Gary Rosenblatt’s column, “Ready For A President Of The Jewish People?” (July 27) correctly and importantly calls attention to the “increasingly sharp divide between the Israeli government and the majority of world Jewry” and how the recent actions by Israel’s leadership have exacerbated the tensions between the two.
The ideas Rosenblatt listed by Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy and Tal Keinan to ease the tension, however, completely absolve Israel’s leaders of their responsibilities and ignores the urgency of the problem. Israel’s Knesset and prime minister must stop acting as if half of the world’s Jews who don’t live in Israel don’t exist. Or that we don’t have an interest — even a stake — in what happens in Israel. Most of us, whether on the left or the right, still do. But, the percentage is rapidly declining and solutions can’t wait to be implemented.
Actually, the solution is straightforward: Israel’s leaders must consider the perspectives of and impact on diaspora Jews when formulating laws or policies that relate to them. Not doing so is a surefire way to accelerate their disengagement with Israel.
Editor’s Note: The writer is a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
