الرئيسية
By Reuters
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has cancelled
government-sponsored television advertisements calling on expatriates to
return, after some American Jews complained that the message denigrated
their lifestyles.
The spots, aired on Israeli channels that are
often viewed by emigrants, featured dramatized scenes of Jewish
assimilation in gentile settings. In one, an Israeli couple looks
dismayed to hear their grandchild mention celebrating Christmas abroad.
"I
don't think I have ever seen a demonstration of Israeli contempt for
American Jews as obvious as these ads," wrote influential U.S. blogger
Jeffrey Goldberg, in sentiments echoed by several American Jewish groups
that lodged complaints.
The United States has the largest Jewish
community outside Israel, and religious assimilation there is common.
Israel looks to American Jews for support, but some in the community
chafe at Israel's rightist tilt and strains in its ties with Washington.
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that the ads, produced by Israel's
Immigration and Absorption Ministry, be yanked "immediately" upon
hearing of the controversy they caused, his spokesman said on Saturday.
"The
government of Israel is very attuned to the sensitivities of the
American Jewish community," the spokesman, Mark Regev, said.
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Tim Pearce)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has cancelled
government-sponsored television advertisements calling on expatriates to
return, after some American Jews complained that the message denigrated
their lifestyles.
The spots, aired on Israeli channels that are
often viewed by emigrants, featured dramatized scenes of Jewish
assimilation in gentile settings. In one, an Israeli couple looks
dismayed to hear their grandchild mention celebrating Christmas abroad.
"I
don't think I have ever seen a demonstration of Israeli contempt for
American Jews as obvious as these ads," wrote influential U.S. blogger
Jeffrey Goldberg, in sentiments echoed by several American Jewish groups
that lodged complaints.
The United States has the largest Jewish
community outside Israel, and religious assimilation there is common.
Israel looks to American Jews for support, but some in the community
chafe at Israel's rightist tilt and strains in its ties with Washington.
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that the ads, produced by Israel's
Immigration and Absorption Ministry, be yanked "immediately" upon
hearing of the controversy they caused, his spokesman said on Saturday.
"The
government of Israel is very attuned to the sensitivities of the
American Jewish community," the spokesman, Mark Regev, said.
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Tim Pearce)