Yesterday’s interception by the Israeli navy of a ship carrying weapons, believed to be intended for Hezbollah and sent by Iran, underscores the very real security threats Israel faces on a daily basis.  It highlights, as well, the need for vigorous efforts by Israel, the United States, and the international community to combat weapons smuggling in the region - which J Street firmly supports.

J Street condemns Iranian weapons smuggling and its continued support for violence against Israel.  These activities only reinforce how important it is that Iran not obtain nuclear weapons - and how important it is that the approach of engagement with Iran and nurturing international cooperation, taken by the Obama Administration and supported by Chairman Howard Berman, succeed.

The lack of a lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab conflicts continues to provide an opening to incite further violence and terror against Israel that Israel’s enemies never hesitate to exploit.

J Street reiterates our firm support for President Obama’s efforts to achieve true peace and security for Israel and its neighbors through two states and a comprehensive regional peace. Only such a resolution can ensure Israel’s lasting future as a safe, secure Jewish democracy.

Though we welcome the government of Israel’s expressed willingness to restrain settlement growth, we echo the Secretary’s statement today in Morocco that offers made to date fall far short of the Obama administration’s position and preference.  Any settlement expansion is a threat to Israel’s future as a democratic home for the Jewish people and undermines American national interests.

J Street reiterates its strong support for President Barack Obama’s commitment to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution and comprehensive regional peace during his first term in office – and for his belief that all parties have obligations to fulfill if we are to reach a resolution.

As the President prepares for his first major address to the American Jewish community next week, we flag for him the words of his own National Security Advisor, Jim Jones, who said just last week that if he could urge the President to solve one problem in the world, it would be the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

With that sense of urgency and focus, we ask the President to get the parties and the diplomats to look beyond simply getting to a table to talk.   The administration has made it clear that – in their words – “there has been enough talking about talking.”

We believe it is a serious mistake for friends of Israel and those who seek an end to conflict to claim victory in the PR battle over who deserves more or less of the blame or credit for the current impasse in negotiations.  We share the concern expressed by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism that “time is not the ally of peace in this situation.. [and that we will] wake up shortly to confront an emerging consensus – not only from our enemies but from our friends – that a two-state solution must give way to a one-state solution.”

We urge the President to clearly state next week – and to reiterate it to an Israeli audience directly and as soon as possible – that failure to end this conflict immediately and diplomatically is an existential threat to a Jewish, democratic Israel.

The time has come for the President and Secretary of State Clinton to move beyond discussing the preconditions for talks, or even the necessity of resuming talks, and to instead provide the active leadership so sorely needed to actually resolve the key issues between the parties.

J Street supports passage of a resolution by the U.S. Congress calling for the United States to oppose and work actively to defeat one-sided and biased action in the United Nations when it comes to Israel and the Goldstone Report.

We are not urging members of Congress to oppose H. Res. 867.  We are urging thoughtful amendment of the Resolution before passage to bring it in line with the principles we articulate in our statement on the legislation.

J Street would support and urges passage of a balanced, thoughtful Congressional resolution urging strong US opposition against biased, one-sided actions regarding the Goldstone Report and the Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.

J Street also echoes the call of many Israelis - including Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, MKs Nachman Shai and Michael Eitan, and others - for an independent Israeli investigation into the allegations in the Goldstone Report.  Only by undertaking an independent and credible investigation can Israel ensure that these matters are not left in the hands of international bodies that have traditionally demonstrated their bias against Israel.

J Street would be able to support a resolution that:

• Recognizes the history of bias against Israel at the United Nations, the flaws in the original mandate to the Goldstone Commission, and the dangers in pursuing resolutions in multilateral fora with a track record of anti-Israel bias;

• Condemns the series of one-sided resolutions adopted by the UN Human Rights Council;

• Expresses support for the people of southern Israel who were traumatized by years of constant rocket and mortar fire as well as for the people of Gaza who are suffering greatly from the effects of both the military operation and the ongoing blockade of Gaza;

• Correctly acknowledges that the Commission’s original mandate was adjusted by Judge Goldstone himself and accepted by the Human Rights Council to include a focus on the conduct of both sides, and that the report included the first-ever exposure by a UN body of war crimes and human rights violations by Hamas;

• Calls on both the Palestinians and Israelis to launch independent investigations into their conduct during Operation Cast Lead;

• Calls on the US government to attempt to defeat in the General Assembly any resolution which unfairly focuses only on Israel and

• Calls on the US government to state unequivocally that it will veto in the Security Council any resolution which refers charges against Israel and Israelis to the International Criminal Court.

