In his first such sit-down with Jewish leaders, President Obama will meet this afternoon with representatives of from 11 different major Jewish organizations. The groups include American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Jewish Democratic Council, Orthodox Union, United Jewish Communities, Union for Reform Judaism, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, American Jewish Committee and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, which is lead by long-time Obama acquaintance Alan Solow, who requested the meeting.

There will be much on the agenda, but nothing will top the threat of a nuclear Iran or the President’s demand for a freeze on all Israeli settlement building. We can assume that despite some of the less temperate responses by some in these organizations, to the President’s positions on these issues, everyone will behave themselves. It is the White House after all. The interesting question will be how these groups speak about the current administration’s policies after they have left grounds.
Interestingly, the harshest comments are rarely about anything the President has actually done, but about what some members of this delegation fear he will do in light of comments he has made and actions he has taken – none of which have endangered Jews or Israel at all, to this point.

So whatever is said at the meeting, it will be up to those who lead these organizations to decide if they are going to keep reading tea leaves in ways that simply confirm why they were not Obama fans to begin with. Or, will they find measured ways to register disagreement without the fear-mongering and ugly language (“the President is surrounded by self-hating Jews”) that have often been a substitute for meaningful conversation about these very charged issues.

For its part, I hope that the administration can develop a deeper appreciation of the fears which underlay the thinking of those who use such language. They need not agree with those on the right about what is best for America or for Israel, but they will need to get past a game of dueling factoids if they want their policies to garner support from the greatest possible number of American Jews. If events in the Middle East were simply about the facts, there would have been peace long ago.
I hope that this administration remembers that when dealing with those with whom they have the deepest disagreements. If they do, I think that many people on both the left and the right will be able to find a workable common ground from which to make real progress to the peace which both sides say they want.