MK Betzalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) posted the following comment on his Facebook page Friday regarding the controversy raging over the appointment of David N. Myers as CEO of The Center for Jewish History:
“The Center for Jewish History in New York does great work – its the biggest repository of Jewish history in the United States, and serves as a place of scholarly research, events, exhibitions, and performances. I recently learned they chose a new CEO, David N. Myers who is actively involved in leadership positions with organizations that are no friends of Israel, Jewish Voices for Peace, New Israel Fund and If Not Now When. This should preclude him from holding any communal Jewish leadership position. Naming him as CEO of the Center for Jewish History is gross malfeasance.”
Mr. Myers is on the leadership of the far left New Israel Fund and J Street, who support boycotting goods from Judea and Samaria. He is also active in the anti-Zionist If Not Now When and Jewish voices For Peace.
The boards of CJH, American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University, and YIVO approved Myers’ appointment to the position heading what is considered the largest repository of Jewish history in the United States.
The Israel Group website quoted an unnamed UCLA colleague of Myers as saying that although Myers describes himself as a Zionist: “The damage that Myers caused to Jewish life at UCLA will take many years to erase. He undermined systematically any attempt to bring students closer to Israel, and created two bastions of anti-Israel cultures: 1. the Center for Jewish studies, and 2. The history department.”
MK Smotrich, an outspoken champion of Jewish rights in the land of Israel, is Deputy Speaker of the Knesset; a member of the Finance Committee, the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, and the State Control Committee; and an alternate member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He completed his military service as assistant to head of the Central Theater in the General Staff Operations Division and is a licensed attorney.
For details of the campaign to terminate Myers’ term as CEO of the Center, read Ronn Torossian’s op-ed here.