We urge members of the House to consider changes in the Resolution in line with the positions above and to call for independent investigations by both Israelis and Palestinians, adding their voices to those in Israel such as Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor.

J Street further urges the Obama Administration to make every effort to oppose and defeat the one-sided and biased resolution that is likely to be presented next week in the General Assembly and to work actively for the adoption of a better, balanced resolution.  We urge the United States to make clear that it will use its veto to prevent any referral of this matter to the International Criminal Court.

Finally, we urge Congress to express support for the President’s efforts to prioritize swift resumption and conclusion of permanent status negotiations.  No matter what happens at the United Nations, Israel’s future as a democratic home for the Jewish people depends on achieving a two-state solution before the window of opportunity closes and the Administration must urgently press forward toward a comprehensive regional peace.

The national board of J Street U neither discussed nor voted on any action to remove the term “pro-Israel” from our platform, policy or the way we describe ourselves at J Street U’s national conference.

We are building this movement because we care about Israel, its future and the future of the entire Middle East.  To us being pro-Israel is intertwined with being pro-Palestine, and recognizing this is a vital step in the pursuit of a lasting peace.

Our goal is to engage with our communities on this issue, in order to create room for an open conversation on campus.  For too long there has been no space that welcomed those with questions.  We believe that when students are given a chance to explore their ideas and come to their own conclusions, we build stronger support for our positions and for Israel.

J Street and J Street U are proud to be pro-Israel organizations that work to support Israel as the democratic and Jewish homeland, with full and equal rights for all of its citizens and the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own.

As this conference has made clear, we believe that support for the creation of a Palestinian State alongside Israel is a core pro-Israel position, and that we need to reclaim the meaning of pro-Israel so that it never implies we are anti-others.

In the interest of greater positive connection between college students and Israel, they will be given the freedom to discuss and explore the full range of issues related to the U.S.-Israel relationship and the Arab-Israeli conflict. We will be giving campus groups and student members great latitude and flexibility - with only one constraint: that the work be done in a context that always embraces the right of a state for Jewish people in the land of Israel to exist beside a state for Palestinian people in the land of Palestine.

This principle has been in all legal documents signed to create this effort and is included in the policy guidelines for J Street U. The statements and slogans of individual students and campus groups may not reflect J Street U policy.

Thank you so much to everyone for participating in this amazing moment.

Please give yourselves a rousing round of applause for an engaging and open discussion of some really difficult questions.

Thanks as well to Daniel Sokatch, my partner and friend – and thank you to Ronit, Andy, Lauren and Jim for your contributions and for starting us on a journey of exploration into issues of identity, religion and politics – exactly the topics my mother always told me to avoid on a first date.

But here at J Street, you may have noticed we like to break the rules.

What better way to spend our first night together than talking not just about religion and politics but how the two mix together in the volatile hotbeds of the Middle East, Washington and the American Jewish community.

Frankly, it’s a conversation that some would say it’s better to have privately – or not at all. And – to make matters worse – not only are we talking publicly, we’re webcasting and tweeting.
Welcome to the 21st century!

And welcome to a new era when it comes to advocacy on Israel and the Middle East.

I know I speak for many who are here – and many more who couldn’t be here – when I say that this event is far more than simply a policy conference.

It’s a moment with deep significance and real meaning for people who have struggled for a long time with some very difficult issues.

First, what it will take to finally end the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflicts diplomatically and peacefully.

Second, how do we change the unconstructive way this issue plays out in American politics and policy.

And, third, how do we alter some of the unhealthy dynamics that have emerged inside the American Jewish community when it comes to talking about Israel.

I dare say that many if not most of you would not have made the long and costly journey here if one or more of these questions did not strike the core of who you are and the way in which you define your identity.

And you may well be here because you’re tired of feeling alone in your community when you start raising these questions.

Well – as I think you can see – you are alone no longer.

Substantively, of course, we’re here because we care so deeply about changing the course of events in the Middle East. Because we know the path we are on – of endless conflict, failure to compromise, terror and bloodshed – leads only to hopelessness and despair.

We rally tonight around this simple premise: that the security and very future of the Jewish, democratic homeland in Israel is at risk without an end to the conflict and to the occupation of the Palestinian people.

The work begun in the generations before ours to build a nation in the image of our people to be the home of our people will only be complete when Israel has defined borders, a Palestinian state has been established next door and the rest of the region and the world recognizes Israel and accepts its existence.

