Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just gave the finger to a huge chunk of American Jews and, by doing so, dangerously upset the already precarious relationship between the Israeli government and the Diaspora.
There is no other way to interpret the Israeli Cabinet’s spineless decision yesterday to accede to the ultra-Orthodox members of the coalition government and renege on a landmark agreement to provide a proper egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall known as the Kotel.
The agreement — a compromise of a compromise — was hammered out in January 2016 with Reform and Conservative Jews, the Jewish federation leadership, the approval of mainstream organizations like the Jewish Agency, and with the invaluable leadership of a true Jewish hero, Natan Sharansky. After a year and a half of stalling and prevaricating, Netanyahu showed his true colors by essentially dismissing non-Orthodox Jews the world over.
Even Michael Oren, who steadfastly defended the Netanyahu government as ambassador in Washington and now serves as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s office, was scathing in his reaction. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the abandonment of Zionism,” he said in a statement.
That’s because Oren understands what this “despicable decision” — his words — actually means. Netanyahu has turned his back on pluralistic Judaism and pluralistic Jews, and that fundamentally changes the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora.
Until now, that relationship was largely guided by a simple quid pro quo. Diaspora Jews — most of whom are not Orthodox — would integrate love and support of Israel into their religious, cultural, political and philanthropic lives. In return, the Israeli government would worry about the safety and security of the Jewish state — and by extension, the Jewish people.
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