CONTACT: Alanna Margulies
[email protected]
Foreign Policy Fellow
Endowment for Middle East Truth
(202) 601-7422
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EMET EXPRESSES ITS PROFOUND GRATITUDE TO THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO SIGNED LETTERS IN SUPPORT OF ISRAELI EXTENSION OF SOVEREIGNTY OVER PARTS OF JUDEA AND SAMARIA
(Washington, D.C., June 24, 2020) The Endowment for Middle East Truth applauds Senate and House Republicans for their letter to President Trump supporting Israel’s right to extend sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. These letters, signed by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and John Barrasso (R-WY) and 116 members of the House of Representatives, led by Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), recognize the legal right of the Israeli government to apply Israeli law on the over 500,000 Jews living in this disputed territory.
The members of Congress who signed these letters have demonstrated that they are true friends of Israel. They have shown that they are dedicated to supporting the democratically-elected Israeli government as it decides how to best protect its citizens and secure its future. They recognize that this move is necessary for Israel to remain a sovereign nation with defensible borders.
As these members of Congress appreciate, extending sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria signals a much needed paradigm shift in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. After 27 years of trying to negotiate with the Palestinians, Israel has come to the conclusion that the model laid out in the Oslo Accords cannot work if they do not have a partner in peace on the other side of the negotiating table. Instead, under the new model laid out by the Trump peace plan, Israel will start taking concrete action in pursuit of a secure and peaceful future as the homeland of the Jewish people.
EMET expresses its immense gratitude to the members of Congress who signed these letters. They have stated unequivocally that not only international law, but also its friends in the US Congress stand fully behind Israel as it takes key steps to promote stability in the region and peace on its borders. In the face of many of Israel’s so-called “friends” failing to stand up and support their ally, EMET is proud to know that these 7 Senators and 116 Representatives continue to advocate for what is best for Israeli and American interests moving forward.
Says EMET Founder and President, Sarah Stern, “Israel has tried, in good faith, for 27 years to reach out to the Palestinians with incredibly generous offers, and each offer has been met with Palestinian rejectionism, intransigence and yet another wave of violence. We do not believe in rewarding bad behavior. We have endorsed the Trump plan, because for the first time, it gives some agency to the Palestinians for their previous conduct. It is about time that the Oslo experiment be recognized for what it was: a failure. We, at EMET, are exceedingly grateful to the 7 Republican Senators and 116 Republicans in the House of Representatives who appreciate that Israel needs defensible borders, so it can defend itself, by itself.”
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Founded in 2005, The Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) is a Washington, D.C. based think tank and policy center with an unabashedly pro-America and pro-Israel stance. EMET (which means truth in Hebrew) prides itself on challenging the falsehoods and misrepresentations that abound in U.S. Middle East policy.
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