After renewed violence in late November, tensions are once again running high between Israelis and Palestinians. Admiral Ami Ayalon, the former head of Israel's security service and the Israeli Navy, is one of an overwhelming majority of Israeli security experts who support the two-state solution, in which a Jewish state and a Palestinian state would live side-by-side in peace and security. Even the Arab world endorsed the two-state solution as an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict when they signed 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and voted last month at the United Nations to recognize Palestine as a state along 1967 borders. The creation of such a state through negotiations is the only way to guarantee Israel's long-term security.
The Israeli occupation also threatens Israel's character as a Jewish democracy. Israel occupies territory where two million Palestinians live without full voting rights or true freedom of speech. Soon, the Palestinian population living west of the Jordan River will outnumber the Jewish population. The only way for Israel to unite the concepts of Zionism and democracy is through the creation of a Palestinian state that ends the occupation.
However, it often seems as though a peaceful resolution may be out of reach. In mid-November, the Israeli Defense Force responded militarily to long-standing Hamas shelling of residential Israeli communities, which served to strengthen both the extremist Hamas and conservative political parties in Israel. Weeks later, in retaliation for the Palestinian Authority's bid for statehood at the United Nations, Israel withheld PA tax revenue and announced plans to construct settlements in such a way that would undermine the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state. These actions have pushed the two sides further apart, as these areas are particularly sensitive to the Palestinians.
From recent events, it is clear that without foreign intervention, there will be no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The PA, which controls the West Bank, works with Israeli security forces to stop terrorism and promotes the two-state solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, however, has not rewarded the PA for their moderate, non-violent approach. More and more Palestinians, therefore, are turning away from the PA in favor of Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules the Gaza Strip, in the hopes that Hamas can deliver them a Palestinian state.
Although the situation looks bleak, there is hope for peace in the Middle East. J Street a nonprofit group that promotes American involvement in resolving these conflicts believes in the necessity of American diplomatic leadership in achieving a two-state solution. It is clear that Israelis and Palestinians need third party help to come to an agreement, which is why 83 percent of Jewish-Americans support active U.S. engagement in bringing peace to the region. The U.S.-Israel alliance puts America in a unique position to take the lead in ending the conflict by bringing the parties together for negotiations.
J Street has played an increasingly important role in helping shape American foreign policy. This past month, lawmakers added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have kicked the Palestinian Diplomatic Mission out of Washington, D.C., but over 15,000 emails and phone calls from J Street supporters convinced the Senate that this would be counterproductive to the peace process and the amendment was dropped.
Meanwhile, J Street U, the student arm of J Street, played a critical role in having college students tell their senators to oppose the amendment. J Street U students have also been monumental in helping to block legislation that would take funding away from the PA, Israel's partner for peace. This past semester, these college students told Congress where they stood on the conflict by sending postcards to their representatives, stating, "We support vigorous U.S. diplomatic leadership to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
The growing community of pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans is calling on President Barack Obama and Congress to achieve peace. Seventy J Street-endorsed candidates are in Congress, including Rep. Ann Kuster '78, D-N.H. It is J Street's time to lead and J Street U has a critical role in building support for American leadership on this issue. The two-state solution is the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict let's tell our representatives that American involvement is necessary to achieving it.
