TEL AVIV, July 26, 2009 (WAFA)-  The vast majority of American Jews back a settlement freeze, according to Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union of Reform Judaism. 'American Jews don't like when their government is at odds with the government of Israel,' said Yoffie, whose organization's 1.5 million members make it the largest Jewish denomination in the U.S, Haaretz Israeli daily said.

But beyond that, he stressed in a telephone interview with Haaretz from his New York office on Monday, “settlement activity at the West Bank is not popular here,' he continued. 'It never has been. It's absolutely the last thing in the world you want to be involved in a public dispute over. Because not only you won't have the support of this government - you won't have the support of the American people either. Do you think nevertheless it was the right thing to accentuate solely this issue? Some claim this allowed the Palestinians and the Arab governments to sit and wait until the settlement freeze.

'Settlement freeze at the West Bank is something that we've supported,' he replied, dodging the question. 'I believe that it's possible to reach some kind of understanding on it - so whatever compromise or understanding is involved there, they need to do that.'

At last week's White House meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and 16 Jewish leaders, Yoffie continued, 'there wasn't a single person around that table - not one - who on substance supported settlement activity.'