Our presence here in such numbers and with such energy demonstrates the powerful base of political support ready to back active pursuit and achievement of comprehensive, regional peace in the Middle East – as an urgent priority not a distant, almost meaningless, aspiration.

We do not want the United States to simply be a passive facilitator of fruitless negotiation. No – as President Obama has said, we have had enough talking about talking.

We want action and we want resolution. We want the United States and the international community actively at the table – and we want this conflict to end.

As I hope has been clear in the early stages of the conversation tonight – while this movement is welcoming to all who seek peace, justice and an end to the conflict – it is rooted in a love of Israel and concern for its future.

We value the partnership and engagement and support of our non-Jewish friends – both here tonight and in our work overall. We need and appreciate allies and alliances, individual and institutional.

But at heart they know – as we know – that the root of this movement and heart of this conversation has to be in the American Jewish community.

For many of us as Jews, this conversation taps into our deepest personal feelings – of family, history and community. Perhaps at your tables tonight you began to share some of those feelings. And we hope when you return home, you will continue to do so.

It is our goal to change traditional conversations when it comes to Israel and to broaden the notion that there is only one way to express love and concern for it.

We are here to redefine and expand the very concept of being pro-Israel. No longer should this pro- require an anti-.

The frame for this evening is to explore our relationship to Israel in the 21st century. And in this new century and for this new generation, we will not accept that the world must be seen through the prism of us-vs-them conflict – that we must look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a zero sum game. We do not see the world only in black and white.

No, to be pro-Israel in our movement is to recognize that history is filled with shades of gray and that the only way forward to a better future is a win-win solution that leads to two states for two peoples.

Until that happens the work of the generations that came before us – of my great grandparents in the first aliyah, of my grandparents who built Tel Aviv out of the sand dunes, of my father who fought for independence – will not be complete.

We – like those who came before us – know the dangers that lurk in the world. We yearn for safety and security not so much for us as for those we love. But it is our movement that offers the best path to the very security that all people in the region desperately seek.

Only through peace will there be security. For both peoples.

And perhaps more importantly, only through peace can there be a state truly created in our own image. The founders of the state of Israel had a clear vision – they aimed to create a democracy that reflected the highest values of the Jewish people – justice, equality, treating your neighbor as you wish to be treated yourself.

They knew of what they spoke because for nearly 2,000 years our people had lived in the lands of others. At times this has worked out well – throughout the ages and in various corners of the globe, Jews have flourished intellectually, culturally, materially, politically and otherwise.

Needless to say, in generation after generation, we have also painfully learned the perils of being a minority and of the mistreatment that can be wrought by the majority on a minority.

Now after 2,000 years, we again have our own state and the chance to show the world that we can achieve a proper balance between the exercise of sovereign power and adhering to a set of values in accordance with the standards we held up for others.

But working to create a just and peaceful future for Israel and for all the people of the region is only the first aspect of our work. The second is to change the way this issue plays out in American politics and policy.

For too long, our voice – the voice of mainstream progressive Jews on Israel – has been absent from the political playing field in Washington and around the country.

We progressive Jews – who voted 78% for Barack Obama and continue to give him high approval ratings as President – have focused on other, extraordinarily important fights. We fight to save the planet, to end poverty and to ensure equal rights for all regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation.

But when it comes to Israel, our voices and our positions have been drowned out by those to our right with the intensity and passion of single-issue, single-minded advocates. As we care deeply about the state of Israel and the security of the Jewish people, so too does this passionate minority.

But we come here to Washington DC to make clear to politicians and policy makers alike that no one group speaks for Jewish Americans as a whole.

Our movement’s second goal therefore is to make our voices heard and our power felt from the corridors of power in Washington DC to the campaign trails in all fifty states.

We will make it clear that a majority of American Jews – and a majority of Americans period – support the same sensible pro-Israel, pro-peace policies toward Israel and the Middle East that we do.

Yes, most American Jews favor a two-state solution and comprehensive regional peace. Most oppose the expansion of settlements by Israel.

Of course, we oppose the use of terror and violence by Palestinians and others to achieve their goals – and we’re concerned whether peace is actually still possible.

But we clearly and unequivocally want the United States to lead and to do whatever can be done to end the conflict and bridge the differences between the sides.

This is not simply an interest of Israel’s, it is a fundamental American interest as well.

Third and perhaps most important – this is a movement that is fighting for the heart and the soul of the American Jewish community. How the Israel conversation plays out in our communities, on our campuses, and in our synagogues speaks volumes about who we are as a people.

What values are we modeling to others? What are we teaching our children?

