U.S. Jews ‘Partners,’ Netanyahu Says

Warning that a controversy over religious pluralism in Israel has become a crisis for world Judaism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed directly to American Jews on Sunday for patience and promised them a direct voice in any solution.

Although Netanyahu did not spell out what the solution might be, his assurance that American Jews will be heard was welcomed by nearly 4,000 delegates to the General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations meeting in Indianapolis.

“From my point of view, you’re not a third party looking in. You’re partners at the table. You’re partners in the common cause of the quest for Jewish unity,” he declared.

Netanyahu has been in the middle of a worsening political crisis over Jewish identity, which has pitted Orthodox leaders against those of more liberal streams of Judaism--Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist.

At issue is legislation in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, to cast into civil law an Orthodox monopoly on religious affairs that has existed since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948.

The issue has become so volatile that the controversy has forced Jewish charitable agencies--which depend heavily on contributions from Reform and Conservative Jews--to reallocate funds to Israel so liberal causes get a larger share. An unprecedented commission established by Netanyahu that includes representatives of all streams of Judaism has been given three more months to find a solution after earlier impasses.

Many Jews fear that the controversy is driving a wedge between Israel and the Jewish Diaspora--Jews living outside Israel--which has provided a financial and political bulwark of support for the Jewish state.

Netanyahu himself on Sunday called the dispute “debilitating and dangerous.”

By declaring that Jews in the Diaspora have a voice in what happens on the issue of religious pluralism in Israel, the prime minister appeared to be departing from what the Orthodox--inside Israel, amid Netanyahu’s governing coalition and in the United States--have been saying. They have argued that the religious dispute should be left to Israelis.

Despite the prime minister’s overture, several Jewish leaders--including Herbert Gelfand, president of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, and Martin S. Kraar, executive vice president of the Council of Jewish Federations--were cautious. They said they will wait to see how much of a voice the Diaspora will have.

Netanyahu also said he expects a solution in a short time and urged American Jews to support it. Foreshadowing his remarks in Indianapolis Sunday night, Netanyahu appealed to U.S. Jews last week to settle for less than they might want now in hope that such a compromise will lead to a breakthrough.

As he has in recent days, Netanyahu reaffirmed his view that all Jews, whether Orthodox or in the more liberal Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism, cannot be deprived of their Jewishness.

Reform and Conservative leaders have accused the Orthodox--and by extension Netanyahu’s government, which depends on Orthodox votes in the Knesset--of attempting to make Reform and Conservative members “second-class Jews.”

Netanyahu said Sunday he is acutely aware of the “bewilderment and pain” among the majority of American Jews. “I want to state at the outset as emphatically as I can, no one, nobody can deprive a Jew of his Jewishness, and no power on Earth can rob any Jew of his or her identity. There can be no such thing as a second-class Jew.”

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The prime minister departed briefly from the subject of Jewish identity to call on Jews in Israel and the United States to “stand behind” President Clinton in the confrontation with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“These are uneasy times in the Middle East,” Netanyahu said, referring to the escalating tensions following Hussein’s expulsion of six American weapons inspectors.

Netanyahu’s relations with the Clinton administration have been strained over what the U.S. sees as slow progress to bring about a Palestinian peace settlement. Both Clinton and Netanyahu are scheduled to be in Los Angeles today, but no plans have been announced for a meeting. Both governments have cited scheduling problems.

“The winds of aggression and brazen defiance of civilized norms are starting again in the Persian Gulf. Hussein is at it again,” he said. “I call on all of you, as I call on all the citizens of the State of Israel, to stand behind President Bill Clinton. He is not only the leader of the free world, he is one of Israel’s best friends.”