-Caveat Lector-
>From http://www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.05.17/news3.html
}}}>Begin
Bibi's Challenge to Premier Roiling U.S. Groups
FORWARD STAFF
Benjamin Netanyahu is facing withering criticism this week from American Jewish
leaders angered by what they call a politically motivated attempt to undermine Prime
Minister Sharon during wartime.
Leaders of several centrist and liberal Jewish organizations were throwing around
terms like "political opportunist" and "irresponsible" to describe the former prime
minister, following his lead role in last weekend's Likud Central Committee vote
against Palestinian statehood. The vote was widely interpreted as an opening salvo
in Netanyahu's bid to wrest control of the Likud from Sharon, who has backed
publicly the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.
To varying degrees, the Likud vote puts Netanyahu and the ruling party's Central
Committee at odds with American Jewry's two largest synagogue movements and
three major defense agencies. 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 massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in
Lebanon.
Some observers, while criticizing Netanyahu over his leading role in the vote,
downplayed the significance of the action. Other critics, however, warned that the
Likud vote could eventually lead to the breakup of Israel's unity government, trigger
massive infighting among American Jewish groups, weaken American Jewish
support for the Israeli government and severely 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 Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president
of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, in an opinion essay in this week's
Forward (Please see Page 9).
The leader of Reform Judaism, Yoffie also accused Netanyahu of handing the
Palestinians a propaganda victory and embarrassing the Bush administration, which
is firmly on record in favor of a two-state solution. In an interview with the Forward,
Yoffie warned that the Likud measure would be "disastrous" for American-Israeli
relations if it ever became Jerusalem's official policy.
Yoffie was joined by Rabbi Jerome Epstein, executive vice president of the United
Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, in criticizing Netanyahu. Combined, the
Reform and Conservative movements represent a total of about 1,700 congregations
in North America and 80% of American Jews who belong to a synagogue.
"I am disappointed in Netanyahu's role," Epstein said.
The Conservative leader said that ruling out the possibility of a Palestinian state
would hamper Jerusalem's ability to negotiate with the Arabs, rob Israel of the moral
high ground and complicate relations with American Jews. "I think the people who
are involved in mainstream Jewish life today want to feel Israel is willing to seek
peace with secure borders," Epstein said. In part, he added, that means at least a
theoretical openness to a Palestinian state.
"I think it is always easy to be on the outside taking stances like that," Epstein
said. "I
think that it is much more important at the present time that the party of the prime
minister at least provide support for the prime minister. And I think that Sharon has
got to be able to negotiate, but saying never doesn't leave much room for
negotiations."
Officials at the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the
American Jewish Congress either voiced support for the eventual creation of a
Palestinian state or condemned Netanyahu's politicking. But they downplayed the
actual significance of the Likud vote, citing polls that show a significant majority of
Israelis, and even Likud voters, back Sharon's position.
"Whether one agrees with the sentiment, most of us wish [the vote] didn't happen
because it embarrassed the prime minister at a time when he needs to be supported
and have the unity of Israel and the Jewish people," said Anti-Defamation League
national director Abraham Foxman. Declining to name names, Foxman added, "It's
sad that at a time when Israel is at war, there are people who are unable to let go of
their politics."
Foxman argued that the vote would probably have little impact on Sharon's policies.
But, he added, if such a statement became official Israeli policy, "It would cause
fissures in the American Jewish Community."
American Jewish Congress president Jack Rosen said that a blanket rejection of a
Palestinian state would likely put Jerusalem at odds with large numbers of Jews in
the United States. He called the vote "ill timed," but questioned whether the
resolution would end up impacting Israel policy.
Several officials noted that during his stint as prime minister, Netanyahu shook
Arafat's hand, carried out an Israeli withdrawal from Hebron and signed the Wye
agreement. "I think it is clear to almost everybody that the end game is two states
living side by side," said American Jewish Committee spokesman Kenneth Bandler.
"Things change on the ground when someone is elected president or prime minister.
You have to deal with the reality of actually being in charge of the government."
Several leading American critics of the Oslo accords praised the Likud vote,
including the national president of the Zionist Organization of America, Morton Klein.
"The Likud's resolution is consistent with President Bush's pledge to put an end to
terrorist states; establishing a Palestinian Arab state would mean creating a new
terrorist state," Klein said in an official ZOA statement. "At a time when Yasir Arafat
and the Palestinian Authority are actively promoting the murder of Jews and
harboring those who carry out the murders, any discussion of any Israeli concessions
to Arafat would be a reward for his terrorism."
New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represents a heavily Orthodox
section of Brooklyn, defended Netanyahu against claims that he had engaged in
inappropriate politicking.
"Politicians play politics all the time � the left, the right and the center," said the
Brooklyn Democrat. He noted that elections in Israel are scheduled for next year, and
could take place sooner. "To accuse one guy of playing politics and not the other is
preposterous and dishonest to say the very least."
End<{{{
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