This Monday, President Barack Obama will be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Following this meeting, the President will meet with Egyptial President Hosni Mubarak, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. At Monday's meeting, the President and Prime Minister will be discussing many important issues that are vitally important to the security of both nations.
According to reports, the President's agenda related to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict will focus on the need for a two-state solution, a reinvigoration to the stalled peace process, an expansion of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, a reduction in Isreali checkpoints, and a freezing of Israeli settlements. This past week, Congressmen Steve Cohen (D,TN-09), Charles Boustany (R,LA-07), and Russ Carnahan (D,MO-03) have introduced a bipartisan letter which supports the President's commitment to assert U.S. leadership in pursuing a negotiated two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as a comprehensive regional peace.
Below is the text of the letter:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Obama,
As you prepare to host leaders from the Middle East and to make a major
address in Egypt in the coming weeks, we write to support the course you are charting for American policy in the Middle East. Specifically, we applaud your intention to provide strong American leadership to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian and broader Arab-Israeli conflicts.
Resolving these conflicts, and in particular, finally implementing a two-state solution, is essential for American interests in the Middle East and around the world. Many of America’s critical national goals – from addressing Iran and withdrawing from Iraq to defeating Al-Qaeda and pushing back against extremism – will be well-served by addressing this core issue, not to mention the positive impact it will have on our standing around the world.
We share your conviction that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an essential cornerstone of Middle East stability. As friends of Israel, we believe that an end to the conflict is critical to Israel’s long-term security and survival as a Jewish and a democratic state, and we are steadfastly committed to its realization. We
also believe that America best serves our historic friendship with Israel when it is actively working to de-escalate conflict and advance peace, and that our relationships throughout the Arab and Muslim world will be strengthened through a negotiated agreement that ends the conflict.
However, demographic trends, continued violence, settlements, escalating
tensions in Jerusalem, and other changes on the ground all threaten the window of opportunity for the two-state solution. From the first day of your administration, you recognized the urgency of the situation and made pursuit of peace in the Middle East a priority.
Unfortunately, Israelis and Palestinians have not been able to achieve peace on their own, and we therefore share your belief that American leadership is essential to achieving meaningful progress. Left to themselves, the parties have been unable to make the necessary progress toward ending the conflict, and an American helping hand is now needed to bridge those gaps. The appointments of Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and former Senator George Mitchell as Special Envoy, both of which we strongly commend, sent the powerful message that you recognized the need for immediate engagement in the region.
It is also important to note that building Palestinian capacity in the economic and security sectors and building transparent institutions of self-governance are important goals, deserving of American support and central to the future success of a Palestinian state. Rather than preconditions for statehood, these are goals that can be effectively
realized over time once a Palestinian state has been created, with extensive international assistance, involvement, and oversight particularly in the security arena.
Finally, we believe that strong consideration should be given to pursuing a regional, comprehensive approach to resolving the conflict, such as the Arab Peace Initiative. This would guarantee the full recognition of Israel and normal relations between Israel and the Arab and Muslim countries – from Indonesia to Morocco – including all twenty-two Arab states.
Peace between Israel and all its neighbors is a paramount interest of the United States, Israel, and the Arab world. We thank you for the efforts you have made so far to achieve it, and we stand ready to support you in pursuit of this challenging goal.
According to a recent article in the Jewish Daily Forward, Israeli press reports and early statements made by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s close advisers state that he will offer a variety of steps meant to improve living conditions for the Palestinians, but will stop short of endorsing a two-state solution. Netanyahu is expected to explain that since the future Palestinian entity will lack certain attributes of sovereignty (such as military force and control over its air space), there is no reason to use the term "state."
Also, according to a report by Al Kamen of the Washington Post, supporters of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict status-quo have influenced Congressmen Steny Hoyer (D, MD-05) and Eric Cantor (R,VA-07) into circulating a competing "Dear Colleague" letter. This letter seems to be supportive of the peace process, however, it attempts to ask the President to decrease U.S. involvement and influence with the peace process and the creation of a Palestinian State, and to continue the Bush-era policy of delaying negotiations until the Palestinians create a viable economic society and end violence, terror, and incitement towards Israel.
As M.J. Rosenberg, Washington Director of the Israel Policy Forum stated yesterday:
"Two letters. Cohen-Boustany-Carnahan is predicated on the idea that the United States can help Israel end a deadly conflict that is destroying it. The other believes that helping Israel requires America to turn its back.
Only one of these letters is pro-Israel. That is Cohen-Boustany-Carnahan.
As for Cantor-Hoyer, it should be relegated to a museum somewhere-a museum dedicated to the America of the bad old days, before we had a President who viewed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a national security issue rather than a gimmick to raise campaign funds.
Even if it had all 435 House members as signatories, that is all the Cantor letter is. The good news is that virtually every Representative who signs it knows it. It was not written to be taken seriously as a policy recommendation. And it won't be."
Several progressive pro-Israel/Palestine peace groups (Americans For Peace Now, J Street, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Israel Policy Forum, and Churches For Middle East Peace) have asked people who approve of President Obama's Middle East policies to send him a message of support by having their Representatives endorse the Cohen-Coustany-Carnahan Letter.
Please send an e-mail to your Representatives through any and all of these progressive pro-Middle East Peace organizations:
Americans For Peace Now
J Street
Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Churches For Middle East Peace
Hat Tip:
Noam Shelef, Director of Strategic Communications, Americans For Peace Now
Isaac Luria, Campaigns Director, J Street
Sue Swartz, Chair of Advocacy and Deepa Domansky, Washington Liaison and Advocacy Coordinator, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Julie Schumacher Cohen, Deputy Director, Churches For Middle East Peace
M.J. Rosenberg, Israel Policy Forum
