As the Orthodox Union (OU) convention opens in Jerusalem, some Israelis are expressing concern that certain pressing issues are not being addressed.
Well-known activist Susie Dym from Rehovot, a founder of the Israeli grassroots network Mattot Arim (literally: city action committees), is one of many Israelis who have been in contact with the OU of late. Their request: “Please bring to the fore crucial matters facing Israel in general, and hundreds of thousands of Jews in Judea and Samaria [Yesha] in particular.”
“How are ordinary Orthodox Jews from the States ever going to grasp the facts and the significant dangers if the OU leadership is not willing to bring a speaker to explain them?" 
"Upon reading the convention itinerary and the proposed resolutions," Dym told IsraelNationalNews, "several of us realized that, while there were several very important issues there, some of the really critical ones were simply absent."
"For instance, there is the Palestinian state issue. Such a state is an existential problem for millions of Jews who live in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv or the cities nearby. It is being pushed primarily by the United States -- so whose responsibility is it to handle that problem, if not an American Jewish organization like the OU?”
“How are ordinary Orthodox Jews from the States ever going to grasp the facts and the significant dangers,” asks Dym, “if the OU leadership is not willing to bring a speaker to explain them? What is the bi-annual convention for if not for that?”
OU Response
Dym and others have received email responses from the OU. One official acknowledged that the “content of the convention program is complex” and that it would be all but impossible to insert a dedicated speaker on behalf of Judea and Samaria (Yesha). However, he added, it is “incorrect” to say that Yesha issues are not on the agenda: “A proposed policy resolution to be voted on at convention has a section devoted explicitly to ‘the communities of Judea and Samaria.’ It speaks of the OU's ‘obligation to preserve for the Jewish people the right to live and travel freely and safely [there].’ It then goes on the say that ‘time after time... Israeli concessions have... further damage[ed] the cause of peace’ and states that the OU is ‘skeptical of any policy that relinquishes part of Eretz Yisrael.’"
The official also cited a resolution promoting "civility" in Israel-issue debates committing the OU to speak out against the demonization of "settlers."
After 90 Minutes, Then What?
“This is not sufficient,” Dym responds. “The resolutions are to be adopted and debated for a total of 90 minutes on Saturday night; what effect will they really have after that? There must be an entire session, or at least one speaker, dedicated to these issues, in order to spark debate and interest and activism.”
“None of the speakers are specifically qualified to speak of Judea and Samaria issues. Why is the Chief Rabbi of England featured three times, when the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria is twice as much as that of England? This is typical of the mentality that we feel must change.”
Dym would also like to see the OU faster on its feet in reacting to urgent issues: "Those who really want to help Israel have to act fast, and not allow events to simply pass them by. For instance, the Beit HaShalom crisis in Hevron happens to be occurring right before their very eyes, so to speak, while they are right here in Israel. Where are their press statements denouncing the behavior of the Israeli government and courts against the Orthodox Jews living in that building? I would have expected their press release to come out an hour, at most, after the Jerusalem District Court's blasting of the State [on Wednesday] as being discriminatory, unconstitutional and contradictory of Israel's obligations to basic children's rights. But the hours are going by, and still nothing from the OU.”
Despite her passion for Judea and Samaria, Dym does not deny that the OU does good work. “They certainly don’t need my certification, and we see that they are promoting Aliyah, and the integrity of Jerusalem, and a host of other issues. But they must also not shirk their responsibility of bringing the really critical issues, such as the existential threat a Palestinian state would present to Jerusalem, to the attention of their constituents.”