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American Jewry and the Oslo Years

Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772

American Jewry and the Oslo Years

Neil Rubin Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772

american jewry and the oslo years Copyright © Neil Rubin, 2012.

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Contents

1 Introduction to the Study 1 2 US Jewry on the Eve of Oslo 19 3 The Rabin- Peres Years 43 4 The Netanyahu Years 63 5 The Barak Years 87 6 Conclusions 117 Notes 143 Selected Bibliography 183 Index 199 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772

CHAPTER 1

Introduction to the Study

Rise and Fall of the he general sense of optimism surging through the Jewish and diplo- matic world on September 13, 1993, clearly rivaled that of other key Tmoments in modern Jewish history, included heralded events such as David Ben-Gurion’s much-anticipated proclamation of Israeli statehood on May 14, 1948, and the seemingly miraculous success of the Arab-Israeli Six- Day War (June 5–10, 1967). Yet the first event was tempered by the belief, even among top Israeli military officials, that the fledgling Jewish state’s survival was uncertain. This meant the pending battles could result in a newly acute refugee crisis, not to mention tens of thousands of dead , including Holocaust survivors who had recently arrived from Europe’s emptying displaced persons (DP) camps.1 The joyous relief greeting the second event was preceded by weeks of fear of imminent attack by a numerically overwhelming multinational Arab force that might launch a “second Holocaust.”2 In addition, within months after the Six- Day War, a few veteran Israeli political leaders as well as Diaspora activists began wondering what burden the newly acquired territories would place on the state, given the fact that the Arab world refused to recognize, nego- tiate, or make peace with .3 And while both the 1948 and 1967 events were one-sided celebrations for the Jewish world and its friends, they were mourned as both physically and morally devastating episodes by the Arab states and their allies.4 By comparison, the Washington- hosted 1993 event— the signing of the first Oslo Accords—was a moment of globally poignant and highly choreographed peace making. It captivated the hearts and minds of most Jews, , Muslims, and governments across the globe. Indeed, the now familiar photograph of a reluctant Israeli prime minister reaching for the hand of an eager Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman —a beaming Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 2 ● American Jewry and the Oslo Years

US president urging them onward— could be modern diplomacy’s most indelible snapshot.5 The initiation alone of the Oslo Accords resulted in a joint 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for its three principal actors—PLO chairman Ara- fat, Israeli foreign minister , and Israeli prime minister Rabin. The reward came simply for the act of signing the document, not for successfully implementing its extremely ambitious plan of setting into motion negotiations for a permanent settlement to conflict. Other benefits for principal actors were fast in coming as well. First, there was a promise of at least $2.4 billion in aid for the at an October 1, 1993, Washington- hosted international donors conference.6 Other results included the improvement of official political and economic relations between Israel and Arab states (particularly , which on October 26, 1994, signed a peace treaty with Israel);7 the acceptance by Israel of the PLO as the legiti- mate political representative of the Palestinian people (enabling it to shed the global terrorist label gained since its members’ series of sensational commercial airliner hijackings and terrorist events of the 1970s);8 and the warming within the United States of ties between American Jewish and Arab/Muslim groups. There were, of course, dissident voices from the American Jewish commu- nity, which echoed similar ones in Israel. A loud cry came in particular from the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), which around this time began its vocal sharp turn to the Right. In fact, on September 20, 1995, the ZOA formally broke ranks with the organized American Jewish community by argu- ing in front of the US Congress against $500 million in American aid to the Palestinian Authority. The acrimony during the testimony became so intense that during a break, Richard Hellman, president of the Christians’ Israel Public Action Campaign and a strong pro-Israel advocate, was overheard asking ZOA head Mort Klein and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) head Neal Sher, “Why can’t you guys in the Jewish community just get along?”9 Also, giving a hint of the Jewish organizational infighting that would occur throughout the Oslo years on the local level as well, the chapter of the ZOA would break off and form the independent Baltimore Zionist District (BZD), standing by its notion that Diaspora Jews should not publicly criticize the democratically elected government of the State of Israel.10 Such voices aside, in retrospect the celebrated 1993 signing was both the beginning and apex of what became known as the Oslo process (1993– 2000), named for the Norwegian city in which Israeli and Palestinian negotiators— with the mediation of their Scandinavian hosts— secretly crafted their agree- ment during 1992.11 Israel and the PLO would in turn draft and sign the Interim Agreement on the and (often called Oslo II) in Washington, DC, on September 28, 1995. It was a much more detailed blueprint for Israeli- Palestinian progress,12 one widely expected to lead to a Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Introduction to the Study ● 3

Palestinian state and final settlement on what not long before were acknowl- edged as intractable issues in the more than hundred- year- old conflict between Jewish Zionists and the heavily Arab- dominated Middle East. After wild swings from progress to despair, the Mideast peace process— known simply to those involved with it as “the process”—collapsed in late September 2000. With that came the advent of the Second or Al- Aksa Inti- fada (named for the silver- domed mosque on the top of the , a structure revered in the Muslim world).13 (The began in late 1987, eventually dying out with the advent of the Oslo process.) Suddenly many interested observers not only were stunned at how remote the prospect of peace between the beleaguered Palestinian and Israeli communities but also worried whether another Arab- Israeli war would break out. Indeed, ever since that phase of the conflict was ignited in the days follow- ing then opposition leader ’s highly publicized and heavily secured September 28, 2000, walk upon the Temple Mount, ties between Israeli Jews and Palestinians (and by extension the Muslim world) have plunged to a level of deep pessimism and mistrust, not to mention outbursts of serious vio- lence. This has included strings of horrifying Palestinian suicide bombings and shooting rampages throughout Israel, repeated Israeli reprisals (including tar- geted assassinations of Palestinian terrorists and counterterrorism raids by regular and undercover units), and three inconclusive minor Arab- Israeli wars.14 Today, such conflict makes that warm September 1993 day on the White House lawn seem as distant in time as black-and- white images of Zionist pioneers clearing rock- strewn fields.

