Under Fire for Comments About US Jewish Community, Israeli Politician Celebrates Thanksgiving

Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, came under fire this week for a statement she made on TV about Jewish people in the US, in which she said they led “convenient lives” and didn’t “send their children” to fight for their country.

She was responding to questions about a disconnect between young Jewish people in the US and Israel, after protests led to her planned talk at Princeton University being cancelled.

On November 24, a day after Thanksgiving in the US, Hotovely shared this video of a celebration she had with Americans living in Israel who, she says, had “made Aliyah,” travelling to train with the Israel Defense Forces. Hotovely says she sees them as “ambassadors” to Jewish people in the US.

In a separate post in English she said she was sorry for her “misconceived remarks” and that the “bonds between Israel and Jews everywhere are critical to ensuring our common future.” Credit: Facebook/Tzipi Hotovely – ציפי חוטובלי via Storyful