Though we are 6,000 miles away, how our community relates to the conflicts in the region will be an essential component of our identity as American Jews in the 21st century.

Many in our community are concerned about the fraying bonds of connection of Jewish Americans to their Jewish identity. Many are worried that the young people of today will not be there for the Israel of tomorrow.

We too are concerned. Yet the answer is to us self-evident. We say open up the doors wider to the generations of tomorrow, and trust that the American Jewish community of the 21st century and Israel itself are strong enough to handle wide open discourse.

So our final goal as a movement is to change the nature of the Jewish communal conversation on Israel. We want to broaden the conversation. We value nuance. We encourage debate and discussion.

As we want Israel to be the embodiment as a nation of our people’s character and values, so too our 21st century Jewish community here should reflect the best of what it means to be Jewish.

To be Jewish is to argue. To be Jewish is to think. We value curiosity, tolerance, and free expression.

Now, let’s put these values into practice – here in our community in our generation.

In closing, let me again say how pleased I am to see so many of us come together tonight and in these three days.

We announce today our readiness to build a movement – together with all the many wonderful existing organizations who share our pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy values – to reclaim the voice of our people, to inject our voice back into the political and policy debate and to press for one last chance to build a peaceful, just and democratic Israel.

Do not think we are looking to build a new voice in this process. Far from it. Ours is – in reality – an ancient voice. The voice of our people and our prophets through the millennia.

It is a voice that speaks from the soul of our people. It is the voice that forms the character and conscience of our community.

Yes, it is a voice that loves Israel as the state of our people.

But one that expresses love not in unquestioning embrace but in caring partnership.

A voice that gives expression to the most basic of Jewish and universal values.

A voice that cares not simply about our people’s destiny but about the future of the Palestinian people – not just because it is in our interest, but because Palestinian children deserve a future and freedom, hope and happiness every bit as much as Jewish children.

A voice that rejects racism and prejudice as much when it is directed at our community as when it is directed at those of other backgrounds, particularly Muslims.

My friends – it isn’t the voice that’s new – we’ve simply got ourselves a megaphone.

Let’s commit tonight to project that voice of our proudest heritage loudly and clearly throughout our community, across this country and in the Halls of Congress – and, yes to echo further afield with our friends in Israel.

This majority will be silent no more.

Our voice will help guide the way to a safe and secure future for the state of Israel, to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside it and to American policies that help to secure a better future not only for the children of the region but for our children back at home.

That is our mission. Tonight, tomorrow and going forward as a movement.

Thank you so much for joining us in this historic task.

Finally.
I am at here at the beginning of the J Street U segment of the J Street conference, and after only the first evening, the feeling I have is “finally.”
When I tried to explain to my friends back at Middlebury College what J Street is, I found that I had trouble summarizing and classifying what J Street is: Finally.
However, for my friends back home, I will try, based on what I’ve felt during these first fews hours.
J Street is an organization that supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State.
J Street is an organization that desires peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians.
J Street is complexity, and it is nuance.
J Street is a voice that is made up of many different voices, that speaks in English and in Hebrew and in Arabic.
J Street is pulsing with energy, glowing with nervous excitement.
J Street is a chance for change, and the challenging the tired paradigms of narrowness and of “good and bad.”

Or, that’s how I see J Street, at least. I am thrilled to be here, to be a part of this, to help J Street move forward, and to grow. I am here to work for peace in a way that combines the complexities of who I am and what I believe.

Finally.

MK Tzipi Livni
Jerusalem
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mr. Jeremy Ben-Ami
Executive Director
J Street

Dear Jeremy,

Thank you for your invitation to J Street’s first national conference. Unfortunately, my schedule does not allow me to take part in this event but, as you know, “Kadima” will be well represented at the conference by senior members of the Party.

I would like to congratulate you on your inaugural national conference. I believe most American Jews support Israel and want to see it thrive as a Jewish and democratic state. Like you, I believe ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by realizing the vision of two nation states, living side by side in peace and security, is in the best interests of Israel, the United States, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole.

In my view, the discussion within the pro-Israel community of what best advances Israel’s cause should be inclusive and broad enough to encompass a variety of views, provided it is conducted in a respectful and legitimate manner. Along the way, we may not agree on everything but I do believe that we must ensure that what unites us as Jews who are committed to Israel’s future as a secure, Jewish, and democratic State is far greater than what separates us.

I wish the organizers and the participants much success in the upcoming conference,

Sincerely,

Tzipi Livni
Head of the “Kadima” Party
Leader of The Opposition
State of Israel