Olmert: World Jewry has No Say in Fate of Jerusalem

Ehud Olmert is laying the groundwork for a division of Jerusalem, which may be a bluff of such magnitude that it actually causes relief when his land concession turns out to be "only" the West Bank.

However, he has already undermined Israel's raison d'etre, that it represents Zionism as a vital expression of the Jewish People. Zion is, of course, a synonym for Jerusalem. Practically, Israel derives its legitimacy as a nation-state because it is the caretaker of the Jewish homeland and its capital, and permits any Jew to take advantage of the Law of Return. Not surprisingly, Olmert's Interior Minister has spoken out against the Law of Return, but this has not been well-publicized (see: 'Israel Should No Longer Grant Automatic Citizenship to Jews').

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert informed American Jewish leaders Monday that Jews outside of Israel have no right to intervene in any decision regarding the status of Jerusalem.

Olmert declared at a news conference Monday following his meeting with leaders of U.S. Jewish communities that "the government of Israel has a sovereign right to negotiate anything on behalf of Israel," making it clear that Jews outside of Israel had no right to participate in decisions about the future of Jerusalem. The prime minister told reporters that the issue had "been determined long ago."

His remarks were seen as a slap to American Jewish leaders who oppose tentative plans by the Olmert administration to put Jerusalem on the negotiating table.

Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel, told hundreds of Jews in Chicago Monday night that "Yerushalayim is not for discussion, Yerushalayim is not for sale, Yerushalayim must remain undivided forever." Participants at the prayer vigil were led by the rabbis of the community in chanting tehillim (psalms) and speaking out against the division of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. A statement sent to the media noted that "for at least one night both the Religious Zionist/Modern Orthodox and Aguda communities stood side by side to pray for what most matters."

The prime minister's statement also did not seem to take into account a declaration that was made decades ago by his predecessor, a founding father and the first Prime Minister of the State of Israel, David Ben Gurion during a session of the first Knesset in Tel Aviv.

"The attempt to sever Jewish Jerusalem from the State of Israel," warned Ben Gurion in 1949, "will not advance the cause of peace in the Middle East or in Jerusalem itself. Israelis will give their lives to hold on to Jerusalem, just as the British would for London, the Russians for Moscow and the Americans for Washington."

This is a good try by Ben Gurion, but a terrible understatement. The analogy is "Jews will give their lives to hold on to Jerusalem just as Muslims would for Mecca." Some British alive today probably have the opportunity to experience the loss of London, and British will not mourn for thousands of years over it and base their lives around a return to it.

The Orthodox Union (OU) immediately responded to the prime minister's remarks with a statement saying it did not intend to dictate policy to Israel, but expressed its "resolute stand" that all Jews in the world have a share in "the holy city of Jerusalem."

Agudath Israel of America adopted a resolution Sunday at its 85th national convention in Connecticut bluntly stating "Israel should not relinquish parts of Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty, and the American government should not pressure the Israeli government into doing so."

Both statements echoed an assertion published on the website of the Coordinating Council on Jerusalem which states unequivocally that "World Jewry opposes Israeli negotiations which would include any discussion of ceding sovereignty over part or all of Jerusalem."

The group soberly notes in its statement that this is "the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel that a significant group of American Jewish organizations have created a broad united front to pursue a policy directly involving Israel that is based on an explicit principle that supercedes deference to the sitting Israeli government."

Olmert has lost his mandate to continue as Prime Minister in Israel by virtue of public opinion surveys. All the more so, has no legitimacy to place Israel in existential danger, which the majority of voters believe. All the more so, he has no right to place the essence of World Jewry on the negotiating table.

Olmert has egregiously violated all democratic norms. It is time for Israelis to repossess the trust given to him, and not by waiting passively to see what damage he does before the next election.