[ ]J Street[ ]
On Thursday night, President Biden will deliver the 2024 State of the
Union. Undoubtedly, the catastrophic war in Gaza that has followed the
horrific October 7 Hamas attack will be front and center.

The following is an open letter to the President regarding his
consequential speech.

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Dear President Biden,

I hope you are well aware of the deep gratitude most Jewish Americans and
friends of Israel feel toward you for the support you demonstrated to the
state and people of Israel following the horrific October 7 Hamas attack.

You have shown amazing empathy for the victims, the hostages and their
families, as well as for the trauma still being experienced by Israelis
and their friends across the world.

You have also stated clearly that the government of Israel must pursue its
defense of the country’s borders and people, the release of the hostages
and pursuit of the perpetrators of the attack within the bounds of
international law. You have urged the Israeli government to live up to
standards that liberal democracies must embrace not just as a matter of
law, but of morality.

It is deeply painful for many of us who care about Israel to acknowledge
that the Netanyahu government has failed to uphold those moral – and
possibly even legal – standards in its conduct of the war.

On Thursday, I hope you will find a way to demonstrate deep, personal
concern both for the Israeli people and for the people of Gaza. I know, as
you do, that the suffering of the Palestinian people and the humanitarian
crisis of unimaginable proportions they are enduring is not simply due to
the Israeli offensive but that Hamas bears much responsibility for the
suffering as its leaders and fighters hide beneath and among the civilian
population of the Gaza Strip.

Israelis, Palestinians and others in the region need more than empathy,
though. They need your leadership. They look to the United States as the
“indispensable player” – and those of good will hoping for a more secure
and peaceful future are looking to you for a vision and a plan to get
there.

To that end, I hope you will make six key points on Thursday:

 1. There must be an immediate negotiated ceasefire that stops the
fighting for a considerable period, frees the remaining hostages and
surges humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
 2. You will do all in your power to ensure that sufficient humanitarian
assistance – food, fuel, water, medicine, shelter – reaches Gazans in
the coming days, with or without a ceasefire. Acknowledge that you
personally understand that lives hang in the balance and that you are
committed to ensuring the necessary help. In tandem, you will, I know,
reiterate your deep, personal commitment to the security of the people
of Israel not only from attacks by Hamas, but Hezbollah, the Houthis
and other Iran-backed groups in the region.
 3. Recognize that nearly 57 years of Israeli occupation must end and
declare your support for the establishment of a demilitarized
Palestinian state. You can express your hope to be the American
President who formally recognizes the state of Palestine and supports
its admission to the United Nations. You can make clear that – for
this to happen – very serious reforms are needed from the Palestinian
Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization, and you should list
out some of the more prominent conditions, including reform of the
prisoner payments program, addressing corruption, shoring up democracy
and more.
 4. Reiterate Secretary of State Blinken’s recent statement that Israeli
settlements in the territory it occupies are inconsistent with
international law and that the United States will take meaningful
actions to crack down on settler violence and ensure that Israel stops
expanding settlements in areas that will be part of a Palestinian
state and ends practices such as home demolitions that undermine the
possibility of ending the conflict.
 5. Outline how eventual statehood for Palestine is only one piece of a
bold vision for the future of the region – one in which Israel has
meaningful security, guaranteed by fully normalized relations with all
its neighbors. Make clear that you intend in the coming months to
pursue normalization for Israel with Saudi Arabia and other nations in
the Arab and Muslim world, provided Israel agrees to a pathway to a
Palestinian state. You should be the first President to formally
mention and support the Arab Peace Initiative in a State of the Union.
 6. Finally, make clear to the Israeli and Palestinian people that the
future is in their hands. There is a path to security, dignity and
prosperity for both peoples, and there is also the path of
never-ending conflict and bloodshed. The US will rally friends around
the world to support the two peoples if they choose a future of peace
and mutual recognition. You should make it equally clear that those
not willing to sign on to that vision and respect the rule of law will
no longer have our unquestioning support.

Mr. President, a balanced speech along these lines that speaks directly to
the people involved – over the heads of leaders who have been obstacles to
peace in the past – is not only the right policy for the United States, it
meets the political moment. Your supporters and the majority of the
American people want peace and security for both peoples and a regional
security architecture that protects our national interests.

Please know that – in J Street – you have a partner in taking the bold
steps needed to end the current nightmare and build meaningful opportunity
out of this horrendous disaster.

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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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