A letter signed by over 860 Rabbis, Cantors, and Jewish clerical students

Circulated by Brit Tzedek v'Shalom:

What's At Stake: A Rabbinic Letter

to President-Elect Barack Obama

Time to Choose Peace


We the undersigned, call on you, President-elect Obama, to pledge to make resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a top priority of your Administration.



While you come into office with a long list of problems before you, the long-simmering conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is among the most urgent. After eight years of half-hearted diplomacy, there is no time left to walk softly and hope for the best. 



The consequences of failing to establish a durable peace are grim. The influence of Iran and Hezbollah would grow among an increasingly bitter Palestinian population, and extremists would have further excuse to do vicious battle with the West. It is difficult to calculate the damage that a downward spiral into fresh waves of violence could hold.



American Presidents traditionally look to the Jewish community for insight on Israel-related policy. As Jewish clergy, we pledge to mobilize our people behind your leadership for a mutually-acceptable, two-state solution. We pledge to support you through difficult, trying times, and to celebrate with you when the job is done. We pledge to let the American public know: An American President who dedicates himself to the establishment of a durable Israeli-Palestinian peace acts in the best interests of Israel and the United States.



* We call on you to dedicate yourself to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel early in your first term.



* We call on you to appoint, within your first 100 days in office, a high-level, highly-regarded envoy to the region, an individual who has the ear of both Israelis and Palestinians, the respect of the American people, and ready access to your Oval Office.



* We call on you to establish mechanisms of enforcement and follow-through, so that decisions made and agreements signed will be respected and brought to fruition.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is a "mutually-acceptable two-state solution"?

A two-state solution refers to a sovereign Palestinian state, living alongside Israel in peace. Such a solution has roots in the founding of Israel -- which was predicated on the 1947 UN decision to partition the land between its Jewish and Arab inhabitants -- and would allow each people to meet its nationalist goals without demanding the surrender of the other.

But for any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be viable, it will have to be mutually-acceptable to both sides. Any unilateral decision making, such as the notion that Israel might unilaterally withdraw from certain areas of the West Bank and declare its borders final, has no real chance of succeeding. Both sides must acknowledge and respect the needs of the other, without denying the legitimate needs of their own people.

2. How does the envoy requested differ from the envoys President Bush appointed during his tenure? How is it different from the role of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice?

Any envoy attempting to mediate any deeply-felt conflict will have to, at turns, cajole and demand, entice and push -- the resolution of decades or centuries of conflict cannot be achieved without difficult compromise, and that compromise is what the diplomat is there to attain. For such mediation to prove successful, any envoy will have to have the trust of all parties, as well as commanding their respect. Finally, such a diplomat will have to be able to function on a number of fronts and just under the radar, if need be, in order to keep sensitive information and developments under wraps until all sides are ready to reveal details.

The envoys appointed by President Bush tended to be focused entirely on one area of expertise (such as Retired Marine General James Jones, or Retired Marine General Anthony Zinni), and generally failed to command the attention and respect necessary to achieve change. A successful envoy will have both an independent presence on the world stage -- such as a former President or an internationally renowned diplomat -- as well as having the undivided attention of the President he or she serves.

The Secretary of State is thus not an "envoy," per se, but rather an official and very public representative of the U.S. government. One reason the Secretary of State is not in the best position to perform delicate mediation is that it is all but impossible for a government official to avoid the spotlight, no matter the Administration. In terms of Secretary Rice specifically, while it is clear that she has President Bush's respect, it is not as clear that he was willing to listen to her ideas or support them internationally -- witness the Rice-brokered Israeli-Palestinian transport deal of 2005, which was announced with great fanfare and immediately sunk into obscurity.

3. To what does "eight years of half-hearted diplomacy” refer? How can the next President provide “effective American leadership for peace”?

The Bush Administration was characterized, first, by an absolute unwillingness to engage with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and later by repeated efforts to achieve dramatic results after seven years of neglect with very little effort. In the words of Aaron David Miller, a career diplomat who spent 20 years on the frontlines of Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, President Bush "[has had] many 'if I do this on the peace process, don't bother me again' moments." [note: see The Much Too Promised Land, Aaron David Miller].

In 2001, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon flatly rejected President Bush's demands that a massive Israeli military operation on the West Bank be suspended "as quickly as possible"; in 2003, Sharon and Yasser Arafat signed the U.S.-backed Road Map to Peace, committing themselves to an immediate settlement freeze and containment of terrorism, but Israel continued to build settlements and nothing substantive changed in Palestinian security; in 2005, the Rice-brokered transport agreement was signed and ignored; in 2007, Bush announced at the Annapolis peace conference that his goal was an agreement by the end of his administration, but the talks netted little progress. And yet, at least with regard to Israel, the Bush Administration has not made serious efforts to back the President's words with actions, or create consequences for the regular disregard of promises made to the U.S. government.

