collapsing.
The Western Wall and conversion controversies are symptoms of this disease, and the side effects include feelings of alienation and a disparaging attitude toward Diaspora Jews. Israel is behaving in a way that tells American Jews they are no longer important, we are not interested in their lives, and we view their support of Israel as a natural phenomenon that can be taken for granted. Most importantly, we are distancing ourselves from the values upon which the Jewish state was established, which both of our communities used to hold dear, and that were meant to be everlasting.
To this list, we must also add the recent tour of northern Africa by deputy foreign minister for messianic affairs Tzipi Hotovely. Senior officials in the Foreign Ministry have called this visit a “mass casualty attack.”
Hotovely presented an image of absolute ugliness to the Jews of the US.
Instead of speaking with them in their own language, she tried to educate them about the divine promise Jewish justice is based upon, and to preach to them as if they were ignorant school children.
“She insulted them methodically, one after another,” relayed someone who was present during the deputy minister’s lectures. “When one man explained that he would never make aliya because as a gay person, his wedding would never be recognized in Israel, she expressed disbelief instead of empathy. She tried to alter the listeners’ worldview instead of focusing on our many shared values.”
Signs of this loss of shame could be seen already during the Western Wall crisis.
When the government backtracked on the decision it had previously supported regarding the Western Wall compromise, Prime Minister Netanyahu, in his capacity as foreign minister, gave an order to blame the Reform Jewish community. Some Israeli diplomats in North America simply refused to comply with this order, and rightly so. A particularly despicable campaign of delegitimization against the Reform movement was launched in which it was accused of being post-Zionist, whereas in reality most of the delegates to the World Zionist Congress hail from this movement. Rumors were spread that the word “Zion” had been removed from Reform prayer books, which of course is a crude lie.
Soon, Reform Jews are going to be accused of having handed Jews over to the Nazis during the Holocaust, or even worse, collaborating with the New Israel Fund.
Translated by Hannah Hochner.