As the Goldstone Report returns to the agenda of the United Nations, J Street remains opposed to one-sided and biased action at the United Nations based on the Report. Specifically, we reiterate our position that the United States government should exercise its veto if the Security Council considers a resolution referring charges against Israel and Israelis to the International Criminal Court.

The United Nations and other international bodies such as the Human Rights Council have a demonstrable history of bias against Israel and have focused disproportionate attention on Israel at the expense of numerous other serious human rights crises around the globe.

We believe the best way for Israel to deal with the Report and to address charges of misconduct during Operation Cast Lead is to launch its own credible, independent investigation as it has at several critical points in its history. In this, we echo the position of many leading Israelis in and out of government, notably including Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, outgoing Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak. We also share the sense of many in Israel that problems cited with the Report could have been better addressed had Israel cooperated with the Commission in the first place.

In recent days, we have also witnessed renewed attacks and campaigns that personally demonize both Judge Goldstone and Israeli human rights advocates and their supporters. There is ample room in a vibrant democracy for disagreement over matters of principle without the need to resort to ad hominem attacks. Civil and human rights activists are vital to the health and vibrancy of a democracy. They deserve far better than to have to endure shameful mudslinging and name-calling.

We urge those who oppose the report to confine their attacks and critiques to the substance and methodology of the Report and the appropriate measures that should and should not be taken going forward, and not the character of the people who created it or who have brought the violations to light.

Tonight we open a new chapter in the struggle for tzedek v’shalom – justice and peace – in the Middle East.

It’s a chapter that some in Philly and around the country would prefer we weren’t opening – either here at the Penn Hillel – or, frankly, anywhere.

The organized effort to demonize, ostracize, and shut J Street and other groups out of the Jewish community for our views is just one part of a larger struggle raging not just here in the US but in Israel as well.

It’s a struggle not just for the right to speak. It’s a struggle not just for an open discussion within the Jewish community and beyond about difficult issues related to Israel.

It’s a struggle not just about the security and survival of the state of Israel.

It’s a struggle for the heart and soul of the Jewish people, a struggle over the type of country that Israel as the national home of the Jewish people will be, and about the application of our community’s most basic values and principles to the real world politics of the 21st century.

It’s a struggle that each of you have chosen to join for your own particular reasons.

Maybe you’re fed up – as I am – with the way your views on Israel keep getting pushed out of the community conversation.

Maybe you’re tired of the voices that claim to speak for you when it comes to Israel.

Maybe you’re fearful that the current path in the Middle East is leading only to further hatred, bloodshed and conflict.

Maybe you’re looking for a home - as a Jew or as a progressive – where you can talk, explore, debate and wrestle with complex issues related to Israel and the Middle East.

Maybe you’re deeply committed to the security and survival of Israel and you’re scared of what the future holds without a two-state solution.

Or maybe you just believe that all people have a right to self-determination, opportunity, and security – and you want to see an end to the occupation of the Palestinian people.

Whatever your reasons – welcome to J Street Local – your new home in your community for pro-Israel, pro-peace activism.

While you may have come to this place for any of a thousand different reasons – you’re now part of a large and growing movement with a few clear, shared objectives.

First, we are looking to inject our voices loudly and clearly into the American foreign policy making process.

We believe in the state of Israel and support the notion of a national home for the Jewish people. We are advocates for that state, for its people and for its security and survival – and for its democracy.

We recognize that for Israel to survive as that national home for the Jewish people there will also have to be a state that is the national home of the Palestinian people living at its side in peace and security.

We believe in two states – not one – as the only solution we can support to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And we believe in the right of the Palestinian people to live in peace and dignity in a state they can call their own.

It is our belief that reaching such a resolution requires active American leadership, as an urgent priority not a distant, almost meaningless, aspiration.

And we believe it not just because it’s in Israel’s interest – or in the interests of the Palestinian people. It’s a fundamental American interest as well to bring this conflict to an end.

President Obama came into office promising to work tirelessly toward that objective from day one. His administration early on made it clear that they’d had enough talking about talking.

Well, Mr. President – with all due respect – we are going to hold you to that! We supported your appointment of Senator George Mitchell and appreciated that it was done on the first full day of your administration.

