[ ]J Street[ ]
Friends,

For too long, the Middle East has been mired in conflict not because the
differences fueling it are unresolvable, but because of failures of vision
and political leadership.

In this moment of despair and anguish, President Biden has the opportunity
to show that vision and leadership.

The broad outlines of a peaceful solution have been clear for decades. In
2002, the Arab League offered Israel full recognition and acceptance in
return for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict – delivering peace, safety, self-determination and freedom to
both peoples in states of their own.

The more specific parameters of a conflict-ending agreement between
Israelis and Palestinians have also been clear for two decades; answers to
every outstanding question have been negotiated and outlined in model
peace agreements.

What has been lacking are leaders with the courage to sell a bold vision
of a better future to their people, and the strength and will to lead them
there.

This vacuum has been filled by others offering anger, mistrust and
extremism. The result: Never-ending cycles of violence and retaliation,
the inexcusable horror of October 7, the devastation of the ongoing war in
Gaza, and endless occupation in the West Bank.

The first priority for diplomats right now must of course be negotiating
an immediate stop to the fighting, the release of hostages and the
delivery of humanitarian aid, but there is also a crying need for a
longer-term vision for ending the underlying conflict, and a plan to get
there.

President Biden rightly stated early in the conflict that “there’s no
going back to the status quo as it stood on October the 6th. There has to
be a vision of what comes next. In our view, it has to be a two-state
solution.”

We agree.

That’s why J Street is urging President Biden to boldly state America’s
readiness to recognize a demilitarized state of Palestine as the
centerpiece of a comprehensive regional diplomatic initiative.

Recognition of Palestine is central to [ [link removed] ]J Street’s proposal to the
President on how to turn this horrific crisis into a generational
opportunity for all key parties – Israelis, Palestinians, Saudis, and the
Arab League.

Key to charting a path to this “political horizon” is the continued strong
desire, even in the post-October 7 reality, for normalization of relations
between Israel and many of its Arab neighbors, in particular Saudi Arabia.
Yet, Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations continue to make crystal clear
that even as they remain interested in normalizing relations with Israel,
they cannot proceed without recognition of Palestine.

That is why serious proponents of two states, including the [ [link removed] ]United
Kingdom, have begun discussing recognition of Palestinian statehood en
route – ie. prior to, and as a catalyst for – a conflict-ending agreement
in which Israel also ultimately recognizes Palestinian statehood.

Showing the Palestinians that major world powers are serious enough about
two states to take the step of Palestinian recognition – even against the
wishes of the sitting Israeli government – may be the only realistic way
to overcome understandable Palestinian doubts.

This is where bold presidential leadership comes in: The world and the
parties need someone to lay out a plan – with specific steps and a
timetable – for getting as rapidly as possible from the horror of conflict
to a future of peace and security for all.

The only person with the credibility and the influence to lay out such a
plan is the American President, and the world is waiting on American
leadership to break the horror of the status quo.

Among the components of the plan:

* The specific steps Palestinians must take to revitalize and reinvent
their government with new leadership committed to addressing
corruption, demilitarization, renouncing terror and violence, and
reaffirming recognition of Israel;
* The specific steps Israel must take to ease occupation and improve
daily life on the West Bank, crack down on settler violence and
address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza;
* The incentives the President is ready to offer the parties – American
recognition of Palestinian statehood, reaffirmation of the Arab Peace
Initiative and security guarantees for all parties, commitments to
supporting international law; and
* A UN Security Council Resolution affirming global and unanimous
support for the vision, the process and the parameters for negotiation
leading to a final status agreement and admission of Palestine as a
full member state in the United Nations.

By outlining a peaceful path to freedom, independence and statehood, the
United States will bolster moderate Palestinian leadership, disempower
Hamas and reduce the levels of despair and disenfranchisement upon which
extremists feed.

President Biden has amassed an extraordinary reservoir of goodwill in
Israel for his unshakeable commitment to Israel’s defense. Now is the time
to draw on that trust to lay out the choice of path that the Israeli
people must ultimately make.

For decades, millions of Israelis and millions of Palestinians have wanted
nothing more than to live on their land in peace, freedom and equality.

Now is the time for President Biden to lay out a bold, comprehensive
program to reach that goal – grounded in the two-state solution, building
on regional normalization and recognizing the existence and legitimacy of
a state that is the national homeland of the Palestinian people, alongside
the national homeland of the Jewish people, Israel.

Yours in hope,

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street

PS. The J Street Policy Center's [ [link removed] ]full proposal can be found here, with
an [ [link removed] ]in-depth FAQ response here. To support our advocacy for a new era of
pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy American leadership, please
[ [link removed] ]consider a donation to strengthen our movement.


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J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the
Jewish people. Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we
advocate policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish
and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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