Regarding “The Lookstein Lockout” (Editorial, July 1): A number of years ago, as part of a synagogue group, I took a tour of Israel. The tour leaders went to great lengths to let our group know that they, as well as the Israeli government and its citizens, value American Jews as part of the fabric of Israeli and Jewish society. Having not been draft eligible to serve in the IDF, I was somewhat skeptical of that statement. That sentiment has now been formally broken.
Your editorial said it well: “Israeli politicians may express empathy for the plight of converts, but bottom line, they calculate that diaspora Jews don’t vote for Knesset members … American Jews who identify with Israel will never stop supporting the Jewish state.” Nothing says more to saying goodbye and good riddance than politicians who either ignore who you are or take your support for granted.
The more this Israeli right-wing government states those views, the more it reduces support from American Jews.
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