It is distressing that Israel’s deputy consul general in New York, Shlomi Kofman, walked out while the president of the Jewish Labor Committee, Stuart Applebaum, was offering remarks, some critical, about the current Israeli government’s policies toward the Palestinians (“Israeli Official Leaves JLC Dinner After Criticism of Netanyahu,” Jan. 27).
Applebaum described a connection between these policies, which he maintained give “credence” to “the conviction that Israel will never accept the right of the Palestinians to an independent state,” and the growth of the movement to delegitimize Israel, which he condemned.
These views were expressed by an American Jewish leader “known as a staunch friend of Israel,” as your article described him. They reflect the thinking of a good portion of American Jewry. It’s sad, indeed, that many American Jews have come to believe that this is the current Israeli government’s attitude toward a Palestinian state.
It is important that official Israeli representatives in the U.S. listen to views such as those expressed by Applebaum, and convey them back to their government in Jerusalem.
Manhattan
The author is a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
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