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Prominent Jewish leaders add to drumbeat of criticism of Israel’s new government
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A slate of 169 prominent American Jews, including former leaders of major mainstream Jewish organizations, called on U.S. politicians not to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, a signal of worsening relations between the new far-right Israeli government and the U.S. Jewish community.
The statement Wednesday signals increased anxiety among Jewish leaders about how to maintain support for Israel when it is led by a government promoting policies alien to the values of an overwhelmingly liberal American Jewish community. It also departs substantially from a pro-Israel community that has sought to label various forms of criticizing Israel as antisemitic.
It comes just days after 134 historians of Jewish and Israeli history, based both in Israel and the United States, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of threatening the country’s existence through his agreement to far-reaching reforms advocated by his coalition partners on the far right.
It also comes just weeks after hundreds of rabbis from Reform, Orthodox and Conservative congregations said they would not allow extremist ministers in the new Cabinet to address their congregations and would encourage their Jewish communities to boycott them as well.
The statement by the prominent American Jews addresses the newly installed Congress, and anticipates increased U.S. Jewish criticism of Israel because of the new government in Jerusalem. Among its signatories are past leaders of mainstream Jewish organizations that have traditionally shied from Israel criticism, among them the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish federations system, as well as past leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements.
Notably absent are current leaders, who have been reluctant to speak out about new members of the Israeli government who want to greatly expand Jewish settlement in the West Bank, curb advocacy for minority rights and weaken Israel’s Supreme Court.
“As the 118th Congress begins its work, we believe it is important to state our concerns — which are widely shared by supporters of Israel here and around the world and by a significant number of Israelis — regarding some of the policies proposed by members of Israel’s new government,” the statement says.
It lists among those policies proposals by Netanyahu’s new government to weaken the independence of the judiciary, add restrictions to the Law of Return determining Jewish immigration, restrict non-Orthodox religious practice in Israel and expand Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.
“Our criticisms emanate from a love for Israel and a steadfast support for its security and well-being,” said the statement. “Some will try to dismiss their validity by labeling them antisemitic.” Instead, the statement said, the criticisms “reflect a real concern that the new government’s direction mirrors anti-democratic trends that we see arising elsewhere — in other nations and here in the U.S., rather than reinforcing the shared democratic values that are foundational to the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
The statement notably appends a guide to detecting what is and isn’t antisemitic in discourse about Israel that differs markedly in its emphasis from a definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
The IHRA definition, which pro-Israel organizations have sought in recent years to introduce into legislation in the United States and elsewhere, focuses on Israel criticism that its authors deem antisemitic; the guide attached to Wednesday’s statement focuses instead on criticism of Israel that does not merit being called antisemitic.
“Mistaking political disagreements about Israel for antisemitism is counterproductive,” it says. “It diverts the debate away from the substance to whether something is — or is not — antisemitic. It hinders policy debate about Israel. It distracts from addressing real instances of antisemitism and bigotry.”
The guide issued alongside the statement also says anti-Zionism and Israel boycotts may in some instances not be antisemitic, a sharp difference from ministers of the new Israeli government who say unequivocally that those things are always antisemitic.
“Boycotting goods made in the West Bank and/or Israel is not antisemitic unless it specifically singles out Israel because of its Jewish character,” said the statement. Anti-Zionism can be antisemitic if it specifically denies the Jewish right to self-determination or it employs an antisemitic trope. But opposition to Zionism in and of itself is not necessarily antisemitic.”
Among the signatories are Tom Dine, the executive director of AIPAC in its period of massive growth in the 1980s; Alan Solow, who chaired the Conference of Presidents during the Obama presidency; Rabbi David Ellenson, the former president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, the chancellor emeritus of The Jewish Theological Seminary.
Other signatories include Rabbi David A. Teutsch, the former president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the former president of the Union for Reform Judaism; Rabbi David Saperstein, formerly the longtime head of Reform’s Religious Action Center; Joel Tauber, a former chairman of United Jewish Communities and the United Jewish Appeal, and Joe Kanfer, a former chairman of the Jewish Federations of North America.
Earlier this week, a slate of 134 historians of Jewish and Israeli history in Israeli American universities accused Netanyahu’s new government of “endangering the very existence of the State of Israel and the Israeli nation.” The statement said Netanyahu and his allies are dismantling the protections against government overreach that Israel’s founders deliberately put into place.
“Israel can be likened to a ship sailing the high seas,” the statement says. “The current government is taking out the keel, consciously dismantling the state’s institutions.”
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Czechs Investigate Fire After Reports of Anti-Israel Group Claiming Responsibility
Police officers and firefighters stand in front of a burned production hall at an industrial area in Pardubice, Czech Republic, March 20, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/David W Cerny
Czech investigators are probing an overnight fire at an industrial complex as potentially being a deliberate attack, officials said on Friday, following media reports that a group protesting against Israeli weapons claimed responsibility.
