Brit Tzedek v Shalom and JStreet support Settlement Freeze call
Will You Back Obama for a Settlement Freeze?
Show your support by signing Brit Tzedek’s “We’ve Got Your Back, Mr. President!” pledge.
If you’re on Facebook, click here, so you can ask your friends to sign the pledge.
The Obama Administration is tackling the contentious settlement issue head on. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated yesterday that President Obama “wants to see a stop to settlements — not some settlements, not outposts, not ‘natural growth’ exceptions…We think it is in the best interests [of the peace process] that settlement expansion cease. That is our position. That is what we have communicated very clearly… And we intend to press that point.”
Support for the Administration’s settlement policies have come from key Jewish members of Congress, including Reps. Henry Waxman and Howard Berman and Senator Carl Levin. This change in Washington is because of the work you have done. By advocating for peace tirelessly and by shifting the dialogue surrounding the conflict, you and all of Brit Tzedek’s supporters have made an incalculable contribution to current American foreign policy.
But now, it will get hard. As the Israeli government pushes back, many in the old-school leadership of the American Jewish community will try to pressure the Obama Administration to back off. Today, our most important job is to make sure that the Administration and Congress both know that we, like the vast majority of American Jews, support a two-state solution. We must tell President Obama: We have your back!
Signal that support by signing Brit Tzedek’s “We’ve Got Your Back, Mr. President!” pledge.
Resources:
Key Lawmakers Are Opposing Israeli Policy On Settlements by Nathan Guttman. The Jewish Daily Forward. May 27, 2009.
Clinton: Israel Must Halt West Bank Settlements by Robert Burns. The Huffington Post. May 27, 2009
Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, The Jewish Alliance for Justice Peace
Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a full settlement freeze, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that President Obama “wants to see a stop to settlements – not some settlements, not outposts, not natural-growth exceptions.”
Amen. A freeze means a freeze. This is exactly the sort of leadership we need from the President and Secretary of State if we are going to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – the only way to truly secure Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic homeland.
You can bet the Obama Administration is already hearing from hawkish voices on Israel – urging him to make exceptions, allow for more settlement growth, and to go slow. We’ve got to make sure the President knows pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans support his strong line on settlements, for both Israel’s and America’s sake and security. Send a message to the President here in support of his “Freeze means Freeze” approach to Israeli settlements.