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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received loud applause when he pledged to bolster rights for non-Orthodox Jews in Israel in his Nov. 10 speech at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly.

“As prime minister of Israel, I will always ensure that all Jews can feel at home in Israel — Reform Jews, Conservative Jews, Orthodox Jews,” Netanyahu said during the annual event in Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Netanyahu on Nov. 10 photo/ron sachs-jfna

Netanyahu noted that he established a roundtable headed by his Cabinet secretary to address the concerns of non-Orthodox streams, and that Israel’s government was joining with the Jewish Agency in strengthening Reform and Conservative communities inside Israel.

Non-Orthodox streams made gains under the government headed by Netanyahu from 2013 until March of this year — the first in Israeli history not to include haredi Orthodox parties. The current government established after the March elections includes those parties, and U.S. Jewish groups have been concerned that it will roll back the gains.

Netanyahu appealed for Jewish unity in defending Israel — an appeal at a conference where Jewish officials were grappling with the effects of splits in the Jewish community during the summer’s debate on the Iran nuclear deal.

“There is only one Jewish people, there is only one Jewish state,” he said. “We must work together to unite the Jewish people and secure the Jewish state.”

Netanyahu vehemently opposed the sanctions relief in the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six major powers and backed by the Obama administration. The Israeli leader had hoped Congress would kill the deal, but now that it has survived congressional challenges, Netanyahu this week enthusiastically returned to working closely with the Obama administration.

“I deeply appreciate President Obama’s commitment to bolstering Israel’s security at a time” of increased turmoil in the Middle East, Netanyahu said.

Gabrielle Birkner, JTA’s managing editor, and Ron Kampeas, JTA’s Washington bureau chief, contributed to this report.