How Oslo Changed American Jewry While much scholarship has been devoted to the years of the Oslo process from a political and military perspective, less attention has focused on its profound effects on American Jewish identity and American Jewish organizations. Yet events of the period have had a substantial impact in the United States, which in turn has made a mark on US Jewry’s lobbying for Israel, which is important to the general American electorate, due to American Jewry’s disproportionate influence on congressional and presidential elections. (American Jewry’s role in US politics will be covered in more detail in Chapter 2.) Resulting changes for the American Jewish community due to the Oslo pro- cess were both external and internal. American Jewry was involved in a reshap- ing of old and forging of new coalitions due to Israel’s changing challenges. The importance of such relationships to cannot be minimized. Despite the high visibility in national affairs of both Jewish organizations and individuals, at slightly less than 2 percent of the overall US population, the Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 4 ● American Jewry and the Oslo Years organized community needs friends. Noise is one thing, but political allies—the trade of Washington, DC, and local lobbying efforts— is another. These new ties include (for many Jews) the uncomfortable Evangelical- Jewish coalition on pro-Israel advocacy, which unleashed a strong debate within American Jewry over the ultimate cost of such a partnership versus the immediacy of Israel’s need for political friends.15 A subset here is how some Jews—particularly non-Orthodox ones—watched with rising concern the par- ticipation of Christians in major Jewish organizations such as the AIPAC, the organized Jewish community’s principal pro- Israel lobbying operation in Wash- ington, DC.16 Meanwhile, new strains arose between Jews and mainstream Protestants regarding Israel. What happened in this era laid the groundwork for major organizational conflict in the immediate post- Oslo years, as some mainstream Protestant groups pushed to divest their portfolio from companies that did business in Israel.17 Finally, during the Oslo process, many American Jewish groups established ties with American Muslim counterparts, something reflected on the local level as well.18 Not surprisingly, these relationships would be strained anew as the Oslo process imploded and shriller, more uncompromising voices on both sides gained prominence. As for internal Jewish community shifts, for American Jews the Oslo pro- cess occurred at a precipitous moment in a diverse community whose internal bonds of unity were already fraying on pro-Israel issues. This was clearly seen in the founding and strengthening around this time of both pro-Oslo and anti- Oslo groups that took more ideological stands than the traditional mainstream pro-Israel advocates like AIPAC, the American Jewish Committee (AJCom- mittee), the (AJCongress), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Coun- cil (NJCRAC). This dynamic was evident in the founding of the (IPF, originally known as Project Nishma) and the strengthening of Americans for (APN), both of which favored the Oslo Accords. On the other side of the spectrum, this era saw the hard Right shift of the ZOA and Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI), constant and sharp critics of the peace pro- cess; the US government’s role in promotion of the talks; and the rest of orga- nized Jewry’s seeming acceptance of the inevitable success of the negotiations. There also was an overall recalibration regarding the most effective role for American Jewry’s general pro-Israel activities, including the old discussion of how and when American Jews could disagree with the democratically elected government of the State of Israel.19 The community even had to take into account the pros and cons of new media such as the World Wide Web, which gave both it and its detractors a chance to quickly spread news and perspectives that were unfiltered by newspaper or broadcast journalists around the globe. In Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Introduction to the Study ● 5 fact, during this period Jewish groups—particularly grassroots ones—sought to shake up growing complacency among the rank and file by generating activism with a stream of email alerts, e- letter writing campaigns, and the like, basing their information not on news reports but on what people in Israel were telling them with a stream of email updates.20 This provided new challenges to the established American Jewish groups in terms of public posturing on issues such as addressing Palestinian violations of the Oslo Accords or activities, because now, almost instantly, refutations or confirmations of policy statements were available. Another evident shift in this era was the open schism between the views of non- Orthodox and Orthodox Jews over Israel’s policy choices. This would play out in local and national lobbying of elected officials, inner-communal dynam- ics at national and local Jewish agencies, and even the ways in which Israeli politicians would interact with different segments of American Jewry. Most Orthodox Jews, as well as the rest of American Jewry, initially welcomed the Oslo initiatives. Yet, as the negotiations progressed, Orthodox Jews in general took a more skeptical attitude toward the initiatives, as did their organizations. One reason for this was that a greater percentage of US Orthodox Jews than non- Orthodox ones had lived in, visited, or known people living in West Bank settlements. These were venues likely to be evacuated were the Oslo process to come to fruition.21 The prospect of such evacuations also clashed head on with theological con- siderations, which carry great weight in Orthodox circles; official Orthodoxy sees the dicta of various rabbis as binding and responds accordingly. Indeed, some leading Orthodox rabbis in both Israel and the United States issued force- ful rulings that forbade the relinquishing of the sacred Jewish lands of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) to non- Jewish entities.22 Making this even more emotional was the sense of betrayal felt in Orthodoxy. That’s because successive Israeli governments— from those led by the Right- of- Center Likud Party to those led by the Left-of- Center Labor Party—financially invested in the settle- ments, enabling the purchase of residences in them at much cheaper rates than homes within pre-1967 Israel.23 A practical incentive was that some of the set- tlements were set up specifically for the needs of Orthodox Jews, always having and mikva’ot (ritual immersion baths) and sometimes having hesder (army) yeshivot (or programs that combined high-level Jewish text study with military service) and apartments designed to accommodate the larger families typical in the Orthodox community. Tens of thousands of Jews took advantage of this. While they were not all Orthodox, nearly all were at least traditional in their religious outlook and knew they would be living among Orthodox Jews.24 At the same time, Orthodoxy in the United States— from centrist Ortho- doxy’s congregational organization, the , to the ultra- Orthodox Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 6 ● American Jewry and the Oslo Years community’s Agudath Israel (whose Israeli counterpart was a party in Israel’s par- liament, the Knesset)— was building its political infrastructure in Washington, DC, and nationwide. This growth enabled these operations to emerge stronger and more active than ever in national policy debates both within and outside of the Jewish community. This, too, created a new series of challenges for the principle secular national “Jewish defense agencies.” These groups include the AJCommittee, AJCongress, and Anti- Defamation League (ADL), not to men- tion making consensus positions sought by NCJRAC (later renamed the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, or JCPA) more difficult to forge. Finally, Ortho- doxy’s rising political power also created strains with liberal religious groups, such as the Reform movement’s Union of American Hebrew Congregations.25

American Jewry’s Pre- Oslo Triumphs and Challenges Despite such simmering tensions, overall American Jewry had never seemed as viable or as successful as it did both to insiders and to outside observers in September 1993. This positive attention began with the broad social acceptance of Jews in America—too broad, as some sociologists would say, pointing to the disturbingly rising trends of intermarriage and assimilation since the 1970s. Meanwhile, American Jews were integral to the nation’s political process and well known as generous benefactors within and outside of the Jewish com- munity. Finally, and most importantly for this study, when it came to a Jewish activist agenda, two out of three of the community’s widely agreed upon, collec- tive tasks since the end of World War II could be deemed undeniable successes. The first success was the political fight to free Soviet Jews (now Russian/ Eastern European Jews), which energized Jewish college students in particular. By the start of the 1990s, with the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, ostensibly any Jew who wanted to leave the former Soviet Union (FSU) could now do so.26 Second was the formalization and recognition of Holocaust commemoration throughout the country, including ceremonies and programs funded by national, state, and local governments and in public and private schools. There also was the construction or expansion of dozens of local Jewish community Holocaust museums. Nationally, the most visible event was the April 22, 1993, dedication ceremony for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, which was attended by President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and numerous other national and international dignitaries. The structure’s physical presence alone on the ensured a constant flow of visitors and visibility.27 The third great pillar, however, that had once had broad support among US Jews—staunch support for the democratically elected government of Israel, nearly regardless of its actions— was already under attack in the immediate Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Introduction to the Study ● 7 pre- Oslo years. In fact, the Oslo process only made these strains more evident, and certainly deeper, when it came to presenting a united Jewish front on the State of Israel’s policies to America’s public and to its elected representatives. This trend toward discord was reflected in the actions of national Jewish orga- nizations, rabbis from different Jewish theological streams, and high-profile individual Jews offering widely discussed criticism.28 Most of this dissension focused on how to respond to the increase in the West Bank/Gaza Strip Jew- ish settlement building of the governments of and from 1977 to 1992 on lands that the Palestinians wanted for their own state, as well as Israel’s strong physical response to the First Intifada, which began in December 1987.29 In addition to the internal American Jewish splits, there also were clashes that openly pitted portions of organized American Jewry against the State of Israel’s government itself. Indeed, by 1993, three particular splits within American Jewry regarding Israeli policies had already erupted in loud verbal battles:

1. The noshrim (dropouts) debate of the 1970s and 1980s over whether emigrating Soviet Jews were obligated to resettle in Israel instead of mov- ing to the United States 2. The 1988 “Who is a Jew?” controversy, which exposed the difference in conceptions and concerns of Israeli and American Jews regarding Jewish identity 3. Israel’s 1991 request for a US guarantee for $10 billion in bank loans to build the Jewish state’s infrastructure as it absorbed hundreds of thou- sands of Soviet Jews

In the noshrim debate, since the Soviet Jews had gained exit visas for the Jewish state, insisted they emigrate there; however, many of those flee- ing their native land’s anti-Semitism and economic stagnation preferred North America, whether for economic reasons or family reunification. American Jews, deeply steeped in both the principal of freedom of immigration and the desire to welcome Jews in distress (something many felt they did not fight hard enough for during the Holocaust era), openly welcomed the Soviet immigrants with financial, vocational, and other forms of assistance. American Jewish fed- erations, in fact, made the need to fund resettlement in America a major part of their annual campaign for both money and volunteers. In 1990, they ran an emergency Operation Exodus fundraising campaign, which called for contribu- tions in addition to those sought for the annual campaign. (A portion of the latter’s proceeds were already going to help Soviet Jews through funding the activities of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the .) Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 8 ● American Jewry and the Oslo Years

