The leaders of seven major Jewish American and Zionist organizations urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a letter sent on Sunday, to refrain from changes to the Law of Return.
"Any change in the delicate and sensitive status quo on issues such as the Law of Return or conversion could threaten to unravel the ties between us and keep us away from each other," they wrote.
This unusual appeal, never before seen was made by Mark Wilf, chairman of The Jewish Agency Board of Governors; Doron Almog, chairman of The Jewish Agency; Yaakov Hagoel, chairman of the WZO; Steven Lowy, chairman, of the World Board of Trustees at Keren Hayesod; Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of JFNA; and Julie Platt, chairwoman of JFNA.
The leaders highlighted the proposed changes to conversion laws, which would impact converts from the Conservative or Reform movements, which include the majority of Jews in the United States.
"we look forward to meeting with you as soon as possible to voice our concerns and we expect to be part of any future discussions or dialogues regarding possible changes to the status quo. We are determined to work together with you and your government to ensure the continued prosperity of the entire Jewish people, and we are sure that together we can find respectful, inclusive, and constructive solutions to every challenge at hand without harming the delicate fabric that holds us together as one united people," the Jewish and Zionist leaders said.
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"We know that the unity of the Jewish people is as important to you as it is to us. It is this unity that explains the miracle of our survival as a people and as a nation for over three thousand years. It allowed us, despite all the difficult differences that arose between us over the years, to maintain a strong and cohesive sense of belonging to each other and to our common national home," they said.
The signatories of the letter were made their concerns known after Netanyahu agreed in his coalition deals with his ultra-Orthodox and far-right and religious partners to amend the Law of Return to limit citizenship rights to third generation removed from Jewish members of family.
They relied on data reported in Ynetnews, that three out of four immigrants from the former Soviet Republics who arrived in 2020, was not Jewish.
Netanyahu said that despite his commitment, he did not believe a change to the law would be made and members of his Likud Party, including former Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein also opposed such legislation change.
But in his previous term as prime minister, Netanyahu enraged some in among Jewish Americans when he retracted an agreement to allow non-Orthodox Jews to freely practice their faith at the Western Wall and allowed the ultra-Orthodox establishment to sideline the more liberal factions of Judaism, to have equal standing in Israel.