But expect us to press you to do more – a lot more. The community organizer in you would expect no less.

We’re not going to be satisfied with simply “getting the parties back to the table.” We’re looking for results. Because time is running out.

We know the parameters of the end of the conflict. So do the parties. And so does the world.

So our first objective as a movement is to press for real American leadership to achieve a regional comprehensive peace that ends the Arab-Israeli conflict once and for all.

Second, we come together to express our support for an Israel that upholds the best of the principles and values of the Jewish people.

Of course, we’re concerned about Israel’s security and survival – that’s why we’re promoting a peaceful end to the conflict.

But we are equally concerned about the democratic character of that state and we intend to speak out when that character is at risk.

We’re going to support and defend organizations promoting equal rights for all Israeli citizens.

We’re going to support the right of Israelis to free expression of their opinion. We’ll support Israelis promoting respect for universal human rights.

In particular, we’re proud to stand with our partner in this movement, the New Israel Fund, whose mission is to strengthen Israel’s democracy.

Over the past week, they have come under withering attack from the pro-settler movement which views human rights as a dirty word and has failed to learn from centuries in which we ourselves were the minority subject to abuse and worse.

Third and finally, we’re coming together to promote an American Jewish community that is open to vibrant, critical debate even on difficult issues related to Israel.

We will not allow our community to be held hostage to the coercive threats of vocal hard-liners who seek to limit debate and demonize rather than to converse rationally with those with whom they disagree.

We will fight to ensure that our community opens its doors to those who have both serious questions about Israel’s policies and a deep commitment to the values and heritage on which they have been raised.

We will build a home together where our organizing and advocacy around Israel lines up with the values and traditions of our people.

A community where it is acceptable to study and to learn about history and about competing narratives and claims to the land – where we can hug and wrestle with Israel at the very same time.

I believe the real reason so many of you have come out this evening and why over one hundred forty thousand people have joined our movement is that we really aren’t talking about some abstract foreign policy problem thousands of miles from home.

We’re talking about a struggle over who are we as a people and the type of community we’re building for ourselves and our children.

Will we stand up for the rights of a minority – even though few stood up for our people? Will we live up to the ethical and moral standards our greatest teachers laid out to guide the way we should conduct ourselves in the world?

Will the collective expression of the Jewish people in American politics be a voice that represents the best of our people?

Tonight, we take an important step toward meeting that challenge by launching a presence for J Street all across this country and bringing our voice to our elected representatives right in our communities.

J Street Local will – we hope – be your new home when it comes to Israel – the place where your activism, your Jewish and progressive values, and your political energy can come together.

You and Locals all over the country will represent this movement in your communities. You’ll reach out to Jewish community organizations and synagogues. You’ll engage your local media, meet with and educate your elected officials, and host educational events in your communities.

You’ll facilitate and participate in respectful, vibrant community conversations on Israel – conversations that challenge conventional wisdom. You’ll help redefine and expand the very concept of being pro-Israel. No longer will this pro- require an anti-.

You’ll help stand up for our friends when they need grassroots help. You’ll help us push the right policies on Capitol Hill, the ones that actually bring us closer to a resolution of the conflict and align with our Jewish and progressive values.

You’ll help us to build a voice that you can be proud of on this most difficult of issues.

On campuses, we’ll be building this voice with J Street U and I’d like to offer a quick shout out to the organizers and students with us here and all over the country tonight.

Our growing presence on campus is critical to the future of our community.

Tonight marks the beginning of a new chapter for the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement.

The road ahead is not easy. The challenges are great. The obstacles large – and the opposition strong and vocal.

A struggle this important will call for courage, leadership and patience.

Those of you gathered tonight will be the vanguard of this movement – helping to answer tough questions, open up eyes and minds, challenging some powerful pre-conceptions.

And we will be here to help you in this important work – providing guidance, resources and encouragement.

You have much work to do this evening – so I will let you get started.

Thank you from all of us at J Street’s national headquarters and have a great meeting and congratulations on a great launch for J Street Local.

J Street is gravely concerned about escalating threats to the character of Israel’s democracy – including vicious, new attacks on organizations defending its democratic values and on individuals exercising their basic democratic rights.

