WASHINGTON, 23 May — Binjamin Netanyahu’s recent grab for power has resulted in “withering criticism… from American Jewish leaders” for what they interpret as “a politically motivated attempt to undermine (Israel’s) Prime Minister Sharon during wartime.”
According to Forward, a leading New York-based Jewish weekly, American Jewish leaders are calling Netanyahu a “political opportunist” and “irresponsible” for the former prime minister’s orchestration of the recent Likud Central Committee vote against Palestinian statehood.
Sharon, who said publicly he backs the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, recently put the vote to his coalition government. But the vote was defeated, and was viewed as an effort by Netanyahu to depose Sharon and gain control of the Likud Party.
As a result, Netanyahu has put himself, and Israel’s ruling Central Committee Party, at odd with American Jewry, notes Forward. “In an ironic twist, the vote also leaves many American Jewish leaders looking to Sharon as the voice of Israeli moderation, despite initial misgivings about the prime minister’s long support for settlements and his association with the 1982 Sabra and Shatila refugee camps (massacres) in Lebanon.”
Critics here warned that the Likud vote could eventually “lead to the breakup of Israel’s (coalition) government, trigger massive infighting among American Jewish groups, weaken American Jewish support for the Israeli government and severally damage relations between Jerusalem and Washington.”
“At a critical moment in Israel’s history, with her citizenry stunned and reeling from continuous terror, Netanyahu chose opportunism over leadership and personal ambition over the well-being of the Jewish state,” wrote the president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, in a recent editorial in Forward.
Yoffie also accused Netanyahu of handling the Palestinians a propaganda victory and embarrassing the Bush administration, which is firmly on record in favor of a two-state solution. Yoffie told Forward that the Likud measure would be “disastrous” for American-Israeli relations if it ever became official Israeli policy.
The executive vice president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Rabbi Jerome Epstein, joined Yoffie in his criticism of Netanyahu. Together, the Reform and Conservative movements represent a total of about 1,700 congregations in North America and 80 percent of American Jews who belong to synagogues.
Epstein said that ruling out the possibility of a Palestinian state would hinder Israel’s ability to negotiate with the Palestinians and Arabs, rob Israel of the moral high ground and complicate relations with American Jews.
