Last update - 02:04 28/01/2008
Israel-Diaspora relations / Olmert snubs WJC after Lauder's open letter on Jerusalem
By Anshel Pfeffer
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert canceled his appearance before the World Jewish Congress board of governors this week after WJC president Ronald Lauder published an open letter calling on Olmert to involve world Jewry in any decision on the future of Jerusalem.
The board of governors of the WJC, which represents Jewish groups and communities from around the world, is scheduled to meet in Jerusalem tomorrow to discuss issues including the Iranian nuclear threat and global anti-Semitism.
Olmert's associates and top WJC officials said that though the cancellation was couched in terms of a scheduling conflict, it was actually a way of protesting the open letter.
However, the Prime Minister's Office said the cancellation was not related to the open letter.
"There is no connection between the canceled appearance and the letter," the PMO said in a statement. "The prime minister spoke about this matter with Mr. Lauder, explained to him that the cancellation does not at all stem from the facts he conveyed, and even told him that there is nothing illegitimate in the positions Mr. Lauder took or the way in which he chose to express them."
In any case, the prime minister's absence will not leave the board of governors conference bereft of Israeli government officials. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, President Shimon Peres and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu are all planning to attend.
Lauder, who is considered close to Netanyahu, aroused controversy when he published an open letter in Israeli dailies two weeks ago calling on Olmert to maintain a united Jerusalem and include Diaspora Jewish leaders on decisions about the future of the capital. He has since met with Olmert and introduced him warmly at the Herzliya Conference.
Olmert has said that any decision on Jerusalem is in the hands of the citizens of Israel.
MK Shai Hermesh (Kadima), who heads the Israeli branch of the WJC, has also come out against Lauder's letter. He said Lauder should not have run the letter beneath the official WJC logo, and argued that Israeli citizens are the only ones who have the right to make a decision about the future of their country.