For the next President to be effective, he will have to learn from these mistakes. For U.S. diplomatic efforts to succeed, they must be backed by an iron-clad commitment to the process that diplomacy involves. Mediation is a thankless task, until it is successful -- the next President will have to be willing to do the hard, occasionally unpopular work necessary, in order to achieve a just and durable resolution of the conflict. Furthermore, it must be made absolutely clear to both parties that agreements signed and promises made are not to be taken lightly: Refusal to abide by accepted terms will bring unpleasant consequences, but progress will bring rewards.

4. Why is it so urgent to resolve the conflict at this time?

Israeli and Palestinian frustration with the utter lack of progress in negotiations is at an all-time high. Influential figures on both sides have begun to publicly lose faith in the process. It may well be that the next Administration will be the last to have a real opportunity to truly resolve the conflict.

5. Why is the U.S. so important to the peace process?

Nearly every success in the realm of Israeli-Arab negotiations has been with American involvement. The peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan were mediated by Presidents Carter and Clinton; the Madrid Peace Conference, the first time Israel sat down with the gathered Arab nations, came about under the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Even the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles (DOP), ostensibly achieved without American involvement, were negotiated with the United States in mind -- to the extent that then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres suggested to then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher that the latter take credit for the achievement.

Moreover, with all the upheavals in the world over the past twenty years, the United States remains the world's one superpower -- and it has always served as Israel's most stalwart ally. The Palestinians and Arab nations look to the U.S. as a path to Israel and look to Israel as a path to better relations with the U.S. For all these reasons, if any peace agreement is to succeed, it will require complete American support.    

6. How can the President encourage the negotiation of a two-state solution when Hamas is still in control of the Gaza Strip?

 Negotiations with Israel are conducted not by the Palestinian Authority, per se, but by the chairman of the PLO, who is Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas is a long-time moderate who has been calling for a two-state solution since 1988; it is with Abbas that Israel and the U.S. are conducting all negotiation efforts.

The fact that Hamas rules the Gaza Strip is undeniably problematic, however; any agreement Abbas achieves with Israel will only be successful if the majority of the Palestinian people stand behind it. If the nation is, in fact, split into two geographical and ideological camps, this won’t be possible.

However, some members of the Hamas leadership have indicated a certain openness to a peace deal with Israel; they would accept an agreement, if approved in a national referendum. Hamas has also maintained its current ceasefire with Israel (if failing to crack down on militants from other groups who have failed to respect the truce), and is negotiating over the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Both of these facts indicate a pragmatism which could be made to serve the interests of peace.

Though Hamas’s most extremist policies are rejected by a majority of Palestinians, it cannot be denied that the movement holds an enormous amount of power on the Palestinian political scene. Bottom line, for peace talks to succeed, the U.S. will also have to work to close the gap between Fatah, the movement headed by Abbas, and Hamas.

7. What  about Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's August 2008 peace offer to the Palestinians?

The Palestinians rejected Olmert’s offer as soon as it was made public as it did not adequately address most of the issues that are most important to the Palestinians: the status of Jerusalem, the status of refugees, and the issue of territorial contiguity on the West Bank. Rather, Olmert suggested an Israeli withdrawal from 93% of the West Bank, with a compensation in the form of land in the desert on the border of the Gaza Strip.

<http://ga3.org/campaign/letter_mccainobama/>

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Rabbis John Friedman and Julie Saxe-Taller, Chair and Co-Chair

Rabbinic Cabinet of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, add this appeal for Gaza:

Gazans have not known normality for far too long. They've been living with a blockade for close to two years. International food aid is the only nourishment available to hundreds of thousands of people. Pregnant mothers, sick children, and the elderly often can't get their most basic medical needs met. Unemployment is rampant. The educational system and infrastructure are badly damaged.

Hamas's media ban and your government's restrictions on access by humanitarian NGOs severely limits access to information, but all indications are that the humanitarian situation is deteriorating. Perhaps most important are the reports that the people of Gaza are increasingly hopeless. Hopelessness, as you know, breeds extremism--Israel's worst enemy.

It is true that Gaza has historically been the orphan of the Middle East. Wanted by few, more trouble than its worth, the community of people who live there are often forced to deal with circumstances that we in the West cannot truly comprehend.

But it doesn't have to be that way. The time is rapidly approaching to renew the June 19, 2008 ceasefire with Hamas, with provisions to greatly ease the blockade. We write to urge to do so, and in so doing, to support the forces for peace throughout the region. As your government and the term of President Abbas draw to a close, any actions that the two of you take to bolster the forces searching for a solution will have a powerful effect on the upcoming elections of both peoples.

We urge you to use your remaining time in office to continue your work for peace, starting with a renewal of the Gaza ceasefire.

We will do our part to organize the American Jewish community to advocate for a just and durable solution, and we will call on our next President to vigorously pursue the one thing that can guarantee Israel a healthy and happy future: Peace.

Todah me-rosh (Thanks in advance),

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

11 E. Adams Street, Suite 707, Chicago, IL 60603

<info@btvshalom.org> <http://www.btvshalom.org/>