This weekend, an organization called Im Tirtzu launched an outrageous campaign viciously attacking New Israel Fund President and former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Naomi Chazan in a style reminiscent of propaganda from the darkest days of recent Jewish experience, depicting Chazan with a horn on her head and holding her personally responsible for the contents of the Goldstone Report.

Im Tirtzu’s political leanings are clear. This is a pro-settler group, with $100,000 of funding from Christians United For Israel, a conservative Christian Zionist organization run by Pastor John Hagee, who once stated that God sent Hitler to drive Jews to Israel. Funds collected for Im Tirtzu in the United States are directed through a New York City-based charity which funds construction over the Green Line.

J Street calls on Im Tirtzu to immediately pull the ads that are part of this shameful new campaign.

Their campaign is but the latest example of a perfect storm brewing that threatens the core of Israel’s democratic character. One can clearly connect the dots between what’s happening in Sheikh Jarrah and to women at the Kotel to this latest ugly attack against this former Knesset member with a distinguished record of service to Israel.

Israel should be a symbol of Jewish and democratic values in action. It was founded with a strong commitment to the values of justice, equality, and democracy that are core to the Jewish people.

An attack – such as the unconscionable ads run by Im Tirtzu – on those who would defend that vision of Israel is an attack on all of us who hold these values dear.

Pro-Israel Americans should stand up for Israeli democracy, not work to actively undermine it. We call on Americans who care about the character and quality of Israel’s democracy and civil society to join us in calling on Im Tirtzu to cease their despicable campaign.

J Street applauds Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman’s recent public remarks on the urgency of achieving a two-solution.

As Chairman Berman put it, Israel is presented with a “democracy-demography problem” and “either it would eventually have to rule over a disenfranchised Palestinian majority, or if it enfranchises the Palestinians, Israel would eventually cease to be Jewish.”

Speaking at an Americans for Peace Now luncheon in Los Angeles, he added two lessons from his nearly three decades in the U.S. Congress. One, that “there were indeed many Palestinians who were prepared to accept Israel and who genuinely believe in coexistence, [and two], I discovered the immense toll the occupation is taking on Israel.”

It is not always easy to tell the truth about the dark doors that may open in Israel and the region should we fail to achieve a two-state solution in the near term.

Yet in short order, Chairman Berman laid bare the stark contours of the immense and chilling challenges that Israel faces should it not be able to secure a two-state agreement with the Palestinians.

We are proud to share Chairman Berman’s commitment to the security of the state of Israel and belief in the urgency of achieving a two-state solution.

By working hand-in-hand with leaders like Chairman Berman, propelled forward by a shared sense of urgency and hope for a better future, we can achieve real peace and security for Israel as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people through a two-state solution.

Today, J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami released the following statement:

J Street is deeply concerned by recent actions taken by Israeli authorities in response to protests and dissent in Jerusalem and the occupied territories.

Last week, 17 political activists were illegally detained by police in Sheikh Jarrah, where growing numbers of Israeli and Palestinian activists are holding weekly protests against settler takeovers of long-time Palestinian family homes in East Jerusalem. The Israeli courts have ruled the arrests illegal, yet authorities refused to grant permission for another protest rally today and a situation, possibly involving additional arrests, is currently unfolding.

As J Street has stated before, this is hardly the time to open up the question of pre-1948 property ownership on either side of the Green Line, or to bring strident settler groups, such as Ateret Cohanim, to an East Jerusalem neighborhood that previous negotiations designated as part of a future Palestinian capital. J Street stands together with the protesters in opposition to unilateral actions in East Jerusalem that only set back the chances for peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and are an affront to traditional Jewish conceptions of justice and fairness.

Equally troubling, the Director of Israel’s Religious Action Center, Anat Hoffman, was recently questioned by police, fingerprinted, and threatened with charges for the “crime” of leading a women’s prayer service at the Western Wall. And, just this week came troubling news reports that a Jewish-American journalist, employed by the US-funded Palestinian Maan news agency in the West Bank, was deported from Israel for his “anti-Israel” views, and that employees and volunteers for NGOs working on the West Bank are having work permits and visas denied on an increasing basis.