The Israelis complained bitterly that American Jews were inducing Soviet Jews to bypass the Jewish state, which was materially less comfortable and mili- tarily more threatened than life in, for example, Baltimore, , or Los Angeles. That complaint, the Israelis added, hurt them deeply in three ways: in the hopes for Diaspora solidarity, in the push for demographic strength in relation to the Israeli Arab minority (20 percent of Israel’s population), in rela- tion to the overwhelming demographic majority of surrounding Arab states, and in the battle to attract technically trained immigrants. Soviet Jews were well known for their scientific and academic skills, not to mention their being highly regarded for participation in and appreciation for all forms of the arts.30 Another reason for this reluctance on behalf of American Jewry to force Soviet Jews to head toward Zion could have been psychological. If they them- selves were not moving to Israel, how could they force others to do so? But it is more likely that the vast majority of American Jews, themselves descendants of Russian Jews who had arrived within the last century, felt a special bond to these Jewish immigrants that they did not feel for Jews from Arab lands. In fact, this gave present-day American Jews a sense of closeness to the Soviet Jews whom they saw figuratively as (and sometimes literally were) long- lost relatives whom they personally wanted to assist, a role that, for a multitude of reasons— particularly minimal political power and wealth—the community could not fill during the horrible 1930s and early 1940s. When it came to the second clash, the “Who Is a Jew?” battle in 1988—not a new fight and one that would reappear in 1997 for another round31— both Likud’s Shamir and Labor’s Peres toyed with amending the Law of Return. It declared that any Jew was automatically entitled to Israeli citizenship. The confusion spawned from the word “Jew,” which is defined as anybody born of a Jewish mother or converted to . What constitutes a valid conver- sion, however, has been a periodic source of controversy throughout the State of Israel’s history. In the wooing of Orthodox parties for their potential new governing coalitions, both Shamir and Peres considered the Orthodox parties’ request to formally introduce a definition of a Jew that stipulated either being born to a Jewish woman or being converted by an Orthodox rabbi. Until this point, there was an informal understanding that anyone converted by any rabbi outside of the Land of Israel (including non- Orthodox ones) was to be accepted as Jewish by Israel’s Ministry of Absorption. When Shamir and Peres began openly discussing shifting this, an outraged leadership of Ameri- can Jewish life— some of whom had children married to non- Jews or were active in the Reform movement, which since 1983 had accepted patrilineal descent to determine if a child were Jewish— continually made their concern, and even their anger, on this issue felt to Israeli representatives in the United States and Israel.32 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Introduction to the Study ● 9

Finally, there was the loan guarantees issue, which needs to be understood in the context of the Shamir government’s unrelenting support for Jewish West Bank settlement. This issue not only created strains within the American Jew- ish community but became a national issue in the United States from 1991 to 1992. In short, Israel signaled in 1991 that it would soon request an American guarantee for $10 billion in loan guarantees—not outright loans or grants, something that would have cost the US taxpayers money—to pay for infra- structure building to help absorb the continuing flow of Soviet Jews to the State of Israel. President George H. W. Bush and Secretary of State James Baker III asked the Jewish state to agree to a 120-day delay. That delay, they said, would enable them to successfully launch the US- driven and Madrid- hosted Israeli- Arab peace conference. Organized American Jewry— with the exception of a handful of liberal groups—fought with the administration pub- licly to not place what they considered a matter of humanitarian response on a political playing field. They also argued that Israel had honored Washington’s request to sit out the 1991 Gulf War, even as dozens of Iraq SCUD missiles fell on the Jewish state, and Israel did not respond militarily. This, American Jewish leaders argued, was a huge sacrifice that should be rewarded by sign- ing the loan guarantees. Privately, however, some US Jewish leaders virtually begged Shamir to not pursue the loan guarantees at this time.33 Much of the tension came from the Bush administration’s linkage of the guarantees to an agreement by Shamir to stop building settlements, to which the Israelis would not consent. Meanwhile, disturbing trends in American Jewish life were compounding an increasing sense of distance from the State of Israel. In fact, by 2000, the soci- ologist Steven M. Cohen had found that for every ten-year age period, there was a 5 percent drop in support for Israel.34 Further confirmation of this trend came when a 1998 poll by The Los Angeles Times, published on the occasion of Israel’s fiftieth anniversary, found that the 58 percent of American Jews who felt close to Israel marked a 10 percent drop from a decade earlier; the decline was even greater when young adults alone were taken into consideration.35 Thus, while the leadership was wrapped up in important debates regarding how they would respond to policies from , fewer younger Jews seemed interested in the complicated challenges facing the Jewish state than were those of past genera- tions, who were often people who personally had experienced or in some way participated in advocating for Israel during its moments of existential crisis. Ironically, the organized Jewish community unwittingly enhanced this trend of distancing itself from Israel with its general turn inward during this era, meaning away from the internationalist orientation that had so marked its activism of recent decades. This turn was primarily because the leadership was increasingly focused on countering alarming reports of how a majority of young Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 10 ● American Jewry and the Oslo Years

Jews getting married were wedding Gentiles and not making Jewish choices when it came to raising their children.36 This spurred funding of what became known as the “continuity agenda,” a series of efforts designed to bolster American Jewish identity and affiliation at home. While a pro-Israel stance was a pro forma part of the agenda, there was increasing focus on both the cultural zeitgeist of spirituality and serious adult education as a means to bolster allegiance to the Jewish community. This could be seen in the growth of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School and the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL). CLAL ran text study workshops at the General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations (GA) (The Council of Jewish Federations was known from 1999 to 2009 as the United Jewish Communities [UJC] and since November 2009 as the Jewish Federations of North America.).That gathering, the largest and most important annual national Jewish conference, was once a bastion for a primarily secular Jewish leadership focused on political issues and social issues, as well as for dis- cussing policies on how to advocate for Jews in need at home and abroad. In the 1990s, it regularly featured both volunteer and professional leaders speaking in religious terms about American Jewry’s promise and responsibilities.

Oslo’s Opportunities and Crises The signing of the Oslo Accords themselves unwittingly provided another pre- text for American Jewish leaders to further focus on their domestic Jewish com- munity’s immediate needs. After all, top Israeli leaders were urging just such a response, albeit not always in the most diplomatic of fashions. In fact, top Israeli leaders such as Yitzhak Rabin, Yossi Beilin, and Avraham Shochet joined in clouding the sense of a defined role for American Jewry in Israel’s unfold- ing new future with their dual message, words often delivered in undiplomatic tones more at home in the rancor of Israeli political dialogue than in the general politeness of American society. The first half of the Israeli communication was that to save Jews abroad, American Jews were foremost obligated to build their own Jewish identity, which intermarriage showed was slipping. The second was a “thanks, but no thanks” declaration. That is, Israel—a first- world country that could handle itself financially, politically, and militarily—no longer needed the charity or even political activism of American Jews, which for many American Jewish leaders had become their most visible expressions of being Jewish.37 Such blunt language infuriated much of American Jewish lead- ership, many of whom were second- and third- generation activists in the effort of advocating for the creation and well-being of the Jewish state. As a result, and due to the previously mentioned continuity agenda, some of those shap- ing the American Jewish agenda were understandably no longer riveted to the Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772

