Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t expected to meet with heads of American Jewish organizations during his week-long visit to Washington DC, The Jerusalem Post Has learned.
Netanyahu arrived in the US on Sunday in honor of meeting with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. During the week, Netanyahu met with senior administration officials and even a group of senior Evangelical leaders at the beginning of his trip.
Two senior leaders of Jewish organizations confirmed with the Post on Thursday that Netanyahu wasn’t planning on meeting them, which they saw as offensive.
“We were stunned and disappointed that Netanyahu will spend an entire week in the US but won’t meet with heads of Jewish organizations,” one of them said. “We, the leadership, have fought for Israel since October 7, around the clock, while also raising billions of dollars for Israel, as well as lobbying for the support of Israel both on a local, national, and international level,” the leader said.
A second Jewish leader disclosed that the prime minister was planning on meeting young Jewish leaders, but “while we are happy that Netanyahu is meeting with young Jews in the DC area, we would benefit from this sort of meeting – and Israel would benefit as well from it.”
The second leader added, “We support Israel regardless of his decisions of who to meet, but Israeli prime ministers have always met with the American Jewish leadership while visiting the US. In a time where our enemies seek to destroy us, unity is what we need,” the second leader concluded.
Israeli prime ministers have always kept an unofficial protocol: When they visit diplomatically in a country abroad, they will always meet with the Jewish community or at least its leadership.
Netanyahu’s complicated past with US Jewish leadership
Netanyahu has had a rocky relationship with the leadership of US Jews, essentially the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. During the legislation for establishing an egalitarian prayer plaza at the Western Wall a few years ago, when afterward the legislation was frozen and later canceled – there was a dispute between most of these leaders and the prime minister.
Later, Netanyahu’s envoy to the US, Ron Dermer, encouraged the establishment of a new organization of American rabbis, mainly Reform and Conservative, so that Israel could create a dialogue with these streams, but not through its official leadership.
In 2023, after the anti-judicial reform protests began, many diaspora Jews and its leadership criticized Netanyahu and his government.
The Jerusalem Post has contacted the Prime Minister’s Office but has not received a response.
