Jerusalem, February 17, 2015…The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Leadership Mission to Israel focused heavily on foreign affairs throughout their 3rd day in Israel.
During a panel discussion moderated by Smadar Perry, the Middle East correspondent for the Hebrew daily Yediot Ahronot; with Dr. Eran Lerman, Deputy Director for Foreign Policy and International Affairs at the National Security Council; Prof. Josh Teitelbaum, of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies; and Prof. Eyal Zisser, Dean, Faculty of Humanities at Tel Aviv University, the panelists agreed that the United States has changed course in the Middle East and they voiced numerous concerns and some hope for the possibility of strengthening new regional relationships in a fast shifting landscape.
The analysts all spoke of a new more positive US attitude towards Iran as the Islamic state strengthening its grip on the region. The ramifications of this US pivot are many. Concern over Iran’s growing regional hegemony has united Israel and the Gulf States and has strengthened Israel’s relationships with its neighbors, Egypt and Jordan. Prof. Zisser said the U.S. process of “disengagement” from the region has created “a great deal of intimacy” between the former enemies. He said there is very little trust among the Gulf nations of the US commitment to their security and he noted that the lack of US support of the Syrian opposition, which led to the collapse of the Syrian Revolution weighed heavily on their minds.
Prof. Teitelbaum said that the US has a world view of the Middle East based on the “balance of power.” The current Administration supports Iran as a balance to Saudi Arabian and Sunni extremism and the professor noted that this is a very worrying world view for Israel. He noted however, that “the US was not going anywhere in the region.” Prof. Teitelbaum explained that the degree of defense coordination between Israel and the United States is similar to that of the U.S. and some Gulf States and that the largest U.S. military base in the region is in Qatar. Saudi Arabia, he said, was looking to imitate the U.S.-Israel relationship,
The fight against ISIS is another factor in the new developing relationships. Eran Lehrman shared that Israel was a major, indirect, contributor to the fight against ISIS. He said that Israel “had Jordan’s back” and that a strong U.S.-Israel relationship was “a must,” said Prof. Zisser.
Foreign Ministry Briefing
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzachi Hanegbi hosted the delegation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for off-the-record briefings on critical issues by Israel’s top diplomats. Amb. Yuval Rotem, Director of Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the group, thanking them for their time and commitment to the nation.
Immigration and Absorption
Natan Sharansky, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, briefed the leaders on the current aliyah numbers regarding the situation of European Jewry. In 2014, 26,000 Jews moved to Israel, the first time in Israel’s history that more Jews came to Israel out of free choice than needing to escape. Seven thousand came from France, twice the number from the previous year. Six thousand came from the Ukraine, the birthplace of Mr. Sharansky.
Israel is expecting many more refugees in the coming year. He said that 10,000 Jews in Paris alone are interested in making aliyah in the near future and that 50% of French Jews expressed a belief that their future is no longer in France. One of the complications of faced by some immigrants is that Israel does not recognize many French professional diplomas and degrees at the moment. He believes this will be resolved shortly. There are currently 600 Jewish institutions in France that need to be protected – 200 are schools. There is an ongoing discussion with the French government on the security of Jewish communities and people are questioning whose job it is to secure them. Mr. Sharansky predicts that 15,000 French Jews will come in 2015.
Global Campaign to Isolate Israel
Ambassador Dore Gold, President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, and Brig. Gen (ret.) Michael Herzog, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and former Military Secretary to the Prime Minister, updated the delegation on issues related to the Global Campaign Against Israel in 2015: UNRWA, ICC, Schabas, Sanctions and Isolation.
Amb. Gold discussed a new JCPA project which focuses on the recent Gaza War and explained why the think tank is looking back to the summer of 2014. He said that he could not help but notice the accelerated efforts to recognize a Palestinian state in Europe, even though it does not exist in reality. He also said that Israel said yes to the Framework Agreement, proposed by US Secretary of State Kerry, to advance peace talks last year, but that PA President Abu Mazan said no. Amb. Gold wondered why Israel was being blamed for their failure. Lastly, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya publicly said that Hamas has “gained the upper hand” as a direct outcome of Operation Protective Edge.
The Palestinians were so successful in being depicted as victims in the past that Europe said they would help the Palestinians out by not opposing their interests as they move down a unilateral path to statehood.
Amb. Gold, and his colleagues, were deeply concerned that when the UN’s Human Rights Commission publishes its Gaza War report on human rights violations and war crimes committed by Hamas and Israel on March 23, 2015, many people, including young Jews will be confused by the misrepresentation of Israel. The publication deals with the issue of disproportionality and the tunnels that were built from Gaza into Israel, the growing international belief that Hamas is becoming a moderate political movement, and the number of civilians that died in Gaza. The JCPA study cites studies that refute UN casualty numbers by large measure. JCPA is hoping to teach people Israel’s narrative. “Perhaps by doing so we will help immunize our people from the kind of propaganda wave that may happen and even worse.”
Michael Herzog, spoke about the global campaign delegitimizing Israel. “This campaign is one of ideas and perceptions. Every individual is a combatant,” he said.
In fact, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Herzog said that the delegitimization campaign has failed on the macro level when looking at legal issues and on Israel’s economy. There has been more recent investment from Europe than disinvestment.
“When it comes to the realm of perceptions it is a different picture”, he said. “The aim of the deligitimizers is to portray Israel as an apartheid state. This campaign, is growing in the media and on campuses. The practical campaign failed but in the realm of perception it is strong.” Brig. Gen. Herzog said the deligitimization campaign was an existential threat to Israel and suggested that the most important tool the community has is to expose the intentions of those who criticize Israel. Those who criticize Israel and wish we would vanish have track records and they should be named and shamed, taken into the legal arena, and put on the defensive.” He said that there were 20-30 main groups working to not only criticize Israel, but to make Israel disappear.
He also urged that the groups participating in the Leadership Mission work to enhance Israel’s image as a democratic, start-up nation. Finally, he said that time has come for heavy weight intellectuals to fight the war of delegitimization and make efforts to fight an emotional campaign as the Palestinians do.
Israel & the Jewish People
In a panel that looked at the relationship between Israel, the Jewish people and its friends and enemies, writers and commentators Caroline Glick, Yossi Klein Halevi, and Shmuel Rosner discussed a wide range of issues. Shmuel Rosner shared his concern that the sense of mutual commitment between US Jewry and Israel is weakening politically and emotionally. He cited the Gaza War as a turning point in the relationship and discussed projects that the JPPI was undertaking throughout the world to understand how best to repair the fraying relationship between Israel and some parts of the Jewish Diaspora. Caroline Glick talked about the terrifying crisis that Israel and World Jewry is in due in large part to Islamic fundamentalism. She lamented the lack of support from many US Jews and she made the case that if Israel is weak, the situation for Jews around the world grows increasingly bad. She said that the US Jewish community is in denial about the dangers we all face. Yossi Klein Halevi focused his remarks on the importance of strengthening the relationship between Jews and Muslims and how to develop and strengthen ties between the groups. Halevi described the unique Shalom Hartman Institute program he co-directs which brings Muslims to Israel to experience the country and learn its traditions and culture.
The recognized and effective voice of the organized Jewish community for decades, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations , representing 50 national Jewish agencies, advances the interests of the American Jewish community, promotes broad-based support for Israel and addresses the official concerns facing Israel and world Jewry.
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