The plot thickens in the fight over whether the American Jewish groups will aid or obstruct the Bush-Olmert-Abbas diplomatic push (the third option is to say nothing). Check out this letter – recently obtained by JTA – from eight communal leaders who want the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to reassert its support for keeping Jerusalem as Israel’s united capital (analysis to come later).
November 14, 2007
Dear Chairperson June Walker & Executive Vice President Malcolm Hoenlein:
We respectfully request that the Conference publicly reissue its long-held position on Jerusalem as the undivided sovereign capitol of Israel or convene a meeting, without delay, to discuss the issue of Jerusalem.
As you know, there have been rumors and leaks, that Israel is being pressured to relinquish some parts of Judaism’s holiest city and eternal capitol, which is wrong in and of itself, but this action would also endanger the rest of Jerusalem population by bringing potential terrorists closer to Israel’s major Jerusalem population centers.
Jerusalem has always been a consensus issue for the Conference. It even required some newer members of the Conference to adopt the position of a sovereign undivided Jerusalem before they could be admitted.
We must always remember:
That throughout history, Jerusalem has never been the capital of any nation other than the Jewish people,
That Jerusalem contains the holiest sites in Judaism, including the Temple Mount,
That Jerusalem is mentioned seven hundred times in our Jewish holy books, but not once in the Koran,
That since the mid-1800’s, Jerusalem has had a Jewish majority,
That under Jordanian control, from 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was visited by no Arab leader except for King Hussein,
That only under Israeli rule have all adherents of all religions, represented in Jerusalem, been able to worship freely and access their religious sites.
We believe it is an imperative that the Conference make loud and clear that Jerusalem must remain the eternal, undivided, sovereign capitol of Israel and the Jewish people.
Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you.
Stephen Savitsky, President, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations Of America
Moshe Smith, President, B’nai B’rith International
Bob Zweiman, National Commander, Jewish War Veterans of the USA
Morton A. Klein, National President, ZOA
Kenneth Abramowitz, Chairman, American Friends of Likud
Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President, National Council of Young Israel
Hedy Klein, President, Emunah of America
Eli Hertz
(Stephen Savitsky is the person you should contact.)
Hertz is the chairman of CAMERA, but his organizational affiliation was not listed in the letter.
