JFNA trustees asked to rule on visits to settlements
Jewish Federations chief Jerry Silverman requests green light for missions to enter ‘Israeli-controlled territories beyond Green Line’

The board of trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America is reportedly being asked to decide whether to allow its missions to Israel to visit Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The board was set to discuss changing its policy during a conference call meeting scheduled for Wednesday, according to the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles.
The newspaper cited an email to the trustees from Jewish Federations president, Jerry Silverman, which said the board will be asked to “authorize the entry of JFNA missions, including federation community missions planned through JFNA, into Israeli-controlled territories beyond the Green Line (e.g. Ariel or Gush Etzion, etc.).”
Silverman noted in the email, seen by the Jewish Journal, that Interfaith Partners for Peace, a program of the JFNA-affiliate Israel Action Network, takes its delegations to Palestinian towns in the West Bank. JFNA believes “authorizing the entry of IAN missions into the PA is in the best interest of the federation system,” he said.

It is not clear whether the vote is over authorizing Israel Action Network trips or all trips to enter the West Bank, the Jewish Journal said. Either would be precedent-setting, however, since JFNA trips now avoid the West Bank.
“The vote raises concerns that mission participants would be exposed to one side of the story if they visited Jewish settlements in the West Bank while avoiding Palestinian areas,” the Jewish Journal added.
JFNA did not immediately return Journal requests for information.