Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Wikipedia.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “quiet diplomacy between Jews and Jews” is required to resolve the Western Wall prayer controversy, in a talk Tuesday to the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.

Netanyahu appeared live via satellite at the Washington, DC conference attended by 3,000 people for a short interview that touched on a few hot topics, including the Israeli government’s recent passage of legislation authorizing egalitarian prayer at the Wall.

The prime minister said, “We are working with the parties, we stand ready to work a little more.” He added that an internal handling of the matter by the interested Jewish communities, “[is] a lot more likely to get the result we all seek.”

Netanyahu also talked about achieving peace with the Palestinians, saying he agreed with US President Barack Obama that “imposing peace from the outside” won’t work.

“I look forward also to working with President-elect Trump when he becomes president and his administration to further the twin interests of peace and security. These are interests of Israel and the United States but they’ll be achieved by direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions,” he said.

Additionally, Netanyahu predicted that within the next decade the “automatic majorities against Israel in the UN will collapse, and Israel may actually find a fair hearing there.” He also mentioned that his country gives a large assistance package to the Arab sector for education, infrastructure and transportation.

The prime minister opened his remarks by commenting on the “powerful alliance” between Israel and the US, saying that he finds “great encouragement in the fact that there is this continuity of bi-partisan friendship across administrations.”