How Israel Can Stop Alienating Its Jewish Supporters

Last week, we had a bit of a victory here at Goldblog news headquarters, when the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, decided to pull those archaic guilt-inducing ads directed at Israelis in America. As I write in my Bloomberg View column this week, I only wish he would turn to more important issues -- issues that truly could alienate American Jews from the Jewish state:

There are three issues the Netanyahu government must address quickly to prevent the bonds between Israel and its American Jewish supporters from fraying further.

The first is an unprecedented campaign by right-wing members of the Knesset, including some in Netanyahu's Likud Party, to curtail aspects of Israeli democracy. This has included attempting to restrict the activities and fundraising abilities of human-rights organizations critical of government policy; proposing laws limiting free speech in a dispute over boycotts of products made in West Bank settlements; and waging a campaign to delegitimize Israel's independent Supreme Court by giving the Knesset, instead of an independent panel, the power to appoint justices.

For the other two issues, you can continue to read here.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/12/how-israel-can-stop-alienating-its-jewish-supporters/249556/