I keep waiting for Americans for Peace Now to leave the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations because it’s a rightwing organization that doesn’t stand for what APN stands for, a two-state solution. The reason APN hangs in there is because of access, solidarity. Here’s a good sign. Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street is calling out Conference chairman Alan Solow, at Huffpo, over some Jerusalem belongs to the Jews ads the organization has placed. I wish the language were stronger, given the religious fundamentalism of the ads, in contravention of all international law, but this is a good step:
Specifically, I call on you to clarify publicly:
Whether the Conference does in fact support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
If so, whether the Conference would accept that – as part of a two-state solution – Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem should be not only part of a new Palestinian state but its capital.
If not, whether the Conference believes that Israel should retain sovereignty over the more than 200,000 Palestinians living in the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem such as Walaja, Shuafat, Bet Hanina, Kufr Aqab, Kalandia, and Wadi Joz.
Finally, if these Arab villages are to remain part of Israel – are you supporting granting Israeli citizenship to the Palestinians who live there and who don’t have it now? If so, how can you reconcile such an enormous exception with otherwise unquestioning opposition to providing citizenship to other Palestinians, for instance in the context of addressing the "right of return" in a final status agreement?
