ran must not have nuclear weapons. There are disagreements between Israel and the P5+1 about the tactics needed to accomplish this. 

Israel wants peace with Palestinians. To have peace, Israel must be recognized as the Jewish State. 

OK, that took about a minute. 

But on Sunday night at the opening plenary of the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, it took Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a half hour to say just that. A lot of history, a lot of filler, but essentially, just that.

And in doing so, Netanyahu, in a speech markedly avoidant of domestic content, missed a major bridge-building opportunity with his North American allies.

For while he pontificated in his typically fiery fashion about ensuring the security and existence of the State of Israel — a noble sentiment that by the reaction held little opposition within the assembled masses — he spent almost no time focusing on a safe and secure Jewish State’s aspirations.

Oh there were a few token and fleeting references to a commitment to a pluralistic Israel and a Kotel that should be open and accessible to all. But Netanyahu said almost nothing about the tremendous number of programs and projects shaping the social and cultural fabric of Israel. And many of those are being undertaken by collaborations shepherded by JFNA, their local Federations and the Jewish Agency.

We want to emphasize that we in no way mean to belittle Netanyahu’s deep concern over Iran and the possibility that the diplomatic efforts in Geneva could make it feasible for Iran to develop nuclear weapons; however, the omission was a huge mistake on Netanyahu’s part. For in speaking before an audience so committed to young generations of Jews (and in fact including many emerging leaders), he had an opportunity to recognize the extraordinary work that his Federation partners are engaged in to make Israel a healthy and robust place for the future. 

Take the work our local Federation is doing as just an example of these efforts. The current St. Louis mission to the GA and Israel (which includes a representative of the Jewish Light, which receives about 7 percent of its annual funding from the Federation) is being exposed to these initiatives:

• A Jewish Agency program that provides immediate support, counseling and other services to terror victims and their families.

• An organization that offers teens in crisis on the streets of Jerusalem with a safe haven and a bridge to necessary peer connections and social services.

• A group that endeavors to keep young adults from leaving Jerusalem through affordable housing, job and internship assistance and community arts development.

• A “Fame”-like arts high school for disadvantaged youth.

This is just what St. Louis Fed supports. Multiply that by dozens upon dozens of other Feds and you can see the potential for effecting real change for the better in Israel.

There are lots of things the Federations do, and you don’t have to like or agree with all their choices. In fact, public dialogue in these pages and otherwise is what helps build good community choices. But in the innovative and progressive sampling above, you can see there’s an earnest effort by JFNA and local Federations to partner in setting a constructive future.

Netanyahu acknowledged almost none of that in front of the GA. This was an unfortunate and sad decision and strongly understated the importance of the strong and collaborative work between Israel and the myriad Federations.

The prime minister plays the scolding father, one who believes if he doesn’t watch out for the basic security of Israel, no one will. We think he overstates his case, but in any event, he often fails to fulfill the essential parenting role of encouraging and praising his children for their good deeds. He had an opportunity to do so on Sunday but disappointingly chose simplistic flag waving instead.