Approved with amendments by the Board of Governors – October 25, 2009

 AJC welcomes the commitment by President Obama to Israel’s security, well-being, rightful place in the community of nations, and its character as a Jewish state – as well as the President’s repeated affirmation of the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel.

Reasserting AJC’s long-held position, we further welcome the President’s vision of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a Jewish State of Israel existing in peace and security beside a Palestinian Arab state established through direct negotiations requiring compromise by both parties.

AJC applauds Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for “a permanent peace treaty” with the Palestinians, building on the June 14 speech in which he embraced a two-state solution, emphasized that regional recognition of Israel’s identity as the national home of the Jewish people is fundamental to its peace and security, and stated his willingness to immediately restart negotiations with the Palestinians without preconditions. We likewise commend the Prime Minister for his plan to promote economic development on the West Bank. Bettering the economic condition of West Bank residents would be a constructive step toward improved relationships and the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

AJC considers President Obama’s June 4 speech in Cairo, setting forth “a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,” to have been a useful step toward establishing a new understanding in Muslim-majority countries about U.S. principles and priorities, which will contribute to U.S. efforts toward a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The President also spoke in Cairo of the Holocaust, and condemned those who would deny its truth. AJC believes the world must understand that Israel owes its existence to several millennia of historical and religious connection to the land, and successive generations of Zionist pioneers, fighters and nation-builders – and not just to the tragedies of the Holocaust.

We recognize the challenges to achieving the two-state vision, especially the paralyzing stand-off between Palestinian factions. The terrorist organization Hamas, having usurped power in Gaza, denies Israel’s right to exist, promulgates anti-Semitism, holds captive the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and uses civilians as a shield for rocket attacks against Israelis. Meanwhile, the leadership of Fatah, controlling the Palestinian Authority and the West Bank, conditionally pledges peace but is reluctant to accept Israel as a Jewish state and does little to prepare its people for reconciliation. In fact, it too often takes part in the demonization of Israel.

In addition, we are fully aware of the risks to Israel’s security and to the safety of the world posed by outside forces – in particular, Iran’s attempt to develop nuclear weapons capability and its sponsorship of armed terrorist groups throughout the region. We rely on continued leadership by the United States, in concert with like-minded states, to help eliminate those risks. The support of key nations in the United Nations Security Council is essential for this purpose. The Administration has, correctly we believe, not taken the possibility of further significant sanctions or any other option off the table in the event other measures fail.

As stated in the Roadmap to Peace, put forward by the Quartet in 2003, both parties must fulfill their obligations to assure the success of negotiations. Key among these are the Palestinians’ decisive action against terror and incitement, and Israel’s reciprocal action to help create the conditions for a viable Palestinian state, “normalize Palestinian life,” and address the issue of settlements. In a public exchange of letters in 2004, Prime Minister Sharon accepted the Roadmap and detailed his government’s plans for complete disengagement from Gaza, while President Bush acknowledged “new realities” in defining Israel’s final borders.

We also wish to take note of the “parameters” articulated by President Clinton in 2000, which laid out in detail his view of the compromises that would be required of both parties to achieve a peace agreement. Those parameters, like President Bush’s letter of 2004, recognized that Israel cannot expect to retain the entire West Bank, but neither can it be expected to return to the borders that existed prior to the Six-Day War of 1967 – boundaries that, in fact, represented the armistice lines at the conclusion of the 1948 War of Independence.

AJC regards the fulfillment of all Roadmap obligations – by all parties – as essential to enhancing Israel’s long-term security, the historic achievement of Palestinian political rights, and the reduction of regional instability. While settlements, borders and other final status issues will be critical subjects of negotiation, we see the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the realization of full Arab-Israeli peace, lying ultimately in the recognition by the Arab world of Israel’s fundamental legitimacy and right to exist in the region as a Jewish state.

We note the recent progress made by the Palestinian Authority, with U.S., Israeli and Jordanian assistance, toward establishing an effective police presence in areas of the West Bank. We also applaud the consequent removal by Israel of hundreds of West Bank checkpoints and roadblocks and the modification of other security measures, including the improvement of passage between Jordan and Israel and the withdrawal of troops from populated areas. These actions, while entailing security risks, have already materially eased daily life for the Palestinians. At the same time, however, we consider the failure of the Palestinian Authority to halt incitement activity and to remove unacceptable language from schoolbooks destructive to peace prospects, as are recent statements by PA officials declaring their unwillingness to negotiate with the Netanyahu Government.

As Israel acts, we call upon the Saudis and other supporters of the Arab Peace Initiative to take meaningful and reciprocal measures. Steps toward normalized relations in the political, economic, public health, educational, environmental, and security spheres will facilitate the opening of a realistic path toward negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Regional cooperation will not only advance the realization of Palestinian statehood but will help meet the overarching and shared strategic threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The PA must also show, in tandem with Israeli proposals and actions, that it will fulfill its obligations under the Roadmap, which it has thus far failed to do.

While Israel and the United States Government address the issues surrounding the restraint on settlement activity sought by the Obama Administration, AJC is confident that the strength of the bond between Washington and Jerusalem will enable them to reach an acceptable accommodation. We urge both to continue making every effort to do so, and applaud steps already taken by the Netanyahu Government.

AJC believes Israel should recognize that expansion of the territorial footprint of Israeli settlements poses a challenge to reaching an agreement with the Palestinians.  Israel should take timely and meaningful action to address this issue, in order to assist in the efforts undertaken by Senator Mitchell to move the peace process forward.

At the same time, all parties must recognize that Israeli concessions, whether on settlements or any other issue, cannot take place on a one-way street.

Although we have doubts about the outcome, AJC acknowledges the efforts by the Obama Administration to reach understandings with the Government of Syria that might halt Syria’s rejectionist activity, in concert with Iran, and its complicity in the movement of money and weapons from Iran to Hezbollah, Hamas and other organizations committed to Israel’s destruction. These should be the minimum requirements for any agreement. We recognize the regional strategic benefits of securing peace between Israel and Syria. 

AJC believes that a successful resolution of the conflict among Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab nations will contribute to enhanced security and prosperity for the entire Middle East. Israel possesses the economic and other resources to make a significant contribution to the region as a whole. The potential for a brighter future is certainly there. What must be summoned is the will to achieve it.