US Jewish leaders warn of rift with Israel over incoming far-right gov’t

Several Jewish leaders in the United States have warned Israeli officials that racist and extremist steps by the incoming government led by Prime Minister- elect Benjamin Netanyahu would greatly harm US Jews’ support for Israel.

The warning came during a meeting held at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, according to a report published by Axios yesterday.

US Jews, a senior Israeli employee said, are worried about the incoming government’s policies towards Jews in the diaspora and the steps they may take against democracy.

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Representatives of several mainstream US Jewish organisations which are the “backbone of the pro-Israel community in the U.S who have regular interlocutors of the Israeli embassy” attended the meeting.

The representatives also raised concern over Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition partners’ anti-LGBTQ views. They warned that policies that are racist and antagonistic and harm LGBTQ+ rights could damage donations to Israel from the US Jewish community.

“Such policies could also push younger Jews in the country to further distance themselves from Israel,” the report added.

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