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Representatives of major Jewish organizations who met with President Barack Obama July 13 came away hopeful of his support for Israel's security, but concerns were raised both by some attendees and influential groups that were left off the guest list.

Obama spoke in the White House with 16 leaders from 14 Jewish groups, including the Union for Reform Judaism, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the Orthodox Union, the National Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, United Jewish Communities, the Anti-Defamation League, J Street, the American Jewish Committee, AIPAC, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Americans for Peace Now, and the National Jewish Democratic Council.

The gathering came in the wake of growing concern within the Jewish community over Obama's stance on freezing settlement construction in Israel as well as his approach toward the Iranian nuclear threat. During the meeting, Obama acknowledged that his administration has allowed "a perception to develop that the onus for progress toward peace between Israel and Arabs lies with Israel, and also that the U.S. is pressuring Israel to undertake various steps while demanding little of the Palestinians or other Arab governments," according to OU President Stephen Savitsky in a post-meeting statement.

Ori Nir, a spokesman for Americans for Peace Now, told The Jewish State that no specific policy objections on settlements were raised at the meeting. But neither the Zionist Organization of America nor the National Council of Young Israel -- who have publicly disagreed with Obama's settlement policy -- were invited, and both told The Jewish State that the discussion might have suffered due to their absence.

"It undermines [Obama's] notion of stating that he wants to hear any good ideas whether he agrees with them or not, and [his notion] of being bipartisan, by excluding us because we disagree with him," ZOA President Morton Klein said in an interview.

The Republican Jewish Coalition was not invited to the meeting as well.

Klein and Rabbi Pesach Lerner, executive vice president of the National Council of Young Israel, both said that focusing on a complete settlement freeze is a futile U.S. policy because settlements have never prevented peace, but rather the problem lies in the culture of hatred reinforced by Palestinian schools and media outlets. Lerner noted that Hamas terrorism still has not stopped since Israel's 2005 pullout from Gaza.

"I think we could have framed a question on settlements in a respectful way that would have challenged the discussion and benefited the greater state of Israel," Lerner said.

Lerner added that organizations like Young Israel needed to be present at the meeting because they are the American groups that have the best understanding of the situation on the ground in Israel, as a result of members of Young Israel-affiliated synagogues who visit Israel several times a year, not just once a lifetime, and have family members and friends who live there as well as children who study there.

By comparison, most of the Jewish organizations at the meeting with Obama were more political in nature and don't have the same tangible ties the country, Lerner said.

"I don't believe that most of the people in that room can speak personally [about Israel]," Lerner said. "We are all talking [in these meetings] as if we are in a board room making decisions on concepts."

Aaron Troodler, communications director for Young Israel, said that settlement freezing is a disturbing proposition because the approximately 300,000 Jews who reside in East Jerusalem and the West Bank would not have any room to live.

"Where are they going if these communities are closed?" Troodler said. "If they can't add rooms on to their homes, how can they have babies? Where do they go to school?"

Regarding Iran, Klein said that Obama promised the Jewish community during his campaign to do everything in his power to squelch the country's nuclear threat, but that he is now "dawdling while one of the most evil regimes in history is developing one of the most fearsome weapons in human history to be used against Israel and others."

Troodler said that Young Israel also would like Obama's position on Iran to be stronger, particularly in light of June 12 elections that have been widely accepted as rigged.

"As we saw with the recent elections, it's a dangerous place," Troodler said of Iran. "There's a time for diplomacy but there is also a time to explore further action."

Nir speculated that Jewish groups shied away from criticism of Obama because the meeting was more of a "getting-to-know-you kind of thing."

"Maybe the people didn't want to make this into a debate, it was more about exchanging views," Nir said.

Klein, however, said that ideally "this was not just a meeting to say hello," but rather an opportunity for Obama to assuage Jewish concerns about his Middle East policies.

"I've never seen this much fear about a president's commitment to Israel as I've seen now," Klein said.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents, attended the meeting and told The Jewish State that Obama stressed how the U.S. won't do anything to jeopardize the security of Israel as a Jewish state. "He has clear, set views, and this is the beginning of a dialogue we hope will continue," Hoenlein said.

Obama "could not have been clearer" about his motivation to re-energize an Israeli-Palestinian peace process with the primary interest being Israel's long-term security, Jason Isaacson, director of government and international affairs for the American Jewish Committee, said in a statement. Ira Forman, CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said in a statement that "No one could have walked away from the White House meeting without being anything less than impressed with the president's deep understanding of the issues that matter to our community."

Savitsky, who attended from the OU, stated that the organization was pleased with Obama's "express commitment to thwart Iran's effort to obtain nuclear weapons," but remains "deeply troubled by the president's underlying approach -- which is to have the U.S. play an 'evenhanded' role. The Orthodox Union asks our president to recognize that there are no moral equivalencies between Israel, which has acted time and again to defend itself while actively seeking peace, and those who reject Israel's legitimacy and make war against her."

Nir said that Americans for Peace Now President and CEO Debra DeLee brought up the need for Obama to visit Israel and speak with the Jewish community there face to face, a suggestion other representatives at the meeting echoed. Obama gave an address to the Muslim world in Cairo last month but has not visited Israel since he was elected.

"It is really important that he travels to Israel and addresses the Israeli people directly," Nir said. "Such an address would be the strongest possible indicator of the strong bond between the two countries and of the United States' commitment to Israeli security and ensuring its future as a democratic country."