American Jews who feel alienated by Israel and its politics should engage more deeply with dialogue and positivity, instead of drifting away, Joshua S. Block, CEO and President of The Israel Project, said in an interview with i24news at the sideline of the Jewish Federation of North America’s annual General Assembly.
Block explained that, as a result of the heated political climate in the United States, “sometimes it’s difficult to separate the feelings that we have or disagreements about policy from the feeling we have about the presidency.” This presents a particular challenge for the pro-Israel, liberal-oriented crowd in the U.S.
However, according to Block, the two positions can be reconciled. As an example, he cited Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barak Obama, who – while not a supporter of the Trump administration – “has been very clear in making his views known about Trump’s foreign policy relative to the Middle East,” including the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to relocate the U.S. embassy there.
“It’s important for Jews and others in the United States to try and separate our partisan feelings from questions of what policy are,” Block observed. “And those of us who are in the business of supporting the U.S-Israel relationship need to help both secure the positive, meaningful gains that this administration is advancing for Israel and the United States, while ensuring that there is not a drop off among those on the left, who can’t make that separation between policy and identity or ideology.”
He warned that “when you leave the playing field and you take the ball and you go home…what ends up happening is you leave the playing field to the people you disagree with.” Block continued: “So the answer is to engage in a loving, positive, encouraging way — not in a paternalistic way that comes from the outside that insists — but one that encourages a dialogue.”
The need for unity and positive dialogue between Israel and the American Jewish community, Block observed, was acknowledged at the conference by Israeli officials from across the political spectrum, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and the Speaker of the Knesset, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein.
In an op-ed published in The Algemeiner earlier this month, Block said “The US-Israel relationship works because of shared values, shared interests, and a bipartisan consensus that Israel is an important friend and ally.”
“People may have strong feelings about Prime Minister Netanyahu or President Trump, but that should be irrelevant to their support for Israel. There is only one Israel, and we don’t have the luxury of being supportive one year and not the next,” he concluded.
[Photo: i24News / YouTube ]