Jews and Obama

Rabbi Eric Yoffie of the Union for Reform Judaism has released a very important statement with useful advice for liberal and conservative friends of Israel.

A very important statement by Rabbi Eric Yoffie of the Union for Reform Judaism, with useful advice for liberal and conservative friends of Israel:

The time has come for the centrist and liberal elements of the American Jewish community to get serious about mobilizing support against a nuclear Iran. Their failure to do so until now is somewhat of a puzzle. It may be that they have simply not recognized the absolute urgency of the situation. It may also be that they are not championing this issue because others see it as a parochial one, and American Jews do not like to be perceived as self-serving. Yet it would be a terrible mistake to fall into this trap.

... The time has also come for the conservative wing of the Jewish community to get serious about Iran. Jewish conservatives have been more aware than liberals of the magnitude of the Iranian threat, but they have been acting in ways likely to make matters worse rather than better.

There is no conceivable solution to the threat of a nuclear Iran that will not require American leadership. All of the options — whether economic sanctions or military action — are impossible without American support. The Obama administration has a reasonably good record to date, and has recently adopted a tougher, more confrontational tone. Nonetheless, the major test of American intentions lies ahead. Despite the progress recently announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, crippling economic sanctions have not yet been approved and implemented by the U.N. Security Council, and the resolve of America’s allies remains uncertain. If sufficient support from the international community is not forthcoming, the United States must be prepared to unilaterally enact tough sanctions of its own.

American Jews, therefore, need to be doing several things: pushing their government hard to take decisive action on Iran, working equally hard to develop trust and good will with the administration, and minimizing areas of tension that are of secondary importance.

However, too many American Jews — many, but not all, in the conservative camp — have chosen to pour out contempt for the Obama administration in language that is harsher than anything I have heard in three decades of involvement in American Jewish life. I have also watched in dismay as these voices obsess over America’s position on settlement disputes, which — however sensitive and complicated — are simply not the central issue at a moment when Iran threatens Israel’s very existence.