I missed this yesterday. Jeremy Ben-Ami’s statement could be stronger, it could denounce the East Jerusalem expansion– "provocative actions" is weak– but J Street can’t alienate its conservative wing (body?). There is some overlap with AIPAC, of course; the let’s look at Iran stuff. Excerpt:
Preventing provocative actions which undermine the peace process and decisions which weaken U.S. credibility in the region is also a matter of fundamental American national security interest, particularly as the U.S. government works to build a broad international coalition to address the Iranian nuclear program…
the Obama administration’s reaction to the treatment of the Vice President last week and to the timing and substance of the Israeli government’s announcement was both understandable and appropriate.
As Vice President Biden said, “Sometimes only a friend can deliver the hardest truth.” That is what he, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod have done in recent days – and J Street, along with many friends of Israel, stands solidly behind them.
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Off topic- Only relevant to those who favor or are willing to accept a two state solution, Yossi Alpher in the latest edition of bitterlemons, throws his hands up and gives up on a negotiated settlement and views the Fayyad plan as the key to progress.
Under prevailing circumstances, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s unilateral state-building plan is the best option available for all those truly concerned with advancing a two-state solution that maintains Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Not only must Fayyad succeed in the coming year, but the international community must endorse and recognize his achievement and encourage Israel to follow suit.
I say this with a heavy heart. It is not easy for an Israeli to encourage the world to ratify a unilateral Palestinian solution. But after nearly 20 years of trying, it should be clear that neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian leadership is capable of agreeing on a negotiated two-state solution. The current Netanyahu government in Israel, with its heavy right-wing bias and its focus on creating unilateral Israeli “facts on the ground”, is almost certainly not a candidate for working productively with the Palestinians toward an independent Palestinian state. Perhaps most important, in view of growing frustration with the failure of negotiations, the Fayyad plan is the best non-negotiated solution we Israelis could conceivably ask for.
http://www.bitterlemons.org/issue/isr1.php
Wondering Jew
The current Netanyahu government in Israel, with its heavy right-wing bias and its focus on creating unilateral Israeli “facts on the ground”, is almost certainly not a candidate for working productively with the Palestinians toward an independent Palestinian state.
Thats not new, it started after the creation of Israel. Pals have nothing to loose, they lost everything so they keep trying but they won’t achieve anything unless the US become tougher with spoiled Israel.
Israel from its creation till today is causing a lot of instabilities in the region, its time to move forward before it becomes too late.
Let’s suppose that Obama gets his way, that BYahoo backs down and agrees to accept a slice of E Jerusalem becoming part of a Palestinian state.
He then is in the perfect position to demand some quid for his quo – in the form of an attack on Iran.
And I’m asking the question – is it worth it? Are we willing to pay in Iranian deaths for Palestinian freedom?
Yes, good point. I believe it was sometime late in the Bush 2 administration that some sort of linkage between Iran-Palestine was bandied about. So, that’s always lurking in the background.
At the same time, perhaps things have changed with Petraeus’s latest statement. I don’t believe the US military is particularly in favor of an attack on Iran–which would clearly endanger our Afghan and Iraq troops– and, together with Petraeus’s belief that Israel’s intransigience endangers our troops, the linkage might now be off the table.
yes potsherd, what how to deal with spoiled Israel then? any ideas?
Hard to say. I’m not entirely sure that, given a forced option, this is the one I would have chosen.
Jstreet is bunch of self-hating jews, huh witty? yoniraSpew where the hell are you?
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