In his first such sit-down with Jewish leaders, President Obama will meet this afternoon with representatives of from 11 different major Jewish organizations. The groups include American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Jewish Democratic Council, Orthodox Union, United Jewish Communities, Union for Reform Judaism, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, American Jewish Committee and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, which is lead by long-time Obama acquaintance Alan Solow, who requested the meeting.
There will be much on the agenda, but nothing will top the threat of a nuclear Iran or the President’s demand for a freeze on all Israeli settlement building. We can assume that despite some of the less temperate responses by some in these organizations, to the President’s positions on these issues, everyone will behave themselves. It is the White House after all. The interesting question will be how these groups speak about the current administration’s policies after they have left grounds.
Interestingly, the harshest comments are rarely about anything the President has actually done, but about what some members of this delegation fear he will do in light of comments he has made and actions he has taken – none of which have endangered Jews or Israel at all, to this point.
So whatever is said at the meeting, it will be up to those who lead these organizations to decide if they are going to keep reading tea leaves in ways that simply confirm why they were not Obama fans to begin with. Or, will they find measured ways to register disagreement without the fear-mongering and ugly language (“the President is surrounded by self-hating Jews”) that have often been a substitute for meaningful conversation about these very charged issues.
For its part, I hope that the administration can develop a deeper appreciation of the fears which underlay the thinking of those who use such language. They need not agree with those on the right about what is best for America or for Israel, but they will need to get past a game of dueling factoids if they want their policies to garner support from the greatest possible number of American Jews. If events in the Middle East were simply about the facts, there would have been peace long ago.
I hope that this administration remembers that when dealing with those with whom they have the deepest disagreements. If they do, I think that many people on both the left and the right will be able to find a workable common ground from which to make real progress to the peace which both sides say they want.
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
posted July 13, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Yasser Arafat put it so delicately:
“We don’t want peace, we want victory. Peace for us means Israel’s destruction and nothing else. What you call peace is peace for Israel…. For us it is shame and injustice. We shall fight on to victory. Even for decades, for generations, if necessary.”
posted July 13, 2009 at 7:27 pm
“Interestingly, the harshest comments are rarely about anything the President has actually done, but about what some members of this delegation fear he will do in light of comments he has made and actions he has taken – none of which have endangered Jews or Israel at all, to this point.”
O wad some Power the giftie gie us. To see oursels as ithers see us!
If only the President could point out the fear of Israel’s already-existing nuclear weapons and the effect they have on Middle East relations, without his Jewish guests totally wigging out.
posted July 14, 2009 at 12:33 pm
This article left out the fact that the Obama meeting attendees included hand-picked Obama supporters, including the leftist J-Street and Peace Now organizations. Obama deliberately excluded the organizations who have been brave enough to point out how dangerous Obama’s policies on Israel are, including ZOA, AFSI, and National Council on Young Israel.
Consequently, the attendees “behaved themselves” all too well. The silence, weakness and cowtowing to Obama of the “leaders” who attended is reminiscent of those American Jewish leaders who failed to speak out when Roosevelt refused to bomb the train tracks en route to the death camps to save European Jews, and failed to speak out when Roosevelt turned the St. Louis (one of the last boats out of Germany in 1939) back from our doorstep, so that most of its passengers returned to Europe to be killed by the Nazis.
This is a time when Jewish leadership should speak out and oppose Obama’s anti-semitic demands that Jews cannot build and live their lives free from his interference in Jerusalem and the tiny portion (6%) of the West Bank / Judea and Samaria in which settlement towns and cities exist. Obama seeks to uproot close to 650,000 Jews from their homes in favor of a Palestinian state, is pressuring Israel to give up the absolutely strategically essential Golan Heights, is giving $900 million of our tax dollars to Gaza – which will undoubtedly benefit Hamas, and attempts to legitimize the Palestinian cause and delegitimize Israel’s rights at every opportunity. We don’t have to read tea leaves to know what Obama’s policies are; he has made them perfectly clear. We need leaders who will oppose him, loud and clear.
LizBerneyforCongress@gmail.com
posted July 14, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Liz Berney is one of “Snortin’ Morton” Klein’s hate-mongering, pro-settler ZOA stooges.
Like other ZOA members who ‘revere’ Klein, she can’t go to the loo without first getting his permission.
Think of Berney as an uncharismatic Yid version of Sarah Palin – but ugly!
posted July 14, 2009 at 3:05 pm
re: HJG’s citation of ‘Arafat and J. Laszlo’s comments about “Snortin’ Morton” :
Mort Klein currently serves as ZOA president for life in the same manner that it would be accurate to have depicted the late, unlamented ‘Arafat as PLO Chairman for life and Palestinian Authority (PA) president for life.
Klein currently functions, and Arafat did function, as president for life of their respective organizations- one difference being, that the last time that ‘Arafat ran for election as PA president, there were actually other candidates on the ballot.
Both are short, balding, uncompromising, blood-thirsty individuals “revered” by their constituencies.
Another similarity: it is common knowledge that managerially, Klein operates, and ‘Arafat operated, in “my way or the highway” dictatorial mode.
All of these congruencies help to explain Klein’s career-making, long-standing obsession with ‘Arafat: in the PLO leader, Klein apparently discerned a mirror image of himself.
And Liz Berney is simply his mookish lackey.
posted July 14, 2009 at 3:06 pm
J. Lazlo
I have no idea who Liz Berney is, and whether I agree more with your politics than hers does not matter as much as your use of personal attack. I do however want your voice and your opinion heard. So please post a comment without the same language. That way, if your original comes down, you will still be with us.
Thanks.
posted July 14, 2009 at 3:57 pm
J. Laszlo, from your diatribe against LizBerneyforCongress, I must presume you are an Islamist Arabist with an unbridled hatred for anyone who voices pro-Israel opinions. Nothing in your personal attack refuted anything the woman posted. Go crawl back under your prayer rug in your Wahabi Mosque and commune with the rest of the cockroaches.
posted July 15, 2009 at 3:53 pm
J. Laszlo is spot-on. Liz Berney’s association with Mort Klein has been publicly documented- e.g., in the pages of the Washington Jewish Week.
Rabbi Brad: if you are going to come down against personal attacks, why did you let Al Eastman’s racist remarks stand? Check him out. I’ll bet he is involved in Berney’s congressional campaign!
According to Eastman, Muslims = cockroaches. Funny, didn’t the Nazis say the same thing about the Jews?!!
Wasn’t it the great Israeli Orthodox thinker Yeshayahu Leibovitz who coined the term “Judaeo-Nazi” to refer to fascist, right-wing Jews?
Al Eastman has proven his (and Laszlo’s) point! Way to go, Al!
posted July 16, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Rabbi Brad,
unless you wish this blog to turn into an electioneering dumping-ground, you may wish to consult an election law attorney with regard to the LizBerney posting.
She is entitled to her opinion as a private citizen, but her e-mail address on her posting comes awfully close to a campaign solicitation. As such, her posting on this blog could be construed as publicity and an “in-kind” highly partisan contribution to her congressional campaign by BELIEFNET.
Mareet-ayin !