Despite comments made last week that it is not the role of Diaspora Jewry to
intervene in Israel’s internal social affairs, a letter obtained by The
Jerusalem Post on Tuesday shows that the New York Federation has been involved
in calling for the government to help stamp out discrimination against Ethiopian
immigrants.

In a letter to Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver
dated January 18, John Ruskay, executive vice president and CEO of the
UJA-Federation of New York, together with two colleagues, wrote that it was the
government’s role to make “clear to the Israeli public that no discrimination or
exclusion of any oleh due to race, country of origin or any other factor will be
tolerated.”

At the start of the letter, which was copied to Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky and Justice
Minister Yaakov Neeman, Ruskay highlighted the assistance US Jews have given to
Israel over the years, especially in terms of encouraging aliya.

The
letter also reminded the minister that “the promise of Israel from its inception
has been to welcome all olim and to provide them with the resources to become
productive and respected members of the Jewish community in
Israel…”

Ruskay’s letter was sent after several incidents of extreme
racism against the 115,000-strong Ethiopian community were revealed, and after
appeals by young Ethiopian-Israeli activists for Diaspora Jewry to intervene politically on their behalf. Many Ethiopians believe
that racism against them is not only widespread in Israeli society, but is also
present in government institutions.

Last week, in an interview with the
Post, Ruskay said emphatically it was not the place of the Diaspora to intervene
on a political level in Israel’s internal social problems.

“The
relationship between American Jewry and Israel is very delicate. Our role
is not to lobby the Israeli government but to create and support initiatives
that indicate a commitment to a particular issue,” he said in that
interview.

Ruskay pointed out: “The difference may be subtle and nuanced,
but we are cautious about getting involved in internal issues such as these,
just as we would not want the Israeli government to get involved in the internal
issues of the organized Jewish community in America.”

In his letter to
Landver, however, Ruskay used strong words to emphasize that members of the
Diaspora are looking “for a clear voice from Israel on behalf of the global
Jewish community, that all members of the Jewish people are welcome in Israel
and will be treated as full and equal members of Israeli society, and no other
policy will be seen as acceptable by the Jewish state.”

He reiterated on
Wednesday there would be no “public effort” by his federation to put pressure on
the government, but he admitted he has been in touch with “all our partners and
agencies that we fund on a continual basis to share our thoughts on this
issue.”

Ruskay said he met as recently as Tuesday morning with a senior
Israeli official based in New York and that “we are in touch all the
time.”

“We will let the government know that we are following this issue
and we will continue to think about it,” he said, emphasizing that the
involvement would remain “subtle” and that there are no plans to take the issue
any further.