(JNS-Times of Israel) Mike Wagenheim - The bottom line among the mainstream Jewish community is a willingness to work with an Israeli government in any form. "The fact that so many people voted shows that Israelis are saying they believe in the system and want to be a part of it," said William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. "I'll go to Prime Minister Netanyahu and we will work with him. The American government will work with him." Daroff said that when Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Washington last week, "President Herzog was right on the mark, telling us, President Biden and others that we must have respect for each country's democracies." That approach was seconded by Adam Odesser, director of the Israel Action Center at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, who said the high turnout among the Israeli electorate on Tuesday "shows how Israel is a thriving democracy. The turnout was one of the highest percentages in the past 20 years....No matter who comes up on top, I think we will continue to work with whoever is there, and our connection will continue to be strong." Andrew Keene, who represents the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), said, "any democracy should have the full range of expression and ideology represented in government." The Jewish Federations of North America umbrella group said it looked "forward to working with the government selected by the Israeli people, as we always have, to support Jews around the world and strengthen the relationships between Israel, the North American Jewish community, and our government leaders." B'nai B'rith International said, "Israel proudly exemplifies what it means to be an engaged, participatory democracy. We look forward to working with Israel's next governing coalition on issues critical to the future of global Jewry and the Jewish state."
2022-11-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive