The silence of American Jewry

"Nonetheless, despite a series of disturbing developments, ranging from the singling out of religious Jews by Israel's police to the illegal detention of minors, the American Jewish community has largely fallen silent, failing to raise its voice against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's heavy-handed tactics.

Even the underlying moral issue at stake here whether a Jewish government should be forcing Jews out of their homes in the Jewish state - has hardly received the airing it deserves.

Regardless of whether they support or oppose the pullout, how is it possible for so many American Jews to utter barely a peep when such a momentous issue is confronting the Jewish state? Have they become so disconnected from life in Israel that they fail to appreciate the importance of the current situation?

This state of dormancy is not limited to a particular sector of US Jewry. But nowhere has it been more palpable, or more startling, than among the Orthodox leadership, whose constituency has perhaps the strongest ties of any group to the Jews of Gush Katif.

Indeed, for all their outspoken stances on a range of other issues, many of America's Orthodox leaders have been unusually reticent when it comes to the Gaza expulsion plan, preferring to avoid taking a clear stance on the issue, or sidestepping it altogether. "

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