AN OPEN LETTER TO LEADERS OF THE CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS

To Ms. Dianne Lob, Mr. William C. Daroff, and The Conference of Presidents:

We write to you on behalf of UnXeptable, a grassroots movement of Israelis living in America who, along with many American-born Jews, have been supporting the Israeli democracy movement with our weekly protests in dozens of cities across the country.

We highly value your work in strengthening the American-Israeli relationship and appreciate that the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs is an important address for that work. We have recently learned that as part of your efforts, on June 5th, you will be hosting a conversation with the Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli.

As you host Minister Chikli, we urge you to explore with him his recent statements which threaten the shared values that are the basis of the American-Israeli relationship.

As the son of a Conservative rabbi, Chikli considers himself uniquely positioned to serve as Minister of Diaspora Affairs. Yet, while he uses moderate, inclusive language when speaking to American Jews, he uses very different, even hateful, language when speaking to Israelis in Hebrew.

Please ask him what motivates him to make such provocative, insensitive, and unhelpful comments.

  • For example, Minister Chikli, who also holds the position of Minister of Social Equality, has on multiple occasions expressed prejudiced views toward the LGBTQ+ community. Some of his posts on social media were so incendiary that they were subsequently deleted. He referred to the Tel Aviv Pride Parade as “disgraceful vulgarity,” Will he repeat these views in New York City?

  • In a recent interview with Israel Hayom, Israel’s most popular newspaper, Chikli said that no changes should be made to the current prayer arrangements at the Kotel. His comments suggest that there is no path forward to prayer at this holy site without gender and denominational discrimination.

  • In another interview with an Israeli news outlet in 2021, Makor Rishon, (reported here in English by the Jerusalem Post) Chikli denounced Reform Jews for distancing themselves from the Jewish people and abandoning Zionism because it was more convenient to “go to the other side.”

  • Chikli’s opinions of the Israeli Supreme Court are particularly extreme. In a March 2022 interview with the religious Zionist online website, Giluy Da’at, Chikli described the Israeli Supreme Court as “a sick system.” In a 2019 Facebook post, he came out against the Court’s support of equality under the law. Rather than acknowledging the Court as a beacon of Israel’s democracy, he joins the assault against its independence. 

  • Chikli has repeatedly demonized Israel’s Arab citizens, including Arab members of Knesset, describing them, without distinction, as “enemies” and “terror supporters.” His statements have called into question whether Israeli Arabs have a place in Israeli society, saying that he does not want to “invest [public funds] in building community centers and repairing sidewalks in a city that raises terrorists.” 

  • Also, in an interview to Israeli radio, he has spoken with contempt toward US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, telling him to “mind his own business,” in response to the Ambassador’s plea that the Israeli government slow down its drive toward a judicial overhaul. Chikli’s comment stands out as especially disrespectful to Israel’s most important friend. 

When Minister Chikli speaks in the high-minded rhetoric of “Jewish unity” and “shared values,” please ask him if he thinks of the above quotes as remotely helpful in safeguarding, let alone strengthening, Israel’s relationship with American Jews and with the United States.

With respect and gratitude,

UnXeptable North America- Saving the Israeli Democracy chapters and affiliates in:

Atlanta, GA

Austin, TX

Bergen County, NJ

Boston, MA

Chicago, IL

Houston, TX

Las Vegas, NV

Los Angeles, CA

Memphis, TN

Miami, FL

New Haven, CT

New York, NY

Orange County, CA

Philadelphia, PA

Pittsburgh, PA

Princeton, NJ

Providence, RI

Rochester, NY

San Diego, CA

San Francisco, CA

Seattle, WA

Toronto, ON

Triangle, NC

Vancouver, BC

Greater Washington DC (Virginia and Maryland)