Index

Abraham Fund, 54 American Jewish Press Association, 21, Adath Israel firebombing 54, 181n122 (Riverdale, NY), 112 American Jewish Yearbook of 1998, 84 Agudath Israel (US), 6, 39, 156n86 Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI), 4, 31, Al- Aksa Mosque, 3 133 See also Temple Mount (APN), 4, 38– Albright, Madeleine, 16, 63– 64, 67, 87, 39, 60, 69, 99, 126, 130, 156n83 150n2, 172n5, 174n27 Amir, Yigal, 61 Al Jazeera (cable network), 110 Amital, Rabbi Yehuda, 61, 120, 136, Allen, Woody, 147n28 163n92 Alpher, Yossi, 95, 175n49 Anderson, John, 27 American Arab/Muslim groups, 2, 4, 52, Anti- Defamation League (ADL), 4, 6, 111– 12, 115 16, 20, 26, 37, 76– 77, 102, 105, American Council for Judaism (ACJ), 24 108, 112, 123, 133, 168n59 American Friends of Peace Now, 56 Arab American ADL, 112 American Israel Public Affairs Committee Arab American Association, 52 (AIPAC), 4, 16, 21, 23, 26, 31, Arab- Israeli citizens, 96, 107, 176n54 33, 35, 48– 50, 61, 95, 99, 119– Arab- Israeli wars (post- 2000), 3 20, 127, 131, 148n39, 152n27, See also Lebanon; October/Yom 159n23, 163n4, 175n46 Kippur War; Six- Day War; War American Jewish Committee of Independence (AJCommittee), 4, 6, 16, 34, 37, 49, 52, 64, 126, 133 , 89, 111, 130 annual surveys, 17, 25– 26, 56, 79– 81 Arab uprisings of 1929, 66 “Are We Still One People?” symposium Arab world, 44, 91, 110, 130 (1996), 60 Arafat, Suha, 67 Diaspora- Israel Statement, 54 Arafat, Yasser, 11, 45, 47, 57, 64, 66, 75, Statement on Intermarriage, 36 88, 130, 139– 40, 144n8, 173n21 “When Peace Comes” meeting, 53 Bolling summit, 93 American Jewish Communal Affairs Camp David II, 15, 89– 92, 105, 139, Commission, 36 174nn37– 38 American Jewish Congress (AJCongress), Nobel Peace Prize, 2 4, 6, 16, 31, 52, 105– 7, 133 Rabin handshake, 1– 2, 51, 130 American Jewish Identity Survey: 200 Sharm el- Sheikh summit, 92 (Mayer, Kosmin, and Keysar), 22, 101 Wye Accord, 66– 67 American Jewish Joint Distribution arms sales, 21, 44 Committee (AJJD), 7, 54 Assad, Bashir, 88 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 200 ● Index

Assad, Hafez, 67– 69, 87– 89, 121, Beilin, Yossi, 10, 35, 50, 132, 148n37, 148n38, 166n27 160n33 Assemblies of God, 77 Beirut bombing (1982), 45 assimilation, 73– 74, 81, 95, 100, 112, Ben- Ami, Shlomo, 174n30 114, 122– 23 Ben- Eliezer, Binyamin “Fuad,” 182n136 Association of Reform Zionists of Ben- Elissar, Eliahu, 83 America, 24– 25, 107– 8 Ben- Gurion, David, 1, 134, 143n3, Atlanta Jewish Times, 17, 60 169n64 Atlanta Young Adult Agency (YAD), 37 Ben- Tsur, Eitan, 111 Avital, Colette, 57 Berenbaum, Michael, 40 Berg, Rav Moshe, 149n41 Baker, James, III, 9, 16, 29– 31, 33– 34, Berger, Marshall, 151n9 46, 141, 153n40, 155n62, 159n19 Berger, Sandy, 59 Baltimore Friends of Peace Now, 56 Berkowitz, Howard P., 102 Baltimore Jewish Council (BJC), 56, Berman, Rabbi Saul, 104 145n18 Besser, James D., 63, 84, 149n42 , 17, 51, 60, 63, B’nai B’rith, 23, 26, 37, 49 149n42 Bolling Base summit (2000), 92– 93 Baltimore Zionist District (BZD), 2, 56 Bosnia crisis, 124 Barak, Ehud (1999– 2001), 148n38, Bowling Alone (Putnam), 12– 13 176n56, 182n136 Brandeis, Louis, 25 American Jewry and, 16, 79– 80, 94– Brandeis University, 51 98, 106, 113– 14, 119– 21, 131– Breira, 38, 126 32, 136, 138, 140, 175n44 Breyer, Steven, 19 Bolling summit, 92– 93 Camp David II, 88– 92, 105, 139, Brit Bat ceremonies, 103 174n26 Brog, David, 145n15 Clinton and, 87– 93, 121, 166n27, Bronfman, Charles, 135 172n6 Bronfman Foundation Israel Experience election of 1999, 11, 15, 84– 85, 87– trips, 99, 100 88, 90, 136, 138 Brown, Bobby, 163n92 election of 2001, 93, 108, 174n26, Buddhism, 102 174n34 Burg, Avraham, 50, 132, 160n32 Oslo process and, 85, 89– 90, 113– 14, Bush, George H. W. (1989– 93), 9, 14, 140, 172nn10– 11, 173n13, 16, 29– 35, 45– 46, 48, 51, 58, 91, 173n17, 173nn19– 21 127, 131– 32, 149n40, 159n19 and, 94, 106 Bush, George W. (2000– 2008), 79, Sharm el- Sheikh summit, 92 93, 102, 128, 145n15, 147n25, Syria and, 89 149n40, 150n5, 164– 65n12, Taba summit, 93, 140 169n74, 180n103 bar and bat mitzvahs, 28 Baum, Phil, 105 Camp David II (2000), 15, 88– 91, 105, Bayme, Dr. Steven, 54 114, 139– 40, 174n26 Begin, Menachem, 7, 38, 89, 131, “Camp David II: The Aftermath” (ADL), 146n24, 158n11, 169n64 105 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Index ● 201

