Friends,
President Biden makes his first official visit to Israel as president next week as part of a larger Middle East tour.
The president will undoubtedly reaffirm his commitment to Israel’s security, its integration into the region and the two-state solution.
That’s what we’d expect from the 12th-ever official presidential visit to Israel.
What’s unprecedented, however, is the challenge that the right-wing and the settlement movement are placing in front of President Biden.
The government has just announced plans for over 4,000 new settlement units on occupied territory. Unprecedented demolitions of Palestinian villages in Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills are moving forward and threaten thousands of people’s homes. And planning meetings to advance the disastrous E1 settlement project are scheduled just days after the visit.
Friends -- For the sake of Israel’s democratic future, Palestinian rights and the administration’s own commitment to equality, security and freedom, it’s vital that President Biden meet this moment.
In meetings with the Biden administration and on Capitol Hill, J Street is pressing for clear, decisive leadership from the administration on all these urgent issues. Now, we’re asking you to add your name:
President Biden: It’s Time to Push Back on Illegal Settlements
Add your name if you agree ✍️
As the settlement movement continues to entrench permanent, undemocratic control over the West Bank and the millions who live there, it’s critical for the United States to demonstrate our clear commitment to equality, democracy and peace.
We must stand up for our shared interest in peace and for our shared democratic values.
The old political playbook telling American leaders they must not criticize Israeli government policies is out of date and ineffectual.
So many of us who care deeply about Israel -- including many of its own security leaders -- know that a commitment to Israel’s security and Jewish self-determination must encompass a commitment to human rights, international law and Palestinian self-determination.
Working to oppose settlements, end the occupation and finally, peacefully resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via a two-state solution is clearly in the best interests of both peoples.
This trip is a golden opportunity for President Biden to make that clear.
Please add your name to our call for President Biden to meet this moment and forcefully push back on the settlement movement and the threat it poses to Israel’s democracy and security, Palestinian rights, and the values that underpin the US-Israel relationship itself.
President Biden: It’s Time to Push Back on Illegal Settlements
Add your name if you agree ✍️
Thank you, sincerely, for your support.
Yours,
Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street
