Earlier this week, Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a powerful speech advocating Israeli-Palestinian peace (you can read the full text of his speech here). In his speech, he exhorted his audience of prominent American Jews to “send a message...that you are behind this hopeful vision of what can be. Let your leaders and your neighbors alike know that you understand this will be a tough process with tough decisions and that you are ready to back the leaders who make them.”
Tell your rabbis, the editorial boards of your local papers, the leaders of your Jewish community organizations: it is time to stand, publicly and vocally, with the Obama Administration in its efforts to break the deadlock and achieve the two-state solution.
For too long, politicians and members of our own community's leadership have given lip-service to the two-state solution, while failing to appreciate the costs of the status quo or, worse yet, taking refuge in the hollow cliché that states, “we can't want peace more than the parties.” Secretary Kerry’s powerful, heartfelt words remind all of us what is at stake if the two-state is solution is lost: Israel's security and its very future as a democracy and a thriving Jewish state.
APN commended Secretary Kerry for addressing head-on the pretexts seized by those who are afraid of peace or opposed to it. We agree with him that it is time to stop making excuses. It is time to stop allowing skepticism and cynicism to trump rational, clear-eyed analysis and policies grounded in the vital interests of both Israel and the United States. Kerry correctly underscored the urgency of the moment, noting that if progress is not achieved in the near term, the opportunity for peace may be lost, and both peoples will be sentenced to ever-increasing conflict for the coming decades. Perhaps as important, he also laid out a moving vision for a future of Israel living in peace and security with its neighbors, enjoying the economic, political, and diplomatic fruits of peace. APN is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Kerry in his efforts to achieve peace. Our colleagues and friends at American Jewish organizations across the political spectrum should do the same, for the sake of both the U.S. and Israel.
APN urges you to contact your rabbis, local Jewish community leaders, leaders of U.S. national Jewish organizations, local media, and their members of Congress. We urge you to ask them to stand up and support President Obama and Secretary Kerry in their efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace. The following draft text provided can be adapted for all of these audiences.