These and other actions paint a troubling picture of increasing intimidation of dissent and decreasing tolerance for free speech – trends that threaten Israel’s vibrant democracy.

Some Israeli politicians may believe that these actions send a message of strength to those who would undermine the State of Israel. They do not. They simply weaken Israel’s standing as a democracy committed to free speech and civil rights.

The core Jewish and democratic values enshrined in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and embodied in its Law of Human Dignity are key to the strength of the US-Israel relationship and critical to Israel’s vital relationships with world Jewry. Weakening them weakens Israel.

We stand in solidarity with all activists, Israeli and Palestinian, who are peacefully exercising their legitimate democratic rights. And we stand with our friends in Israel who are doing the hard, on-the-ground work, at great personal risk, of advocating for a strong and democratic Israel that is the national home for the Jewish people and enjoys a secure peace with its neighbors.

For the sake of the security of Israel and for the sake of the soul of the Jewish people, we are with you.

J Street applauds Israel’s immediate and meaningful response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti last week.  We are proud of and grateful to the many Israelis who have risked their own lives to save those in dire need of medical attention and other emergency services.

Israel’s swift response to another nation’s needs speaks to the very best of the values underpinning the Jewish tradition and the best of what that country represents as the national home of the Jewish people. It did, in this instance, serve as a real model for the international community.

We urge those who might otherwise disagree with Israeli policy and action to commend Israel for reacting so swiftly and making a positive contribution at this time of urgent international need.

These endorsements kick off a new election cycle for JStreetPAC, which distributed more money to candidates than any other pro-Israel federal political action committee in the 2008 cycle, according to FEC reports. Today’s endorsements are only the first of many the PAC plans to make in 2010, as it looks to expand its political and financial impact. In total, JStreetPAC plans a 50% increase over last cycle in both endorsements and disbursements.

In 2008, JStreetPAC disbursed $578,186 to 41 candidates. Thirty-three of the PAC’s endorsees went on to win their elections. In 2009, the PAC also helped tip the scales in now-Congressmen Bill Owens and Scott Murphy’s hotly contested special elections and came to the aid of Reps. Donna Edwards and Steve Cohen with significant internet fundraisers.

“By providing tangible support for members of Congress and candidates who stand up for a pro-Israel, pro-peace American foreign policy, we’ve begun to open up the much-needed political space for an honest conversation on how we best serve the interests of Israel and the United States,” said JStreetPAC Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami.

“These candidates understand that the United States must play an active role in bringing about a two-state solution and a comprehensive, regional peace,” said Ben-Ami, “not only for the sake of Israel and Palestinians - but also for our own national interests.”

The first group of JStreetPAC 2010 endorsees features candidates from 24 states and represents the breadth and depth of the PAC’s support. Among those endorsed today are four committee chairmen, three subcommittee chairmen, four members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, five members of the House Appropriations Committee, and leading members of the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses. The endorsees also include eight Jewish candidates and one of two Muslim members of Congress.

A complete list of endorsees, as well as reactions from a number of featured candidates, follows below the jump.

“JStreetPAC’s successes and the considerable growth we are anticipating in our second election cycle demonstrate the momentum being built behind pro-Israel candidates committed to diplomacy and to security through peace,” said Ben-Ami. “This year, the PAC’s work will continue to make it clear that the single most pro-Israel thing we can do is actively work to achieve peace between Israel and her neighbors.”

Targeted endorsed candidates will be featured in email appeals to J Street’s 140,000 supporters.

JStreetPAC launched in April 2008 as the first and only federal political action committee established to explicitly promote meaningful American leadership to end the Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. The PAC provides political and financial support to candidates for federal office from Americans who believe an active American role in the Middle East will best advance U.S. interests in the region and promote real peace and security for Israel and its neighbors. The PAC is legally unconnected to J Street, a 501(c)(4) lobby and advocacy organization, and the J Street Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization for education and outreach.

For more information, visit www.jstreet.org.

