How Netanyahu lost Eric Yoffie (but not necessarily American Jewry)

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the former head of the Union for Reform Judaism, is something of a centrist pro-Israel bellwether. He could be described as a tough dove, certainly an opponent of the settlement movement, but also at times harshly critical of dovish groups like J Street. On Iran, Yoffie is a self-described hawk.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu though seems to have really alienated him.

In Haaretz, Yoffie writes:

I find myself wondering if Bibi Netanyahu is completely out of control. I have followed the Prime Minister’s career for decades, met with him often, and despite disagreements, have always been an admirer.  He is tough, savvy, and knows America and American Jewry.  In innumerable speeches I have said, “No Israeli politician understands America as well as Bibi Netanyahu.”

Events of the last month have therefore left me in a state of stunned disbelief.  The cardinal rule of American-Israel relations is that neither country interferes in the national elections of the other.  Yet Mr. Netanyahu has inserted himself into the American election campaign, with predictable and catastrophic results.

Yoffie isn’t the only Jewish liberal worked up about Netanyahu nowadays. But it’s not clear that liberal anger at Netanyahu has trickled down to the Jewish rank and file. In the American Jewish Committee’s new survey of Jewish registered voters in Florida, 72 percent of the respondents said they felt favorably toward the Netanyahu government’s handling of U.S.-Israel relations, with only 21 percent feeling unfavorably.

Granted the survey was conducted before Netanyahu’s recent remarks on Iran that have drawn an outpouring of liberal ire. So it remains to be seen whether the views of liberal American Jews on Israel’s prime minister will end up following those of liberal Jewish leaders like Yoffie and Jewish politicians like Sen. Barbara Boxer.

But let’s go back to Yoffie’s Haaretz article for what he has to say about Iran:

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It is important to note that I am a hawk on the threat of Iran to Israel and western interests.  I believe that military action will ultimately be necessary to prevent Iran from going nuclear.   This means, of course, that the Prime Minister must work hard to secure vital American and international support for such action.

But the poll data is clear:  The American people do not want their government to attack Iran, or even to offer support for an Israeli attack.  No matter who is elected, the next President will need to carefully build a case with the public and Congress for American military involvement. Mr. Netanyahu, with his strident, partisan approach, is making it harder, not easier, for that to happen.