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.
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.
Contact Your Member of Congress >>
Thank you, again, for everything that you do.
Yours,
Congressman Andy Levin
Michigan’s 9th District
