Washington — Hours before entering the White House for a meeting with President Barack Obama, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the podium at the General Assembly of Jewish federations to send a message to Obama, the Palestinians and the entire world.
Israel, according to Netanyahu, seeks an immediate resumption of peace talks. “Let’s move,” Netanyahu said. He went on to address the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas personally — urging him to “seize the moment to reach an historic agreement; let us begin talks immediately.”
Netanyahu’s message of peace, which was well received by the 3,000 participants of the General Assembly, was a dress rehearsal, said an Israeli official, to his meeting with Obama. Netanyahu, the official said, will stress in the Oval Office meeting his desire to enter talks with no preconditions — thus putting the onus on the Palestinian side that has so far refused to negotiate before a settlement freeze would be put in place.
The Israeli leader told Jewish communal leaders in his GA speech that his government went further than any other Israeli government in lifting roadblocks in the Palestinian territories, and in agreeing to restrain settlement activity. Never before, Netanyahu said had the Palestinians insisted on pre-conditions before agreeing to talk with Israel.
Further setting the tone for his meeting with Obama, the Israeli prime minister praised the American president and his administration — both for their strong opposition to the adoption of the Goldstone report by the United Nations and for their work to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
A few minutes into his speech, Netanyahu was disrupted by a single demonstrator within the crowd, who called out and tried to wave a sign repudiating Israeli policy in Gaza.
In his 40-minute keynote address, Netanyahu tried to reach out to the Jewish American crowd, promising that Israel will be open to all Jewish denominations. “Religious pluralism will always guide my policy,” Netanyahu said.
Stressing this issue is an important step in reaching out to U.S. Jews, since the ultra-Orthodox partners in Netanyahu’s coalition have declined to accept the legitimacy of Reform and Conservative movements in Israel.
The Forward welcomes reader comments in order to promote thoughtful discussion on issues of importance to the Jewish community. In the interest of maintaining a civil forum, the Forward requires that all commenters be appropriately respectful toward our writers, other commenters and the subjects of the articles. Vigorous debate and reasoned critique are welcome; name-calling and personal invective are not. While we generally do not seek to edit or actively moderate comments, the Forward reserves the right to remove comments for any reason.
Copyright © 2013, Forward Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Cleveland Kidnapping, Elizabeth Smart and Us
Tracing the Jewish Origins of the Holy Ghost
Magen Tzedek, Ethical Kosher Seal, Stalled Amid Orthodox Opposition
Forced Out by Nazis, Grandmother Returns With Family to Germany
Baby Boomers’ Rocky Road to Jewish Love
You've successfully signed up!
There is no peace process with the Arabs, because they do not want peace.
Stop the continuing insanity.
Netanyahu isn't making a good-faith offer of negotiations. He's simply going to repeat what Gush Shalom calls "a humiliating demand for surrender." Why should Abbas accept that offer?
The Palestinians have had repeated negotiations with Israel, and the Israelis have repeatedly refused to make a meaningful offer. http://www.gush-shalom.org/generous/generous.html
The settlements are illegal. Even Israel's own chief legal counsel said that. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/opinion/10gorenberg.html Israel is continuing to break the law, and Netanyahu refuses to even stop breaking the law. A reasonable precondition is for Israel to stop breaking the law.
The Palestinians will get no benefit from negotiating with Netanyahu. They'll only make it easier for Netanyahu to abuse them. Why should they negotiate?
It now looks possible that the result of Netanyahu's rejectionist policies will be Hamas winning the election in the West Bank too.
Will that make Israel more secure?
It is easy for Netanyahu to say no pre-conditions. It means that Israel will continue to expand settlements and evict innocent Palestinians from their home as was the case in East Jerusalem. It is easy to see why Palestinians do not care for Israel. The Israelis and their AIPAC counterparts give a wink and create the veneer of a higher morality. I am quite frankly ashamed of Israel more and more each day. I say this after serving in Zahal. I know there are many Jews in the so-called diaspora who are seeing things as I do.