Cardin, Shoshana S., 16, 28– 29, 32– Netanyahu and, 11, 15, 64– 68, 78, 33, 55, 127, 131, 148nn32– 33, 84, 121, 127– 28, 132, 136– 37, 153n33, 160n31 141, 166n27 Carter, Jimmy (1977– 81), 27, 40, 45, 51, Oslo process and, 15, 51, 140– 41, 124, 158n7 172n3 Carville, James, 85, 87 Parameters (bridging proposals), 16, Catholic Church, 74– 75, 77, 168n58 88, 93, 140– 41 Center Party (Israel), 85, 95, 171n97 Peres and, 59, 63, 68, 136 Central Conference of American Rabbis Rabin and, 2, 46– 48, 51, 127– 28, (CCAR), 24, 103– 4 132, 159n19 CCAR Journal, 84 Rabin assassination and, 58– 59, 128, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 16, 132, 162n80 66– 68, 92, 165n19, 172n11 Sharm el- Sheikh summit, 92 chavurot (fellowship groups), 12, 102, US Holocaust Memorial Museum and, 179n86 6, 41, 124 Christian Broadcasting Network, 77 Wye Accord, 66– 67 Christians. See Catholic Church; Clinton, Hillary, 67, 102, 123, 165n22, Evangelical Christians; mainstream 174n28 Protestants CNN (cable network), 109 Cohen, Steven M., 9, 38, 80, 101, 103, Christians’ Israel Public Action 135 Campaign, 2 Cohen, William, 150n2 Christian Zionists, 76, 78, 121 Cold War, 6, 28, 44, 129 Christopher, Warren, 16, 50– 52, 58, 67– Commentary, 13, 17, 28 69, 160n38, 163n82 Committee for Accuracy in Middle Churches for Middle East Peace East Reporting (CAMERA), 109, (CMEP), 76 181n123 CLAL. See National Jewish Center for “Condition of Jewish Peoplehood, The” Learning and Leadership (AJCommittee), 60 Clinton, Bill (1993– 2001), 14– 17, 19, Conference of Presidents of Major 39, 76, 129, 148n38, 149n40, American Jewish Organizations 164n12, 165n18, 171n96, 174n28, (Presidents’ Conference), 16, 26, 31, 174n37, 178n79, 180n103 38– 39, 48– 49, 68– 69, 104, 106, aid and, 97– 98 108, 126, 131 Assad/Syria talks, 68– 69, 89, 172n5 APN and, 39, 56, 126, 130 Barak and, 11, 84– 85, 87– 93, 113– 14, Jerusalem and, 76 121, 139, 171n2, 172n6, 173n19 National Peace Process Advocacy Day, Bolling summit, 92– 93 61 Bosnia and, 124 Rabin memorial, 60 Camp David II, 15, 89– 92, 105, 139, Congregation Ner Tamid (Bloomfield, 174n27 NJ), 104 election of, 35, 46, 179n85 , 57, 7, 26, 40, 57, 70– Gaza visit, 67 71, 73, 82, 100, 104, 110, 133, 138 impeachment of, 66, 87, 165n15 Contact (Jewish Life Network), 83 Jerusalem and, 65 continuity agenda, 10, 14, 36– 37, 82, Lieberman and, 101 100, 103, 112, 118, 122, 133 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 202 ● Index conversion crisis, 7– 9, 13, 15, 69– 74, Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1953–61), 157n1 80, 84– 85, 97, 118– 20, 137– 38, Essrog, Rabbi Seymour, 82, 108, 157n88, 147n31, 167n47, 167n51 172n7 Council of Jewish Federations (CJF, Ethiopian Jews, 54 later Jewish Federations of Evangelical Christians, 4, 14, 28, 64, 76– North America; United Jewish 79, 117, 121, 129, 137, 145nn15– Communities), 22– 23, 36, 94, 98– 16, 150n5, 168n64, 169n74 99, 119, 133, 153n33 Exodus, Operation, 7 See also General Assembly Falwell, Rev. Jerry, 77– 78, 169n64 Dalin, David G., 19 financial partnerships, 123, 133, 141 Dayan, Moshe, 134 Finkelstein, Arthur, 85, 171n98 Defensive Shield, Operation, 26 Fisher, Max, 23 Democratic Party (US), 15, 19– 20, 23, Florence Melton Adult Mini- School, 10, 27– 28, 35, 47, 64, 77, 84– 85, 87, 97, 36– 37 101– 2, 121, 123, 127– 29, 153n30 Florida, 20, 128 Dershowitz, Alan, 80 Ford, Gerald R., 51 Jewish News, 60 Ford Foundation, 107 Diament, Anita, 102 Forward, 17 Dine, Tom, 35 Foxman, Abraham H., 16, 20, 77, 102, “Dishonest Reporting” awards, 109 112 Disney World, 111 , 44, 122, 182n135 divestiture movement, 4, 168n62 Freedman, Dr. Robert O., 84 Divrei Torahs, 36, 134 Friedman, Harvey, 35 Dole, Robert, 65 Galilee, Sea of, 69, 89 Eastern European Jews, 24, 124 Gaza Strip, 7, 38, 43, 63, 98, 127, 130– See also Soviet/Russian Jews 31, 145n14, 161n41, 172n11 Eckstein, Rabbi Yechiel, 78 Clinton visit, 67 Edah Haredit, 25, 104 Second Intifada, 106, 110 education, 26– 27, 40– 41, 55, 74, 81, 83, war (2008– 9), 144– 45n14 100, 112– 13, 118 Gemayel, Bashir, 45 adult learning, 36– 37, 113 General Assembly (GA, Council of Jewish day schools, 37, 81, 100, 113, Jewish Federations; later United 123, 133, 135 Jewish Community), 10, 16, 36, 53, Jewish summer camps, 36– 37, 113, 72– 74, 94, 97, 106, 113, 119, 127, 123, 133 134, 138 US public, 75, 78 Geneva Syria- US meetings “Education Day,” 32 (1994), 68 , 45 (2000), 69, 89 Gulf War (1991), 46 Georgia- Israel Chamber of Commerce, 54 Israeli peace treaty (1979), 45, 89, Gephardt, Richard, 111 126, 158n7 Gingrich, Newt, 164n10 October/ (1973), 44 Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, 19 Six- Day War (1967), 43 Glazer, Nathan, 23 Eisen, Arnold M., 84, 101, 103, 171n94 Glickman, Dan, 19 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Index ● 203

Golan Heights, 38, 43, 63, 65, 67, 69, Hecht, Rabbi Abraham, 58 158nn9– 10, 164n10 Hellman, Richard, 2 Goldberg, J. J., 22, 155n69 Henry, Carl, 168– 69n64 Goldstein, Baruch, 165n13 Hertzberg, Rabbi Arthur, 16, 143n3, Gorbachev, Mikhail, 28, 30, 124, 145n19 152n26 Herzog, Chaim, 41 Gore, Al, 6, 16, 60, 102, 124, 128, Heschel, Rabbi Abraham Joshua, 25 148n39, 169n74, 172n3, 172n12, hesder yishivot (Orthodox military 179n85 programs), 5 Granchow, Mendell “Mendy,” 16, 61, 96 , 65, 68, 113 Grapes of Wrath, Operation, 59, 65, 68 Hillels, 28, 37, 55, 113, 118 Great Britain, 77 Hoffman, Lawrence, 103 Greater Israel, 15, 66, 131, 137 Holbrooke, Richard, 150n2 Greenberg, Rabbi Irving “Yitz,” 83 Holocaust, 1, 4, 6, 36, 40– 41, 99, 117– Greenberg, Stanley, 85 18, 123– 24, 133– 34, 157n92 Green Line, 29 Holocaust: In Memory of Millions, The Gross, Netty C., 48 (TV film), 41 Grossman, Lawrence, 103 Holocaust Memorial Day, 40 Grossman, Steven, 23, 47 Holst, Johann, 50 Grossman, Tuvia, 109 Holstein, Charlotte, 36 Gulf War (1991), 9, 29– 30, 32, 45– 46, HonestReporting, 109 154n40, 156n75 Hussein, King of Jordan, 66, 87, 163n80 Gush Emunim, 38, 157n4 Hussein, Saddam, 30, 32, 45– 46, 154n40 , 17, 89, 110 Hyman, Gail, 106 Haas, Richard, 58 Habash, Dr. George, 88 Indyk, Martin, 17, 90, 93, 111 Haberman, Clyde, 49 intermarriage, 35– 36, 74, 81, 100, 112, Halachah (Jewish law), 103– 4, 137 122– 23, 133, 135, 148n36, 178n71 , 64, 88, 113, 166n29 International Christian Embassy in Haredim. See ultra- Orthodox Jerusalem, 78 Har Etzion (Alon Shvut), 61, 136 International Conference of the Women’s Har HaBayit/Haram al- Sharif. See International Zionist Organization Temple Mount (WIZO), 50 Harris, David, 16, 34, 52, 64 International Fellowship of Christians Hartman, Rabbi David, 75 and Jews (IFCJ), 78 Hasidic Jews, 70 Internet, 109– 10, 122, 126 Hassan II, King of Morocco, 87, 172n4 Intifada Hebrew Bible, 25, 43, 65– 66 First (1987– 93), 3, 7, 92, 109 Hebrew language, 27, 36, 58, 72, 74, Second (Al- Aksa, 2000– 2005), 3, 12, 103, 134 15, 75– 76, 79, 85, 92– 94, 100, , 15, 65– 66, 85, 108, 134, 105– 12, 114– 15, 120, 122, 139– 165n13 40, 144n14 Hebron Accord (Protocol Concerning the Iran, 113, 117 Redeployment in Hebron), 65– 66, Iraq, 9, 32, 45– 46 72 Iraqi Kurds, 118 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 204 ● Index

