Ambassador To U.S. Jews: ‘Unite Behind Israel’ Despite Broken Wall Deal
Siding with the government of Israel in its dispute with American Jewry over allowing egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman criticized American Jews expressing their dismay with Benjamin Netanyahu government’s stance.
“Yesterday I heard something that I thought I’d never hear. I heard a major Jewish organization say that they need to rethink their relations with Israel. We must do better,” Friedman told a B’nai B’rith gathering in Israel. Friedman acknowledged that there is “plenty of room to cast blame” on the issues of the Western Wall prayer or the new bill providing Israel’s chief rabbinate with the exclusive say over conversions to Judaism, but he stressed that American Jews “should unite behind the miracle that is Israel.”
Most major American Jewish organizations condemned the Israeli government’s action on the Wall and the conversion bill, including Jewish federations, national organizations and America’s two largest Jewish denominations — the Reform and Conservative movements.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter, @nathanguttman
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30