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By Haley Cohen
(September 22, 2023 / EJEWISHPHILANTHROPY) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed his case for the need for judicial reform in a wide-ranging, hour-long meeting with Jewish leaders in New York on Friday afternoon, trying to convince the skeptics in the room that they have the “wrong perception” of his government’s controversial moves.
The discussion with about 20 Jewish communal leaders from across the political and denominational spectrum took place at the Israeli Consulate hours after the prime minister addressed the UN General Assembly. The meeting also touched on issues including threats from Iran, the role of women and the rise of antisemitism.
“The prime minister kept his remarks short and then it was opened up to questions, responses and a few back-and-forths,” Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), told eJewishPhilanthropy as she was leaving the closed-door event. “I brought up gender and women in Israel. It was a robust conversation with a diverse cross set of Jewish leaders; not the full swath of Jewish leaders but a diverse set of mainstream leaders.
“Everybody was really respectful, thoughtful and kind, which is notable because it’s not always that way,” Katz continued. “There are two different tales in the Jewish community. What I heard in a lot of the comments today was everybody saying their side is right. Prime Minister Netanyahu told us our perception is wrong. He spent a lot of time trying to clarify that we have the wrong perception on judicial reform. I didn’t hear everything I wanted to hear but did get a better understanding of where the administration is."
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Morton A. Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), echoed that the meeting was respectful, adding it “had no fireworks.”
“Even people on the left that I spoke to, I won’t mention names, said they were very impressed with Netanyahu’s explanations,” Klein told eJP. “They said they wished Netanyahu would have explained all this before [judicial reform] went to legislation. They said they understand better this is a rational approach to the judicial system.”
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