WJC President Stirs Debate By Urging Israel To Dismantle Its Settlements
Edgar
Bronfman, president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) has stirred a debate
with his recent call for the dismantlement of Israeli settlements in the
occupied territories and unilateral separation from the Palestinians.
Speaking at a
WJC gathering in Jerusalem on October 31, Bronfman, reports The Forward
(Nov. 9, 2001), “became the first major American Jewish communal leader to
break ranks openly with Mr. Sharon ... Mr. Sharon regularly fends off attacks
from Israeli doves who want him to negotiate with Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian
Authority and agree to the eventual dismantlement of settlements, even as hawks
press him to expel Mr. Arafat and dismantle his regime. Similar critiques are
voiced regularly in the American and European media. Until now, however, the
debate has been muted within the American Jewish communal life. Unsettled by
the fury of Palestinian violence over the last year and unwilling to question
an Israel under fire, most Jewish activists have kept their criticisms to
themselves and supported Israel publicly.”
Rabbi Eric
Yoffie, the senior leader of Reform Judaism, said: “At a time when Sharon is
heading a unity government fighting terror, I’m not interested in criticizing
him on what are theoretical positions.”
Mr. Bronfman
said that it was his intention to initiate a debate among Israelis, but that he
had no “objection” to triggering discussions within the American Jewish
community. He noted that, “It’s very difficult to be told to agree with the
government when the government doesn’t agree with itself, and has no policy in
place to attempt to deal with the situation.”
Rabbi Irwin
Kula, president of CLAL—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership,
declared, “It’s important to widen the debate. A lack of debate allows opinions
to get sloppy.”
Columnist
Leonard Fein (The Forward, Nov. 9, 2001) argues that if critics of
Israeli policy remain silent, both Jerusalem and Washington “will suppose” that
“the noisy, hawkish stance of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations speak for the majority of
America’s Jews.”
Fein believes
that “Israel’s policies endanger Israel’s security and wellbeing.” He points
out that an advertisement signed by prominent Israelis and Palestinians in the International
Herald Tribune (Oct. 29, 2001), Ha’aretz, Al-Ayyam and Al-Quds
received almost no coverage in the U.S. and is worthy of attention.
It stated, in
part: “The window of opportunity created by the international desire to unite
against terror following the criminal acts of September 11 is in danger of
closing. Our region is being dragged to the brink of an unnecessary war by the
acts of extremists on both sides. We, the undersigned, believe that we
represent the majority on each side in our rejection of terror in all its
forms. We demand the immediate implementation of the Mitchell Report and in
particular: an immediate end to all violence and assassinations; an immediate
cessation of all settlement activity; return to permanent status negotiations
based on U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and building on the
progress achieved in previous negotiation rounds.”
Signing the
declaration were 18 Palestinians, including five members of Yasser Arafat’s
cabinet — and 19 Israelis, including 10 members of the Knesset and six former
members. Many of the Israelis are well-known to American Jews: Yossi Sarid,
Collette Avital, Yael Dayan, Yossi Beilin, and Yuli Tamir among them.
Leonard Fein
writes: “I do not know whether there was much conversation in Israel about the
ad when it was published, so dispirited is the peace camp these days. I also do
not know whether adding the signatures of thousands of American Jews will help
the cause of peace. But I do know such signatures won’t hurt. The address for
endorsement is ‘IPJointDeclaration@hotmail.com.’ Now you can’t say you didn’t
know.”