Deputy foreign minister criticized 100 US Jewish leaders for their letter in which they urged Israel to take peace steps.
By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, GIL STERN STERN HOFFMANZeev Elkin 311(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Deputy foreign minister Ze’ev Elkin criticized a group of 100 American Jewish leaders over the weekend for their letter from two weeks ago in which they urged Israel to take concrete steps toward peace.The letter, initiated by the Israel Policy Forum, came in the wake of US President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel last month. It called upon Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to work closely with US Secretary of State John Kerry to devise pragmatic initiatives, consistent with Israel’s security needs, which would represent Israel’s readiness to make painful territorial sacrifices for the sake of peace.“The first and foremost responsibility of the government must be the security of the citizens and guaranteeing a safe future for Israel,” Elkin said in an interview with Ma’ariv.“Pressure from overseas must not guide the prime minister in how he carefully administers the diplomatic process.”Elkin, who lives in Kfar Eldad, a settlement in Gush Etzion, came out strongly against the two-state solution in the interview.Signatories to the letter included philanthropists Charles Bronfman, S. Daniel Abraham and Lester Crowne; rabbis Eric Yoffie and David Saperstein, and leaders of the Reform movement.
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