Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, called the movement of PLO Arabs one of the "ugliest and stupidest" in modern history.
In a speech delivered Wednesday evening to a convention of Reform rabbis in Cincinnati, Yoffie, who heads the largest Jewish denomination in the US, warned Jewish groups not to ally with Christian groups, saying they "do not speak respectfully of other faith communities." Yoffie warned that Christian Zionists in particular are "extremists" who reject territorial surrenders to the PLO, which he said is out of step with the political stance taken by Americans and American Jews.
However, Yoffie reserved his greatest loathing for local Arabs, writing in his speech, "These are challenging times for Israel and her people," adding "Israel's government is not blameless, to be sure, but from the Palestinians we see only relentless terror. Surely the Palestinian national movement, in its various manifestations, is one of the ugliest and stupidest national movements in modern history."