Firefighters said on X that they had responded to a fire at a storage hall in a complex in Pardubice, 120 km (75 miles) east of Prague. No one was injured in the fire, which spread to another building.
Czech news website Aktualne.cz reported that a protest group said it had set fire to a “key manufacturing hub” for Israeli weapons in Pardubice to end its role in the “genocide in Gaza.”
Czech defence firm LPP Holding in a statement on its website said it had confirmed that a fire broke out at one of its facilities on Friday and it was cooperating with authorities.
The company, with a location in the complex, announced plans in 2023 to cooperate with Israeli company Elbit Systems on drone production.
“At this time, we will not speculate on the causes or circumstances of the incident and will await the official conclusions of the investigation,” LPP said.
Police initially said they were investigating whether the fire was intentional and checking public claims of a “concrete group,” without naming it.
They later said investigators with security services were probing the incident under a section of the criminal code dealing with terrorism.
“Based on what we know so far, it is likely the incident may be related to a terrorist attack,” Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar said.
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Trump Calls NATO ‘Cowards’ Over Lack of Support in Iran War
US President Donald Trump speaks on the day he honors reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) champion Inter Miami CF players and team officials with an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 5, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump assailed NATO allies on Friday over their lack of support for the US-Israel war against Iran, calling the longtime US allies “cowards.”
“Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” Trump said in a social media post.
Trump has been calling for major US allies and others, none of which were consulted or advised on the war, to help secure the safety of shipping through the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has roiled global markets since US-Israel strikes began on Feb. 28.
The US president complained NATO countries did not want to join the fight against Iran, yet still complain about high oil prices.
“Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so little risk,” he wrote.
“COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!”
Germany, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, and Canada pledged in a joint statement on Thursday to join “appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait.” But German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear that this presupposed an end to combat.
French President Emmanuel Macron said after a European Union summit in Brussels that defending international law and promoting de-escalation was “the best we can do,” adding: “I have not heard anyone here express a willingness to enter this conflict — quite the opposite.”
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Ukraine Deploys Units to Five Middle East Countries to Intercept Drones
A Sting interceptor drone by the Ukrainian company Wild Hornets flies at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, March 16, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Ukraine has deployed military units to five Middle Eastern countries to help protect critical and civilian infrastructure against drones, Ukrainian security council secretary Rustem Umerov said on Friday after visiting the region.He said the teams had been sent to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan, which have come under fire during the Iran war. Further steps for “long-term security cooperation” have been outlined with each of the five nations, he said, without giving details.
“Ukrainian military specialists are operating in each of these countries under the coordination of the National Security and Defense Council,” Umerov wrote on X.
Kyiv has said nearly a dozen countries have sought its help and advice in defending against cheap kamikaze drones, which Iran is using against its Gulf neighbors. Russia has launched similar drones at Ukraine since its 2022 invasion, and Kyiv has developed its own advanced interceptor drone capabilities.
Although Gulf states operate sophisticated US-made air defense systems, the missiles they use are in short supply and they cost much more than Iran’s Shahed drones.
Moscow has bombarded Ukraine with nearly 60,000 Shaheds and similar systems. It initially bought thousands of them from Iran, before establishing its own production facilities to make them under license. Ukraine has also launched drone attacks at Russia, although on a smaller scale.
UKRAINE WANTS MONEY AND TECHNOLOGY IN RETURN
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week Kyiv wanted money and technology in return for its help in the Middle East although this still had to be agreed.
Zelenskiy has said the United States was among nations that sought Kyiv’s help, and that Ukrainian specialists had been sent to a US military base in Jordan.
He said Friday that Kyiv has deployed 228 Ukrainian military experts to help Middle Eastern countries with drone defense and is working with Middle Eastern leaders to sign “serious agreements.”
Zelenskiy also told reporters that Ukrainian and US working groups would continue work on bilateral documents between Kyiv and Washington and discuss a wide-ranging drone deal at a meeting in the US at the weekend.
US President Donald Trump, who has a rocky relationship with Zelenskiy, has denied Washington needs Kyiv’s help in downing drones.
Umerov said on Friday that drone interception units were initially protecting civilian and critical infrastructure, and work was under way to expand their coverage areas.
The teams were using Ukrainian technology to counter drone attacks and partners were consulting with them, he said.
Zelenskiy said he had ordered Umerov, the military and the foreign ministry to assess “the real readiness” of countries to join international initiatives to secure the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway for global energy supplies effectively closed since US-Israeli attacks began on Iran on Feb. 28.
“It is important that Ukraine‘s global significance in ensuring security and the quality of Ukrainian security expertise in safeguarding lives are recognized by all partners,” he wrote on Telegram.