The ongoing and escalating crisis in relations between Israel and American Jewry since the cancellation of the Western Wall compromise in June had not managed to penetrate public and media discourse in Israel until the uproar raised by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely on Nov. 22 following one damaging and ignorant interview. Hotovely’s words in the interview can be likened to another “terrorist attack” on relations between Israel and American Jewry — and thanks to them, the great drama experienced by diaspora Jewry has finally reached the top of the media and political agenda in Israel.
Hotovely was interviewed in English by the I24 NEWS network and said, among other things, that most American Jews don’t understand Israel since they “never send their children to fight for their country … most of the Jews don’t have children who serve as soldiers, going to the Marines, going to Afghanistan or to Iraq.” She added, “Most of them are having quite convenient lives. They don’t feel how it feels to be attacked by rockets, and I think part of it is to actually experience what Israel is dealing with on a daily basis.”
The deputy foreign minister’s insults of American Jews were quoted everywhere, like wildfire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately understood the potential for damage and issued a special announcement where he renounced and denounced her statements. Netanyahu, who also serves as foreign minister, clarified that “diaspora Jews are dear to us and are an inseparable part of our people. There’s no room for such attacks, and these comments do not represent Israel's position.”
Later, in order to amplify the effect of his statement, Netanyahu’s circle spread the word that he is considering firing her. Hotovely hasn’t been fired, but Netanyahu has used her imbroglio to appease American Jewry. Since Netanyahu gave in to the ultra-Orthodox by canceling the Western Wall compromise of creating a separate space at the wall for progressive Judaism streams to pray, many within American Jewry see him as responsible for causing immense damage to the ties between Israel and diaspora Jewry.
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