On April 19, Ameinu sent the letter below to Ron Lauder the President of the World Jewish Congress, in response to his public letter critical of President Obama.
Mr. Ronald Lauder
President
World Jewish Congress
Dear Ron,
I am writing on behalf of Ameinu, the leading progressive Zionist membership organization in the United States and a member of the World Jewish Congress.
Ameinu is greatly troubled by your letter of April 15 to President Obama. This letter is problematic for many reasons, not the least of which is because it mistakenly places all of the blame for the current tensions between the Israeli government and the US administration solely on the United States.
In your letter, you claim that it is the Palestinians who refuse to negotiate while the Israelis have enacted a “far reaching West Bank settlement moratorium.” In fact, the Palestinians had agreed to US-sponsored proximity talks last month. It was only Israel’s announcement of construction plans in disputed East Jerusalem that led the Palestinians to withdraw support for such talks.
Contrary to your opinion, Israel is not alone in its desire for an end to this tragic conflict. For years, polls have consistently shown that a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians support a two state solution. Palestinian support for such a solution has lessened recently, in large part due to Israel\’s continued building on the West Bank and the growing belief that the current Israeli government is not truly committed to a just peace between the two peoples.
You state that the settlements are not now nor have they ever been the key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but this claim fails to recognize the damage that Israel’s settlement policy is causing to the hope for a two state solution. Over the past two decades, the settler population has grown between 4-6% per annually, while the Israel’s general population has only grown at a rate of 1.5% over the same time period. While it is true that Israeli settlements and illegal outposts comprise only 3% of the total area of the West Bank, Israel controls over fifty percent of the land in the West Bank, including a system of roads linking settlements that are effectively off-limits to Palestinian traffic. Israel’s settlement policy is essentially preventing the establishment of a contiguous and organic Palestinian presence in the West Bank, further eroding the chances for a successful implementation of a two state solution.
You are correct that we are all “concerned about the nuclear ambitions of an Iranian regime that brags about its genocidal intentions against Israel.” Indeed, it is vital to build an international coalition to stand up to Iran to face this threat. Unnecessarily exacerbating tensions between Israel and the United States at this crucial time makes it increasingly difficult to build such a coalition. Ameinu fully supports President Obama’s increased activism to help bring about a just solution to the conflict and hopes that direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will resume soon. As President Obama has correctly stated, resolving Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a “vital national security interest of the United States.”
The World Jewish Congress was created to address the interests and needs of Jews and Jewish communities throughout the world. American Jewry, as evidenced by several recent polls, strongly supports President Obama as well as an active US role in moving the peace process forward. As we mark Yom Hazikaron for Israel’s fallen soldiers and Israel’s Yom Ha’atzmaut, Ameinu reminds you that a just, lasting peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors is a vital need for the State of Israel as well as for Jews everywhere.President, Ameinu
Sincerely,
Kenneth Bob