Irreconcilable Differences (Rosenthal), 13, Jahshan, Khalil, 112 149n44 Jakob the Liar (film), 41 Islam, 66 Jerusalem, 54, 73, 76, 90– 91, 96–97, Islamic Jihad, 88, 166n24 107– 8, 111, 139, 174n26 Israel East, 43, 76, 91, 157n3 50th anniversary, 73, 83– 84 January 2001 rally, 107– 8 Iraqi SCUD attack, 9, 32, 46, 158n13 Old City, 43, 91, 108 Vatican and, 74– 75 US embassy and, 59, 65, 92, 110, Israel Affairs, 17 164n11 Israel bonds, 49 Vatican- PA pact on, 75 Israel Defense Forces (IDF), 3, 38, 43, “Jerusalem: City of Peace” (CMEP), 76 47, 88, 106, 143n2, 176n54 Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Israel Democracy Institute, 55 Implementation Act (US, 1995), 65 Israel- Diaspora Identity Crisis, The (WJC Jerusalem Post, 17, 110 monograph), 55 Jerusalem Report, 17, 48 Israel: Echo of Eternity (Heschel), 25 Jewish Agency for Israel, 7, 50, 95, 106, Israel Forum, 55 145n16, 160n32 Israeli border of 1967, 69 Jewish Community Centers Association, 80 Israeli chief rabbinate, 71, 75 Jewish community relations councils Israeli Conservative Jews, 97, 138 (CRCs), 28, 31 Israeli constitution (Basic Laws), 96, Jewish Council for Public Affairs 176n53 (JCPA, formerly National Jewish Israeli elections, 166n33 Community Relations Advisory (1977), 38 Council), 6, 16, 53– 54, 61, 104, (1996), 11, 59, 61, 63– 64, 67, 69, 133, 150n48, 168n62 85, 136 Statement on the Middle East Peace (1999), 11, 80, 84– 85, 87, 136 Process, 53 (2001), 93, 108, 115, 140, 175n45 Jewish Educational Services of North Israeli Home Instruction Program for America (JESNA), 23 Pre- School Youngsters (HIPPY), 54 Jewish Federations of North America Israeli Knesset, 6, 11, 15, 39, 61, 69– 71, (2009– present; formerly Council of 91, 95, 134, 138 Jewish Federations; United Jewish Israeli Ministry of Absorption, 8, 70 Communities), 10, 70, 177n65 Israeli Ministry of Religion, 96, 120 Jewish Funders Network, 99 Israel Independence Day, 24, 26, 57 Jewish identity, 8, 35– 37, 55, 74, 81– 83, Israeli Orthodox Jews, 8, 58, 69– 72 104, 112– 14, 122– 23, 134, 139, 141 Israeli Reform Jews, 71, 97, 138 Jewish Life Network, 83 Israeli Supreme Court, 80 (JNF), 27, 68, 106 Israel National News, 110 Jewish peace camp, 107 Israel Policy Form (IPF, formerly Project Jewish Press, 56 Nishma), 4, 96– 97, 99, 105 Jewish Renewal/Renaissance, 12, 55, 102, Ivry, David, 95, 175n47 133– 34, 149n41 Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), 17, Jabotinsky, Vladimir “Ze’ev,” 174n40 150n49 Jackson- Vanik Amendment (US, 1973), Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 32, 124, 138 25, 40, 71, 171n94 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Index ● 205

Jews for Jesus, 137 Lauder, Ronald, 68, 108, 121, 148n38, Jews in American Politics (Shribman), 19– 20 166n27 Jew Within, The (Cohen and Eisen), 101, Law of Return (Israel), 8 103 Leahy, Patrick, 30 Joel, Richard, 37, 55 Lebanese Christian Phalange, 45 John Paul II, Pope, 74– 75 Lebanon, 89, 130 Jordan, 44, 158n10 aid for withdrawal from, 94, 97– 98 Israeli peace treaty (1994), 2, 47, 67, First War (1982), 45, 140, 158n10 130, 144n7 Grapes of Wrath (1996), 59, 65, 68 Six- Day War (1967), 43 Second War (2006), 144– 45n14 Journal of Jewish Education, 60 Lerner, Michael, 102 Judea and Samaria, 5, 58 Levy, David, 30 Lew, Jacob J., 150n2 Kaballah, 12, 149n41 Lewinsky, Monica, 66, 87, 178n79 Kamenetz, Rodger, 102, 134, 149n41 Lieberman, Hadassah, 20 Kaplan, Rabbi Mordechai, 82 Lieberman, Joseph I., 19– 20, 101– 2, Katzav, Moshe, 95, 175n49 123, 130, 150n5, 178nn79– 80 Keeler, Cardinal William H., 74 Liebler, Isi, 55 Kehilath Jeshurun (New York), 72 Likud Party (Israel), 3, 4, 5, 31, 35, 38, Kemp, Jack, 34, 155n59 49, 60, 69, 90, 92, 131, 134, 136– Keysar, Ariela, 101 37, 174n40 Khartoum Declaration (1967), 143n3 elections (1996), 59; (1999), 85, 87; kibbutz projects, 98– 99 (2001), 108, 115, 140 Kissinger, Henry, 44– 45, 47, 49 loan guarantees, 7, 9, 28– 35, 48, 127, Klein, Morton, 2, 56, 111, 113 131, 148n33 Klein HaLevi, Yossi, 149n41 Klenicki, Rabbi Leon, 168n59 lobbying, 3– 6, 28, 32– 33, 39– 40, 53, 61, Klose, Kevin, 181n122 123– 26 Koch, Ed, 33– 34, 154n59 Los Angeles Times, 9, 83 Kook, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda, 157n4 Lubavitcher movement, 70, 166n37 Kosmin, Barry, 22, 101 Kosovar Muslims, 118 Madrid process, 9, 14, 34, 46, 67, 91, Kula, Rabbi Irwin, 98 112, 148n33 Kurtzer, Dan, 17 mainstream Protestants, 4, 14, 75– 77, Kuwait, 32, 46 168n58 Kyle, Jon, 105 Marayati, Salam al- , 111 Maryland- Israel Development Center, 54 Labor Party (Israel), 5, 35, 38, 49, 94, Mayer, Egon, 22, 101 131, 137, 156n80, 182n136 media monitoring, 109, 122 elections (1996), 59, 63; (1999), 11, Meimad Party (Israel), 61 84– 85 Meir, Golda, 134, 169n64 One Israel coalition, 136 Melchior, Rabbi Michael, 97, 120, 136, Labor , 47 176n61 “land for peace,” 39, 58, 63, 74, 78, 129, Mercaz, 40 131, 134, 137 Meretz Party (Israel), 126, 156n83 Lapin, Rabbi Daniel, 78, 145n16 Mideast Forum, 96– 97, 100 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 206 ● Index

Miller, Aaron David, 12, 17, 149n40, Netanyahu, Binyamin “Bibi” (1996– 99), 172n10 108, 134, 148n38, 163n92, 163n4 Mitchell, George, 92, 180n103 (chap. 4), 164n9, 168n52, 173n20, Mitzna, Amram, 182n136 174n40 modern , 57, 69, 71, American Jewry and, 16, 63– 64, 72– 78, 101, 104, 120, 136, 163n92, 74, 79– 80, 84, 95– 97, 106, 113– 176n54 14, 119, 121, 135– 38, 156n75, Moral Majority, 77 164n8, 166nn34– 35 Mordecai, Yitzhak, 85, 95, 171n97 Clinton and, 15, 63– 66, 78, 127– 28, Mubarak, Hosni, 162n80 132, 136– 37, 141 Mullins, Janet, 31 conversion crisis and, 13, 15, 69– 74, 84, 97, 119, 137– 38, 167n47 National Association of Arab Americans, election of 1996, 11, 59, 61, 63– 64, 52 68, 85, 94, 108, 171n98 National Commission on , 111 election of 1999, 84– 85, 87, 90 National Conference on Soviet Jewry, Evangelicals and, 77– 78, 121 125 Hebron and, 65– 66, 134 National Council for Soviet Jewry reciprocity and, 127– 28 (NCSJ), 153n33 Second Intifada and, 106 National Council of Churches, 76 Syria and, 68, 166n27 National Council of Jewish Women Wye Accord, 66– 67 (NCJW), 54 Neturei Karta, 25 National Council of Young Israel, 57, 60 (NIF), 38, 54, 161n57 National Havurah Committee, 102 New Jewish Agenda, 38, 126 National Jewish Center for Learning and New Jewish Wedding, The (Diament), 102 Leadership (CLAL), 10, 98 National Jewish Community Relations New York Jewish Week, 17 Advisory Council (NJCRAC, later New York magazine, 58 Jewish Council for Public Affairs), New York Post, 33 4, 6, 16, 17, 31, 52, 57, 133 New York Times, 17, 20, 24, 33, 49, 64, National Jewish Democratic Council 76, 83, 106, 109, 127 (NJDC), 20– 21 Nixon, Richard (1969– 74), 23, 44, National Jewish Populations Study 155n65 (NJPS) Northern Ireland, 105, 180n103 (1970), 36 noshrim debate, 7, 29, 125 (1990), 16, 22, 35– 36, 80, 100, 133 NPR (public radio), 109 (2000– 2001), 17, 22, 25, 81, 100, 133 October/Yom Kippur War (1973), 44, National Peace Process Advocacy Day, 61 89, 131 National Religious Party (Mafdal, Israel), One Israel coalition, 136 70, 96, 174n26 Oren, Michael, 52, 157n2 Nazi Germany, 24, 40 Orthodox Feminist Alliance, 104 Ne’eman, Ya’acov, 71, 120, 136, 138, Orthodox Judaism, 5– 6, 8, 15, 28, 57– 164n9 61, 69– 72, 78, 82, 85, 100, 104, Ne’eman Commission, 71, 97 110, 113, 119– 20, 136– 37, 139– Netanyahu, Ben- Zion, 174n40 40, 146n21, 163n87, 177n70 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Index ● 207

