Jewish groups issue disputed statement backing Israel

Friday, March 22, 2002 | by

RACHEL POMERANCE

NEW YORK—It took several days of fine tuning before American Jewish organizations were able to unanimously agree on a solidarity statement with Israel.

But to get there, the final version of the statement expressed support for the state of Israel rather than its government, as was originally proposed.

The statement, by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations comes at a time, the umbrella groups says, when it matters most.

"American Jews need an opportunity to come together and be heard in an expression of unity," said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents.

The statement, titled "We Stand With Israel," was slated to appear in full-page advertisements yesterday in major newspapers across the country, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times.

The ad is part of a broad solidarity initiative launched by the Conference of Presidents in partnership with the United Jewish Communities and its 189-member federation across the country. A cornerstone of the initiative is set for March 24, when pro-Israel gatherings are being planned for dozens of communities around the country including New York where Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, other top Israeli officials, Israeli terror victims and American political leaders are slated to address the group at the 92nd Street Y by live telecast. After several days of debate and discussion over the language, all but one of the umbrella group's 52 organizations signed on to the ad.

The only group that didn't sign was the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which, as a humanitarian organization, has a policy that precludes participation in public political action.

Hoenlein said the statement steered clear of potentially divisive political points, but instead strove "to express our solidarity with the people of Israel and for the people of Israel to see that we stand with them at this very difficult time" when they "feel very isolated and alone."

He said another purpose of the ad is to "show our own government and American people that we stand united with Israel and hope that they will do so as well."

The statement begins: "We stand with the people and the state of Israel at this critical time. We share their pain and outrage at the terrible loss of life and limb as a result of the Palestinian campaign of terror and violence launched against Israel eighteen months ago."

It continues: "We stand with Israel as it fulfills its most basic responsibility as a democracy; defending the nation and protecting its citizens."

The changes from the draft to the final version reflect the statement's sticking points.

Most glaring is the deletion of a proposed statement that followed the demand for Palestinians to end the terror campaign and live up to their previous commitments.

The deleted statement read: "This will make a cease fire possible and enable a return to negotiations."

Another major change altered the initial version from supporting the "government" of Israel to the "state" of Israel.

Also, a statement calling for a peace that will assure the safety of Israel's citizens is newly expanded to encompass "all the citizens of the region."

Explaining the edits, Arthur Naparstek, director of the Israel and Overseas Pillar for UJC, said, "You had a variety of different points of view that had to be taken into account."

The ad campaign, along with the events, is estimated to cost between $200,000 and $230,000, according to Naparstek.

As the number of signatories on the ad indicates, the statement brings the organized American Jewish community together across the political divide.

On the right, Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said: "This is a very strong statement of support for Israel and its policies. What is especially gratifying is that this statement explicity condemns Arafat for his eight years of pro-terror, anti-peace" policies.

ZOA had objected to any statement about a return to negotiations—none was included in the final version.

The statement also pleased the left-wing Americans for Peace Now, which had reservations about the initial version.

Changing support for the Israeli "government" to "state" removed many of the concerns of the group, said spokesman Lewis Roth, whose group has been critical of some of Sharon's recent actions.

Peace Now also had objected to the original reference to negotiations, not because it doesn't support negotiations but because the way it had been phrased suggested that violence must end before negotiations begin.

Roth also said the "call for peace for all peoples of the region makes it softer."