[ ]J Street [ ]
Dear J Street Supporters,

In a few hours, I’ll be introducing a new bill in Congress -- called the
Two-State Solution Act -- to support peace, justice and self-determination
for Israelis and Palestinians. A new bill designed to make sure American
policy truly matches our goals and values.

I want you to be the first to hear about it, and I also want to humbly ask
for your help in building support for it in Congress and in our
communities.

But first, I want you to know this is a truly important and deeply
personal bill for me. As a Jewish American, I was raised with a strong
attachment to Israel. In my twenties, I helped organize an interfaith
delegation to Israel and Palestine. It was an experience that brought the
urgency, pain and injustice of the status quo into stark relief.

Years later, I had the privilege of again visiting Israel and Palestine on
a J Street Education Fund congressional delegation. I met with so many
amazing activists whose work inspired and moved me. But I also saw how
little had changed in the decades since my first trip -- and how, if
anything, the injustices on the ground and obstacles to peace had only
grown worse.

I’m reminded of this every time an escalation in Gaza puts so many Israeli
and Palestinian lives at risk. Every time a home demolition in occupied
territory destroys a family’s dreams. Every time a terror attack sends
Israelis rushing into bomb shelters and pours fuel on the fire of
injustice, retaliation and conflict. Every time a new settlement pushes
Palestinian self-determination further from reach.

Year by year, I worry that we’re watching our shared dream of Israel as a
just and truly democratic homeland slipping further and further from view
-- and watching as Palestinian rights are trampled by the systemic
injustice of endless occupation. I worry that for all our good intentions,
the US hasn’t done enough to make things better.

This new bill is about what we can do to reverse that trend.

As with any conversation on this topic, we can expect a significant amount
of noise and misinformation -- so I want to tell you directly and clearly
what this bill does, and to ask for your help in building support.

Here’s what the legislation does:

* Makes clear that the US believes settlements in occupied territory
violate international law and Palestinian human rights.
* Officially reverses destructive steps taken by President Trump that
legitimized illegal settlements and erased the distinction between
Israel and the territory it occupies.
* Reaffirms support for current levels of security assistance to Israel,
while applying clear end-use restrictions on this aid to ensure it can
only be used for legitimate security needs -- and cannot be used to
support the expansion of settlements and creeping annexation of
Palestinian territory.
* Supports the restoration of diplomatic engagement by urging the
reopening of the US consulate in Jerusalem and encouraging the
reopening of the PLO mission in Washington, DC.
* Invests in crucial people-to-people peace-building programs for
Israelis and Palestinians.

Taken together, I believe these steps will show the United States is
serious about Israeli-Palestinian peace, addressing root causes of the
conflict, and pushing back on destructive policies that aim to prevent a
two-state solution from ever becoming reality.

That’s why I’m asking you to take a moment now to contact your member of
Congress and ask them to co-sponsor this bill.

[ [link removed] ]Contact Your Member of Congress >>

There’s no doubt the overwhelming majority of my colleagues support a
two-state solution. There’s no doubt the Biden administration, like most
administrations prior to Trump, also supports a two-state solution.
There’s no doubt that it would be embraced by the region and pave the way
for stronger, sustainable partnerships within the Middle East.

The question is, what are we doing to make it a reality? What are we doing
to push back against destructive policies -- like settlements, annexation,
demolitions and incitement -- that fuel a cycle of injustice, retaliation,
violence and endless occupation?

That’s what this new bill is about. It’s about making sure that the United
States is part of the solution for Israelis and Palestinians, and not part
of the problem.

It’s about making sure that the two-state solution isn’t just a talking
point or a pipe dream, but a true goal that we’re striving for every day,
never losing sight of the fact that every day that goes by without
progress is another day of injustice and danger for millions of people.

I want to thank my wonderful colleagues who have already signed on as
original co-sponsors of this bill, including Representatives Don Beyer,
Earl Blumenauer, Joaquin Castro, Steve Cohen, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Gerry
Connolly, Lloyd Doggett, Anna Eshoo, Jared Huffman, Sara Jacobs, Eddie
Bernice Johnson, Ro Khanna, Dan Kildee, Annie Kuster, Barbara Lee, Alan
Lowenthal, Jim McGovern, David Price, Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky, Jackie
Speier, Peter Welch and John Yarmuth.

And I want to thank you, for everything you’ve done as part of the
pro-Israel, pro-peace movement to create political space for elected
officials to do what’s just, right and in our long-term interests.
Everything you’ve done to make clear that the majority of American Jews
support peace, justice and self-determination for both Israelis and
Palestinians, and refuse to accept a future of endless conflict.

I think this bill truly has the capacity to help put US policy on this
conflict back on the right path (and not just because I authored it!).

If you have the time, please take a moment now to contact your
representative's office and ask them to co-sponsor it. We the people have
a great deal of power when we act together -- and as I well know, nobody’s
voices matter more to myself and my colleagues than those of our own
constituents.

[ [link removed] ]Contact Your Member of Congress >>

Thank you, again, for everything that you do.

Yours,

Congressman Andy Levin
Michigan’s 9th District


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© 2021 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace 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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