U.S. Jews Outraged by Lieberman’s UN Population Exchange Speech
Many American Jewish leaders fumed Wednesday when Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed “an exchange of populated territory” as part of a Mideast peace deal in a speech before the UN General Assembly in New York.
Lieberman suggested ceding parts of Israel with large Arab populations to a future Palestinian state in exchange for Israel keeping large settlement blocs in the West Bank, a proposal which has been part of his party’s platform.
Lieberman also raised the possibility of aiming for a long-term interim agreement with the Palestinians, rather than a final-status one, but warned that this “could take a few decades.”
Many Israelis and U.S. Jews were outraged by the foreign minister’s speech, and several American Jewish leaders demanded Lieberman’s resignation.
