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.
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.
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.