September 5, 2009

Well done, Unity Coalition for Israel, ZOA, CPAC and AFSI

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Major controversy has arisen as a result of a recent meeting President Obama held with selected Christian and Jewish leaders, most of whom did not question his vision of a Two-State Solution for Israel and Palestinian Arabs.

This letter, signed by four major Christian and Jewish organizations, presents a very different viewpoint on Middle East policy, particularly the Arab-Israel conflict. It was published today as a full page ad in the Washington Jewish Week as follows:

Dear President Obama,

Our organizations, representing the views of millions of Americans, are deeply troubled that current Mideast policy initiatives by your administration will compromise Israel’s security and undermine the longstanding U.S.-Israel alliance. You have expressed a willingness to consider a broad range of views. In this spirit, we urge you to address the concerns of the important segment of both the Jewish and Christian communities which our organizations represent.

Your calls for a freeze on construction in the so-called “settlements” only serve to promote the anti-Jewish bias of Israel’s enemies. Stifling the growth of thriving Jewish communities will not bring peace. Therefore, we urge you to take the following fundamental factors into account when formulating U.S. policy regarding the Middle East:

1. Israel is entitled to be recognized by all nations as a Jewish state which protects the rights of all of its citizens and freedom of worship for all faiths. The Jewish people became a nation over 3,000 years ago in the Land of Israel, which encompasses Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”) as well as the city of Jerusalem. The Jewish people’s fundamental right to settle throughout this land was explicitly recognized under international law by the League of Nations (Mandate for Palestine, unanimously adopted 1922). This internationally guaranteed right has never been abrogated or revoked by any international successor organization. Therefore, U.S. policy must support the right of Jews to live anywhere within the Land of Israel.

2. It should be understood that the United Nations recognized the State of Israel in 1948 not only because of the Holocaust but also because it recognized the historic and biblical right of Jews to live in their ancestral homeland. The Arab nations’ refusal to accept this fact has been demonstrated countless times over the last 60 years by their hostile behavior towards Israel.

3. The “two-state solution” currently promoted by your administration is incompatible with the fundamental right of Jews to live on their own land. Establishing a Jew-free, terror-sponsoring Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria would seriously undermine Israel’s security as well as violate the internationally guaranteed right of Jewish settlement.

4. Israel, as a sovereign nation, has the unconditional right to designate an undivided Jerusalem as its capital. Jerusalem was established as the capital of the Jewish nation in biblical times. The city was divided by illegal Jordanian occupation of its eastern neighborhoods in 1948, and then reunified under Israeli sovereignty in 1967. Jerusalem stands today as a free and unified city. Therefore, U.S. policy must explicitly recognize Jerusalem as being Israel’s capital, and firmly reject any proposal which would redivide the city.

5. As a sovereign nation, Israel has the right to self-defense, especially with regard to the imminent threat of nuclear extermination by Iran.

A just and lasting peace can be achieved in the Middle East only when the Palestinians and all the nations in the region first recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. In addition, they must cease their incitement against Israel and the Jewish people.

Mr. President, “settlements” are not the issue. We urge you to focus on the true issues we have presented and to give them the highest priority. We would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you for a full discussion of these issues.

Signed,

Hon. Marc Caroff, President
Brandeis District Chapter
Zionist Organization of America

Richard A. Hellman,
Founder and President,
Christians’ Israel Public Action Campaign

Herbert Zweibon, Chairman
Americans For A Safe Israel

Esther Levens, Founder and CEO
Warren Manison, Washington, DC Representative
Judith Nusbaum and Chana Givon, Jerusalem Chairmen
Unity Coalition for Israel – 913 648 0022
voices@israelunitycoalition.org