Israeli envoy to expat protesters: I’ll push US Jewish groups to issue call backing hostage deal

Israel’s Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog met earlier this week with a group of Israeli expats who have been protesting outside of his Washington residence, two participants in the meeting tell The Times of Israel.

During the meeting, Herzog agreed to encourage executives of Jewish American organizations to issue a statement expressing support for a hostage release and ceasefire deal, the participants say, clarifying that the ambassador conditioned his support for the initiative on the statement not being political.

The meeting included representatives from UnXeptable DC, a Washington chapter of the group of Israeli expats founded to protest against the judicial overhaul being advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government last year. After October 7, the group shifted its focus to advocating for a hostage deal, and the DC chapter held weekly protests outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Since six hostages were executed by their Hamas captors at the beginning of the month, UnXeptable DC moved their weekly protests to Herzog’s residence, deeming it an appropriate address due to their frustration with what they see as the government’s repeated attempts to thwart a hostage deal.

After several such demonstrations, members of the group managed to schedule a meeting with Herzog at the embassy on Tuesday.

UnXeptable DC activist Vered Guttman says the group is hoping that Herzog’s influence will push legacy Jewish American organizations to weigh in more firmly in favor of a hostage deal.

The Conference of Presidents, an umbrella body of legacy Jewish groups, issued a statement calling for the release of the hostages in July; but two months on, UnXeptable is hoping for an updated statement that issues a more direct call on the Israeli government to agree to the hostage deal being brokered by the US.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Herzog also expressed openness to a proposal from the demonstrators for the embassy to host a pair of town halls — one with members of the American Jewish community and another with Israeli expats based in the US to hear their views on the war in Gaza and other issues impacting their communities, the participants say.

In a subsequent statement to The Times of Israel, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy says, “Ambassador Herzog extended an invitation for a meeting at the Israeli Embassy to representatives of those who have been demonstrating weekly outside his residence in favor of a hostage deal. The goal of the meeting was to foster dialogue and engage in an open and direct conversation.”