JStreetPAC 2010 CONGRESSIONAL ENDORSEES:

• Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
• Rep. Charles Boustany (LA-07)
• Rep. Michael Capuano (MA-08)
• Rep. Lois Capps (CA-23)
• Rep. Russ Carnahan (MO-03)
• Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09)
• Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11)
• Rep. Susan Davis (CA-53)
• Rep. William Delahunt (MA-10)
• Rep. Donna Edwards (MD-04)
• Rep. Keith Ellison (MN-05)
• Sen. Russ Feingold (WI)
• Rep. Bob Filner (CA-51)
• Rep. Barney Frank (MA-04)
• Rep. Charles Gonzalez (TX-20)
• Rep. Deborah Halvorson (IL-11)
• Rep. Jim Himes (CT-04)
• Rep. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)
• Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12)
• Rep. Jay Inslee (WA-01)
• Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15)
• Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04)
• Rep. Ron Kind (WI-03)
• Rep. Dan Maffei (NY-25)
• Rep. Betsy Markey (CO-04)
• Rep. Eric Massa (NY-29)
• Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04)
• Rep. Jim McGovern (MA-03)
• Rep. George Miller (CA-07)
• Rep. Scott Murphy (NY-20)
• Rep. Bill Owens (NY-23)
• Rep. Tom Perriello (VA-05)
• Doug Pike (PA-06)
• Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
• Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02)
• Steve Pougnet (CA-45)
• Rep. David Price (NC-04)
• Rep. Charles Rangel (NY-15)
• Rep. Janice Schakowsky (IL-09)
• Rep. Peter Welch (VT-At Large)
• Rep. John Yarmuth (KY-03)

FROM THE CANDIDATES ON THEIR ENDORSEMENT

Representative Charles Boustany (R-LA-07)
“The coming years will prove pivotal to achieving a sustainable peace in the Middle East, and I look forward to working with the leaders and members of J Street to help the process continue. Developing strategic and responsible policies to promote peace in the region must be our common goal. I appreciate the support of J Street to accomplish this goal.”

Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO-03)
“Israel is our strongest democratic ally in the Middle East, and among one of our closest around the globe. With a renewed emphasis on international engagement, I am hopeful the peace process can move forward and a lasting peace in the Middle East will be established. People of the region have been unable to live in peace for entirely too long.”

Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09)
“I am honored to once again have the support of JStreetPAC in my 2010 reelection. J Street has grown in stature and influence in a very short span of time and reaches diverse segments of American society united in their hopes of a peaceful Middle East and a strong Israel.”

Representative Barney Frank (D-MA-04)
“JStreetPAC plays an important role in maintaining a strong level of support in the United States for a solution that will bring peace to the Middle East in a manner that is fully consistent with Israel’s security needs, and the right of the Israeli people to live as a democratic, Jewish state. JStreetPAC’s outreach to important segments of the American community to mobilize support for this approach is an important asset, and I am proud to work with them and to be endorsed by them.”

Representative Charles Gonzalez (D-TX-20)
“Thank you to all J Street supporters for this endorsement. I firmly believe that a negotiated two-state solution is achievable without jeopardizing Israel’s safety and security.”

Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA-04)
“I thank J Street for its support and look forward to a close and fruitful partnership. My commitments to the peace process, Israel’s security, and the Jewish community in my district are unwavering.”

Representative Betsy Markey (D-CO-04)
“I visited Israel this past August and came back with a clear understanding that peace and security go very much hand in hand. I strongly support J Street’s call for active American engagement in the two-state process and am honored to accept their endorsement.”

Representative George Miller (D-CA-07)
“I greatly appreciate J Street’s support for me, but more importantly I appreciate what J Street is doing to open the debate in Congress and throughout the United States on critical policy issues facing the United States and Israel. America’s partnership with Israel and our mutual quest for a lasting peace in the Middle East is strengthened by the excellent work of J Street.”

Representative Bill Owens (D-NY-23)
“I am proud to accept the endorsement of JStreetPAC. The work that J Street did on my behalf was vital to ensuring my victory in 2009, and with their continued support I know our campaign will be successful again this November. I look forward to working with J Street to achieve an even stronger US-Israel relationship and to bring peace to the region.”

Representative Jared Polis (D-CO-02)
“As a member of Congress and a Jewish-American committed to Israel’s future, I commend J Street for its efforts to move the peace process forward and encourage dialogue within the pro-Israel community. They are filling an important void and doing vital work, and I couldn’t be prouder to accept JStreetPAC’s endorsement.”

Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09)
“I am proud to have JStreetPAC’s endorsement and to work together to further the long-term security interests of Israel. I believe that the United States can and must play a positive role in winning a peace agreement that provides long-lasting stability through a two-state solution, an end to terrorism and violence, and a foundation upon which to build economic prosperity in the region.”

We’re pitching in what we can and hope that you’ll take a moment to do the same.  Repair the World has put together a list of a few organizations doing emergency relief work in Haiti:

American Jewish World Service · Through grants and on-the-ground service, AJWS works around the world to alleviate hunger, poverty and disease.

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee · For nearly 100 years, JDC has worked as a leading emergency relief organization within the Jewish world and built expertise they now use in urgent situations around the world.

Partners in Health · Partners in Health has a long history of working in Haiti, working to build capacity for modern medicine and alleviate the root causes of disease in their communities.

Being Israel’s ambassador

Being an Israeli ambassador these days can’t be easy. On the one hand, you’re working for a prime minister whose strong suit is public relations, who at least talks of peace with the Palestinians and who has consistently judged that engaging in the diplomatic process rather than refusing to talk plays better with domestic and international audiences.

On the other hand, you’re working for a foreign minister who seems to have missed Diplomacy 101 during his orientation. This boss dismisses traditional diplomacy as “groveling” and prefers that Israel lecture the world rather than engage it.

Talk about a rock and a hard place. As one of your bosses talks up the Israeli interest in negotiation and compromise, the other pulls the country unflinchingly toward a racist, undemocratic future.

Along comes a pro-Israel lobby anxious to support the government if it moves beyond speeches about peace to serious action to end the occupation and save the country’s Jewish and democratic character - and what should you do?

One natural diplomatic instinct might be to build the biggest possible tent for pro-Israel advocacy, including those who disagree at times with government policies.

If you happened to be a student of history and a more-than-casual observer of the American Jewish community, you would undoubtedly note that Israeli ambassadors have long dealt with pro-Israel groups who disagree publicly (and at times vehemently) with the government - whether over Oslo or the Gaza withdrawal or, going back 30 years, over withdrawal from the Sinai.

However, returning home to Jerusalem this past week, you would have gotten little clear guidance from your bosses. You would have heard the prime minister say that the conditions are ripe for a peace agreement with the Palestinians and the foreign minister calling those same Palestinians a “bunch of terrorists” with whom there is no chance of achieving peace for a generation.

So are you charged with building the largest possible base of support for historic compromise, or with rallying a smaller core of true believers to circle the wagons for a fight to the bitter end?

Those of us in the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement enter 2010 hoping that the present government will recognize that the clock has run out on stalling and delay, that the two-state solution is on life support and that the time has come to take the tough steps needed to end the occupation.

If that is the road this government chooses, then its ambassador can count on a ready and willing ally anxious to help. We can lobby on Capitol Hill for the commitments necessary to ensure a lasting and secure peace - including investments necessary to compensate settlers moving back to the State of Israel and Palestinian refugees moving to the state of Palestine.

We can advocate forcefully within the American Jewish community, attempting to persuade those who do not yet understand - as each of the last several prime ministers have come to realize - that there is no future forIsrael as a Jewish and democratic home without a two-state solution based on extensive territorial compromise based on the 1967 lines with swaps.

And we can stand up to those who would put the full brunt of blame and penalty on Israel, whether at the UN, on college campuses or in the blogosphere.

And as pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans, we are perfectly situated to make the case to President Barack Obama and the international community for the strongest possible security guarantees ifIsrael does indeed withdraw from the occupied territories in return for peace.

Ours is the easier job. We know what we believe and can say clearly what we stand for - an Israel that is Jewish and democratic; an end to the occupation of the Palestinian people; two states living side by side in peace and security; a comprehensive regional peace that brings full recognition ofIsrael’s right to exist and of its borders, and full acceptance into the community of nations.

I imagine it’s far harder to be an ambassador when it isn’t clear whether your marching orders are engagement or confrontation, or whether your government is serious about ending the conflict or is simply feigning interest as a delaying tactic to preserve an increasingly unsustainable status quo.