non- Orthodox divide, 5, 57– 61, 73, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), 80, 95– 96, 130, 147n25 1– 2, 39, 45, 52, 88, 144n6, 144n8 See also conversion crisis; modern Palestinian Authority (PA), 1, 2, 49, 51, Orthodox Judaism; ultra- 53, 64, 75, 97, 127– 28, 130, 140, Orthodox Judaism 144n12 Orthodox rabbinical court, 71 Palestinian Legislative Council, 67 Orthodox Union (OU), 5, 16, 31, 40, Palestinians, 43– 44, 64– 66, 75, 76 57, 60– 61, 75, 96, 123, 130, 133, aid to, 2, 11 157n87 repatriation and, 91 Oslo process (Mideast peace process, Palestinian state, 13, 45, 67, 90, 96– 97, 1993– 2000) 130, 165n22 American Jewry’s response to, 3– 4, 7, Partnership 2000 (P2K), 81, 98, 118, 13– 16, 46, 51– 54, 56– 58, 125– 123, 133, 135, 177n65 26, 130– 33 Patriot antimissile batteries, 46 Barak and, 11, 85, 88– 90, 113– 14, 140 Peace Now (Israel), 52 CIA and, 66 Pentagon City, VA, talks (2000), 92 debate over, 41 Peres, Shimon (1984– 86; 1996– 96), 8, donors conference and, 51 15– 16, 57, 65, 72, 88, 94, 127, end of (2000– 2001), 3, 93, 122, 139– 41 130, 137, 147n29, 156n80, 172n4 Evangelicals and, 78 American Jewry and, 16, 96, 114, Israeli election of 1996 and, 63, 65 120, 136, 166n34 lessons of, 117– 21 elections of 1996, 59, 61, 63– 65, 68– mainstream Protestants and, 76 69, 94, 136 Netanyahu and, 11, 61, 65, 69, 72– Lebanon and, 68 74, 78 Oslo process and, 50– 51, 68 Nobel Peace Prize (1994), 2 Nobel Peace Prize, 2 opportunities and crises and, 10– 13 Rabin and, 49, 59– 61, 136, 163n82 Oslo I (Oslo Accords; Declaration of philanthropy, 99, 113, 135, 141 Principles, 1993), 1– 3, 6, 10, 47, Pipes, Daniel, 28 49, 51– 52, 130, 161n41 pluralism, 95– 96, 113, 119, 136 Oslo II (Interim Agreement on the Podhoretz, Norman, 13 West Bank and Gaza Strip, Pollard, Jonathan J., 66, 165nn17– 18 1995), 2– 9, 57, 65– 67, 90, 131– Pollin, Abe, 47 32, 144n12 Popular Front for the Liberation of Peres and, 15, 50– 51, 68 Palestine (PFLP), 88 Rabin and, 1– 2, 50– 51, 59– 61, 67, post- Zionism, 160n30 130– 33 Presbyterian Church, 76, 168n62 Second Intifada and, 112 Presidents’ Commission on the Syria and, 67– 69 Holocaust, 40– 41 US role in, 44, 50– 51, 85 Presidents’ Conference. See Conference See also Bolling Base summit; Camp of Presidents of Major American David II; Madrid process; Sharm Jewish Organizations el- Sheikh summit; Tabla summit; Project Nishma (later Israel Policy ; Forum), 52, 57 and specific political figures and Project Renewal, 81, 98, 118, 177n65 negotiations Putnam, Robert D., 12– 13, 149n43 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 208 ● Index

Raab, Earl, 51 Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), “Rabbi Engagement with the Peace 20– 21 Process,” 110 Republican Party (US), 15, 23, 28, 32– , 82, 108, 157n88 34, 64– 66, 77, 85, 97, 101– 2, 117, Rabin, Yitzhak (1993– 95), 10, 72, 121, 127, 129, 137 87– 88, 94, 140, 143n2, 144n8, Rhodes Armistice Agreements (1949), 155n65, 156n78, 156n80, 163n82, 46, 67, 158n14 165n13, 172n4 Rifkind, Robert S., 52 American Jewry and, 13, 15– 16, 35, Robertson, Rev. Pat, 77 39, 48– 50, 53, 56– 61, 96, 113– Rogers Plan (1969), 44, 158n6 14, 120, 126, 131– 33, 160n30 Rosenberg, M. J., 105 Arafat handshake, 1– 2, 51, 130 Rosenthal, A. M., 105 assassination of, 11, 13, 15, 26, 44, Rosenthal, Steven T., 13, 149n44 58– 61, 120, 128, 131– 32, 135– Rosh Chodesh meeting, 103 36, 162n80 Rosh Hashanah incident (2001), 109 background of, 47 Ross, Dennis, 17, 30– 31, 58– 59, 66, 68, Barak and, 94– 95 83, 88– 89, 173n23, 174n38 Clinton and, 46– 48, 58– 59, 67, 127– Rubin, Barry, 171n96 28, 132, 137, 159n19, 166n27 Rubin, Gary, 60 election of 1993, 14, 34– 35, 38, 112 Rubin, Robert E., 19 land for peace and, 130 Rudin, Rabbi James “Jim,” 168n59 loan guarantees and, 34– 35, 48 Russian Federation, 51, 125 Oslo process and, 50– 51, 67, 130– 33 Nobel Peace Prize, 2 Saban, Haim, 85 Syria and, 67 Sabra and Shatilla massacres, 45, 140 Rabinovich, Itamar, 57 Sadat, Anwar el- , 158n7, 172n4 Rajoub, Jibril, 174n39 Satmar Hasidim, 25 Ramah camps, 40, 104 Saudi Arabia, 35, 46, 91, 154n56 Ravitzky, Aviezer, 157n4 Schechter schools, 37 Reagan, Ronald (1981– 89), 23, 27, Schiller, W. James, 56 45, 77– 78, 129, 151n9, 154n56, Schindler, Rabbi Alexander, 38, 82, 103 158n10 Schindler’s List (film), 41, 124 Reagan Plan (1982), 45 Schneerson, Rebe Menachem Mendel, 70 “Rebuilding Jewish Peoplehood” Schorsch, Rabbi Ismar, 71 (AJCommittee), 60 secular Jews, 6, 10, 108, 134, reciprocity, 11, 72, 127– 28 176nn55– 56 Reconstructionist Judaism, 70, 82, secular revolution, 96– 97 167n39 secular Zionism, 82 Red Tent, The (Diament), 102 “Seeking Peace, Pursuing Justice , 6, 8, 24– 25, 37, 39, 55, Program” (UAHC), 107 57, 70– 71, 73, 82, 84, 100, 103– 5, Segev, Tom, 143n2 107, 109, 110, 133, 138, 146n25 settlements, 31, 34, 38– 39, 48, 58, 61, Reform Zionism, 84 63– 64, 90, 146nn23– 24, 155n62 Reich, Robert, 19 See also Gaza Strip; Golan Heights; Religious Action Center for Reform West Bank Judaism, 39, 146n25 settlers, 61, 130, 134, 157n4, 165n13 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Index ● 209

