Should Jews not living in Israel have the right to express their opnion on affairs concerning the Jewish State?

I have always been conflicted as to whether Jews not living in Israel should have a say in the decision making process within the Jewish State of Israel.

On the one hand, I believe that as The Home(land) of the Jewish People, the Jewish State of Israel has an obligation to place the overall interests of the Jewish People above all else. As such, it is essetnial for the Jewish State to have an open ear towards their considerations, as nearly every decision that is made in some way effects the greater Jewish People.

That being said, I do have trouble accepting the idea that Jews who do not live in Israel (whatever their reason may be) should have a meaningful say in determining the policies of the Jewish State, and an Op-Ed by the very successful and influential Rabbi Marc Schneier (who also just happens to be the President of Kadima USA) in today's Jerusalem Post makes it clear why that is the case.

Backing convergence - an American Jewish perspective

As Prime Minister Ehud Olmert makes his first state visit to the United States, it is time for Jews around the world to firmly support his efforts to set defensible borders for the State of Israel...

I have embraced the convergence policy of Kadima for two reasons: terrorism and the preservation of the Jewish majority in the Jewish state...

We hope that Hamas will sincerely denounce its terrorist proclivities and recognize the right of both Israel and Palestine to exist and flourish in the Middle East. Yet we must always retain a Jewish majority in the Jewish state. This is the promise left to us by our ancestors, and the legacy we in turn will leave for our children.

What bothers me most about this article is not Rabbi Schneier's support for Ehud Olmert's expulsion plan, but his reasoning for supporting it.

Yet we must always retain a Jewish majority in the Jewish state. This is the promise left to us by our ancestors, and the legacy we in turn will leave for our children.

I really do hate to be cynical, but Rabbi Schneier, by choosing for himself the "good life" of America over living in the Jewish State has made it perfectly clear that his driving concern is not ensuring a Jewish majority within the State of Israel, because if that was truly what concerned him, he would be actively encouraging American Aliyah, and would be packing his own bags, as well.

No, for Rabbi Schneier, the key to securing a Jewish majority in Israel is not through Aliyah (or other measures), but through the expulsion of tens of thousands of Jews from their homes, which of course, he will watch from the comfort of his own home, in either the Hamptons or New York City.

For better or worse, Rabbi Schneier is entitled to express his opinions as they relate to the Jewish State, but that does not give him the right, in stressing the imperative of securing a Jewish majority within the State of Israel, to pay empty lip service to "the promise left to us by our ancestors", or to speak of ensuring the "legacy" of a Jewish majority within the State of Israel "for our children", when in his words and actions he makes a mockery of both.

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