Shortly before the official dinner hosted by the White House on Monday November 26 to welcome participants in this week’s Annapolis Middle-East meeting, National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley and other high-ranking Bush Administration officials sat down for a meeting of their own with a select group of American Jewish and Christian leaders concerned about the potential direction of the Annapolis conference.
Mr. Hadley, who heads up the White House’s National Security Council, was joined at the meeting by several other high-ranking Administration officials, including Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams and Special Assistant to the White House Chief of Staff Jeremy Katz.
The Jewish organizational participants in the meeting included Nathan Diament, Washington, DC-based director of public policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Shlomo Mostofsky, president of the National Council of Young Israel, and Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president for government and public affairs for Agudath Israel of America. Also present was community activist Jeffrey Ballabon, who has taken a lead role in directing the activities of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem.
The Christian groups represented around the table included the Southern Baptist Convention by its vice president for research Barrett Duke, and Christians United for Israel by its executive director David Brog. In addition, Gary Bauer, a prominent figure in both the conservative political and evangelical communities, participated as well.
The meeting, which took place in the fourth floor conference room in the White House’s Eisenhower Executive Office Building, lasted well over an hour. While the details of the discussions were off-the-record, the community representatives raised a variety of questions regarding both the details of the “peace process” – particularly the stated determination to proceed immediately to “final status” negotiations that could lead to the relinquishment of parts of Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty – and America’s role in the process.
In opening remarks, Mr. Hadley assured the group that the decision to commence comprehensive peace negotiations now, with the goal of finalizing an agreement leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2008 – before President Bush leaves office – was the independent choice of the Israelis and the Palestinians. The American government did not pressure the parties to enter such negotiations, he said, and in fact the negotiations would be strictly between the parties themselves with the U.S. simply acting as a facilitator.
For its part, Agudath Israel, only a day earlier at its annual national convention, had adopted a resolution in opposition to Israel’s “relinquish[ing] parts of Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty” and asking the American government to “not pressure” the Israelis to do so. At the Washington meeting, Rabbi Zwiebel reiterated that stance, which he said represented a “broad consensus” in the American Orthodox community.
“This was an excellent opportunity to relay the depth of our community’s concern over the issue of Jerusalem to high ranking Bush administration officials just as the Annapolis process was about to begin,” the Agudath Israel leader noted. “I believe our words made an impact, and I anticipate that this dialogue will continue in the weeks and months ahead.”
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9 Responses
go to this web site to call bush, olmert and condi rice
http://callsforjerusalem.org/s/friends.html
Reading this post, it is very interesting to note the fact that the Agudah is joining with the leadership of the Orthodox Union, and the Young Israel regarding this issue.
This meeting must of been planned and set up well before the Convention session on Yerusholayim.
This entire session is now suspect of having political undertones, and perhaps other motives besides the ones reported as being the opinions of the gdolim in Eretz Yisroel.
TO DOVID HAKOTON:
Don’t be paranoid!
The fact is that all conventions are planned well in advance, and all it takes to put together this kind of meeting are a few phone calls to old acquaintences.
hakoton Why wouldn’t or shouldn’t all frum organizations work together? You are probably not aware of how many families share membership in Natl Council of Young Israels, OU and Agudah, among other groups. You are sounding like a youngster (which u may be) not a mature Torah individual who has a mature view of Israel’s destiny.
TO DOVID HAKOTON:
First of al Rabbi Lerner (Young Israel)has many times attended Agudath Israel Convention sessions. In addtion many OU employess have attended events that I personaly coordinated when I worked for the Agudah. Each organizations is unique yet we all are children of Hashem.
Stop with creating senseless rumors and focus.
There is no political element here. On the contrary as the Novominsker Rebba said- The Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of America (which directs Agudath sirael of America) will only come out with a resolution based on the direction of the Gedolim in Eretz Yisroel when it pertains to an issue in Eretz Yisroel.
As someone else mentioned its a matter of a few phone call sot arrange such a meeting. The OU is directly across the streetfrom the Agudah and Young Israel is not to far. i bet many of the employees of these organizations daven together or commute together.
Lets follow the direction of The gedolei Eretz Yisroel and send an email respectfully to the Whitehouse.
Rav Ephraim Wachsman at the Agudah Convention this past Motzei Shabbos.
…Morey v’raboisy, there must never be an irvuvye of ohr v’choshech, we have to be pure in our ohr we musn’t allow mixture, and one of the places where its most dangerous if there’s an irvuvye of ohr and choshech is in our deyis, in our hashkofos, we musn’t let there be a confusion.
Every yid who’s concerened about the future of yerushalyim ihr hakodesh, must remember OUR CONCERN IS FOR THE SAFETY OF ACHEINI BNEI YISROEL, we must not confuse this concern with nationalistic aspirations, with tzionis, we must be very carefull with the language that we use the phraseology that we use, when we talk about “We will give back yerushalayim”, “We won’t give back yerushalayim”, yerushalyim belongs to the rebono shel oilam, it’s beyad hashem, the rebono shel oilam gave eretz yisroel to the kneses yisroel, it’s the first rashi in bereishis, but he sent us out of eretz yisroel, u’mipnei chatoenu golinu meiartzaynu, and were still in golus and the rebono shel olam hasn’t brought us back, even if we have a physical presence in eretz yisroel, WE MUST NOT LET OUR AHAVAS ERETZ YISROEL OUR AHAVA FOR YERUSHALYIM IHR HAKODESH CROSS THE THIS LINE INTO DEYIS KOIZVIZ, yerushalyim to us is mesos kol haaretz, zeh shaar hashamayim, OUR CONNECTION TO YERSHALAYIM IS NOT BECAUSE IT’S THE CAPITOL OF ISRAEL, TO US ITS EICHA YOSHVO BODOD HAIHR RABBOSI OM HOSO K’ALMONO, and never ever are we chalila poirek the oihl of golus, we humbly accept the rotzon hashem, and we mispalel to the ribbon shel oilam, with our koach hatfilla, we have to be very very carefull, we have to reread the seforim and the yesodos of r’ elchonon, of the chazon ish of the brisker rov, the gedolei yisroel that led us thru all the generations, and remember how a yid has to think, and how he has to speak and what he has to do, there must never be an irvuvye of ohr and choshech….
To listen call Kol Haloshon at (718) 906-6400. Press 1 for English. Press 8 for Special Topics. Press 5 for Agudas Yisroel shiurim in Special Topics. Press 6 for this year’s convention. In there, there are the 16 shiurim. Rav Ephraim Wachsman is number 11, it’s about half hour into his speech.
Monbo,
what’s your point?
Thank you Monbo. We have to be very wary of the tziyonim.
“Every yid who’s concerened about the future of yerushalyim ihr hakodesh, must remember OUR CONCERN IS FOR THE SAFETY OF ACHEINI BNEI YISROEL”, the safety of ‘acheinu bnei yisroel’ has been on the line for many years in ERETZ YISRAEL, through kassem rockets which are getting more powerful and deadly. The rockets thru chasdei hashem have not done much physical damage, daily they are ruining the lives of acheninu beis yisroel in netivot, sderot, askelon, and other nearby areas to gaza. Why suddenly the wellspring of ACTION towards our brethren? Are we visiting down south to give chizuk on our trips to Israel, raising money and offering motzei shabbos learning groups to the yidden in sderot, or is our concern more centrally located for acheninu bas yisroel????