Sha’ath, Nabil, 173n23 Soviet Union (USSR), fall of, 6, 30, 51, Shalomi, Rabbi Zalman Schacter, 102 124– 25, 129 Shamir, Yitzhak (1983– 84; 1986– 92), Spielberg, Steven, 41 7– 8, 16, 48, 64, 94, 127, 131, Spirit Matters (Lerner), 102 147n29, 148n32n33 spirituality, 36, 55, 81– 83, 102– 4, 112, Gulf War, 32, 158n13 122, 139 loan guarantees and, 9, 29– 31 Statement of Principles on Jewish- Arab Madrid process and, 34 Relations (NJCRAC and NAAA), settlements and, 8, 155n62 52 Shara, Farouk al- , 89, 136 Steinhardt, Michael, 83, 135 Sharansky, Natan, 105, 108, 138, Sulzberger, Arthur Hays, 24 152n26 Synagogue 2000, 103 “shared values” agenda, 118– 19, 125 Syria, 45, 67– 69, 117, 130, 166n27, Sharm el- Sheikh 166n29, 172n5 Summit of Peacemakers (1996), 68 Barak talks (2000), 89 summit of 2000, 92 Clinton- Assad talks (1994), 68– 69; summit of 2005, 145n14 (2000), 69 Sharm el- Sheikh Fact- finding Committee Disengagement Accords (1973), 131 (Mitchell Report), 92 Gulf War (1991), 46 Israeli peace treaty, proposed, 65, 67 Sharon, Ariel (2001– 6), 3, 90, 92, Netanyahu talks (1996), 68 155n62, 182n136 October/Yom Kippur War (1973), election of 2001, 93, 108, 115, 140, 44, 89 174n26, 174n34 Six- Day War (1967), 43 Shas Party (Israel), 70, 138 Shepherdstown talks (2000), 15, 69, 89 Taba summit (2001), 16, 93, 140 Sher, Neal, 2 Taglit- , 55, 83, 99– 100, Shochat, Avraham, 10, 49, 132 107, 112– 13, 118, 122– 23, 135, Shoval, Zalman, 29, 153– 54n40 141, 153n28, 160n33, 168n52, Shribman, David M., 19– 20 177n67 Shrum, Robert, 85 Tel Aviv beach attack of 1990, 45 Silver, Rabbi Abba Hillel, 25 Temple Mount (Har HaBayit/Haram Sinai I Accords, 131 al- Sharif), 90– 91, 107– 9, 114, 139, , 43 144n13, 174n26 Six- Day War (1967), 1, 23– 25, 38, 43– Sharon walk, 3, 92– 93, 108 46, 123 Temple Ohev Shalom (Harrisburg, PA), South Africa, 75 112 Soviet/Russian Jews, 6– 9, 14, 28– 29, 32, Tenet, George, 16, 66– 68 40, 78, 99, 117, 123– 25, 133– 34, terrorism, 2– 3, 11, 43, 45, 61, 66, 68– 152n26, 157n92 69, 109, 111 conversion crisis, 70, 119, 138 suicide bombings, 26, 56, 59, 64, 68 loan guarantees and, 7, 9, 28– 30, 48, Tikkun, 17, 60, 102 70, 125 Tobias, Glen A., 77 noshrim debate on, 7– 8, 29, 125, Tobin, Dr. Gary, 99 153n35, 153n37 “To Life! America Celebrates Israel’s refuseniks, 44, 108 50th” (TV special), 83 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 210 ● Index

Toward Tradition, 78 (1964), 27 travel to Israel, 26– 27, 38, 54, 58, 74, (1980), 27, 129 80– 81, 83, 99– 100, 107, 135 (1988), 33 See also Taglit- Birthright Israel (1992), 27– 29, 35, 46– 48, 127 Tunis US- PLO dialogue (1988– 90), 45 (1996), 48, 136 “twin cities” programs, 81 (2000), 19– 20, 27, 48, 101– 2, 123, two- state solution, 45 128– 29, 151n6 (2004), 20 ultra- Orthodox Judaism (Haredim), 5– 6, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, 6, 41, 24– 25, 39, 56– 57, 96, 104, 120, 123– 24, 164n10 136, 162n68, 163n87, 167n40, US House of Representatives, 19, 65 176n54 US Senate, 19, 20, 65, 76 Union for Traditional Judaism (UTJ), US State Department, 12, 111– 12, 104 150n2 Union of American Hebrew US Supreme Court, 19, 25, 128 Congregations (UAHC, later ), 6, 31, 55, Vatican, 74– 75, 168n54 103, 105, 107, 126, 133 Vietnam War, 25, 47 Union of Councils for Soviet Jewry, 153n33 Warhaftig, Zerah, 143n2 Union of Reform Judaism (URJ, formerly War of Independence (1948– 49), 43, 46, Union of American Hebrew 143n1, 144n4 Congregations), 16 , 35 (UIA), 23, 94 Washington Post, 17, 29, 109 United Jewish Appeals (UJA, later Jewish Waskow, Arthur, 102, 134 Federations of North America; Waxman, Chaim I., 37– 38 United Jewish Communities), 10, Weiss, Rabbi Avi, 59, 69, 166n36 23, 70– 71, 94, 99 Weizman, Ezer, 49, 95, 132, 160n31 Young Leadership Conference, 82– 83 West Bank, 5, 7, 43, 98, 137, 157n3, United Jewish Communities (UJC, 158n10, 174n30 1999– 2009; formerly Council of annexation and, 45, 90 Jewish Federations; later Jewish Begin and, 38, 131, 146n24 Federations of North America), 10, Hebron Accord and, 15, 65– 66 23, 37, 94, 98, 106– 7, 119 loan guarantees and, 9, 30– 31 Israel Emergency Campaign of 2001– Netanyahu and, 15, 63, 65, 78, 85, 2, 107 108, 134 See also General Assembly Rabin and, 61 , 21, 26, 44, 91, 112 Second Intifada and, 110 United Synagogue, 104 Shamir and, 127, 131 United Torah Judaism Party (Israel), 70 Taba summit and, 93 US Congress, 2– 3, 11, 12, 15, 19, 32, withdrawals from, 66 33, 64– 65, 94, 97– 98, 124, 137, , 71, 75, 93, 109 141 White House Office of the Jewish US elections Community Liaison, 17, 22, 26 (1940), 27 “Who is a Jew?” law. See conversion crisis (1944), 27 Wiesel, Elie, 41, 124 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772 Index ● 211

Wise, Rabbi Stephen S., 25 Yediot Acharanot, 110 Wolfson, Ron, 103 YESHA fund, 98 women, 102– 4 Yeshiva University, 104 Woocher, Jonathan, 23 yeshivot, 96 World Congress for Directors in Jewish Yisrael B’ Party (Israel), 108, 138, Informal Education, 95 174n26 World Jewish Congress, 55 Yoffie, Rabbi Eric, 16, 82, 103, 107, 109 World War II, 40, 41, 47 Yom Kippur firebombing, 112 World Wide Web, 4– 5, 109– 10 Yosef, Rabbi Ovadiah, 146n22 World Zionist Congress, 50, 82 World Zionist Organization, 50 Zachter- Shalmi, Zalman, 134 Wye River Memorandum (1998), 65– 68, Zionism, 24, 74, 94– 95, 114, 125, 132, 80, 97, 134, 168n53, 172n11 160n30 WYPR (radio station), 109, 181n122 Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), 2, 4, 39, 49, 56, 60, 99– 100, 105, Yadin, Yigal, 143n1 111, 113, 126, 133, 139 Yad VaShem Holocaust Remembrance Zogby, James, 111 and Martyrs Museum, 75 Zogby, Joseph, 111 Copyrighted Material – ISBN 9781137273772

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