Three American Jewish organizations said they would press Israel’s government to distance itself from a plan that would keep Palestinians off some Israeli buses.
The decision came in response to an Israeli Labor Party appeal asking several pro-Israel groups to take such action.
“Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has decided to forbid Palestinian workers, who work in Israel, to ride buses which also serve Jewish civil population in the West Bank,” said the letter sent Oct. 29 by Young Israeli Labor to a number of U.S. pro-Israel groups.
“Apart from being a severely miserable decision in every moral aspect, it also adds a very powerful weapon to the arsenal of those seeking to undermine Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”
Ya’alon has said he favors such a plan to prevent terrorist attacks, although Israeli military officials say the risk of attacks by vetted workers is low.
Three groups have responded positively to Young Israeli Labor’s appeal: the Anti-Defamation League, the Reform movement and the dovish Middle East policy group J Street. — jta