[Peace] J Street: BREAKING: UNSC Resolution on Settlements Passes

Sat Dec 24 03:09:56 UTC 2016

And, yes eight years, too bloody late.

On Dec 23, 2016, at 18:46, Niloofar Shambayati <niloofar.peace at gmail.com<mailto:niloofar.peace at gmail.com>> wrote:

Eight years too late!

On Fri, Dec 23, 2016 at 7:16 PM, Karen Aram via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:
Wow, what a man. We’re supposed to thank Obama for abstaining from voting?
The man who holds the highest position in the land, the nation that controls the UN, the man/nation responsible for destroying Libya, and expanding our wars across the middle east, and he is applauded for abstaining?

On Dec 23, 2016, at 11:44, Robert Naiman via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street <info at jstreet.org<mailto:info at jstreet.org>>
Date: Fri, Dec 23, 2016 at 1:30 PM
Subject: BREAKING: UNSC Resolution on Settlements Passes
To: "Mr. Robert Naiman" <naiman at justforeignpolicy.org<mailto:naiman at justforeignpolicy.org>>

[J Street]

Robert,

Moments ago, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution demanding the cessation of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, immediate steps to end terror and incitement, and reaffirming the international community's support for a two-state solution.

President Obama, despite intense pressure to veto the resolution, made the bold choice to abstain and allow the resolution to pass.

J Street opposes one-sided resolutions and actions in international organizations. The United Nations and its constituent bodies have often acted in a one-sided and biased manner, and J Street has repeatedly opposed such actions. J Street has also opposed calls to impose a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the UN.

The resolution that passed the Security Council today, however, is not one-sided. It does not seek to impose a solution on the parties. In fact, it explicitly calls on the parties to stop taking actions that undermine the chances of a two-state solution and to re-enter negotiations aimed at achieving peace.

We support the decision of the Obama administration to abstain, thereby allowing for the Security Council's vote to go forward.

We encourage people to take the time to read the actual resolution, which respects the interests of the State of Israel and advances the cause of a two-state solution so vital to maintaining Israel’s democratic and Jewish character. Our full statement on the importance of this resolution is pasted below.

In addition, I hope you'll add your name and thank President Obama<http://act.jstreet.org/go/5213?t=1&akid=5396.183166.YjbaeT> for choosing not to veto this resolution.

J Street has pushed for stronger American opposition to settlement expansion, and we have suggested for many years that one way to express that opposition is to allow passage of a resolution on that topic in the Security Council -- provided it is not one-sided.

In the coming days, the administration will face heat for its principled stance. Those of us who recognize that Israel’s future as a democratic and Jewish state is being placed at risk by the emerging one-state reality on the West Bank must show our support.

Add your name to our thank you note to President Obama.<http://act.jstreet.org/go/5213?t=2&akid=5396.183166.YjbaeT>

Thanks,
Jeremy

J Street Welcomes US Abstention on UNSC Resolution

J Street welcomes the decision today by the Obama administration to abstain from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution which reaffirms the need for a two-state solution and calls for a halt to actions by both sides that serve to undermine the prospects for peace.

The resolution is consistent with longstanding bipartisan American policy, which includes strong support for the two-state solution, and clear opposition to irresponsible and damaging actions including Palestinian incitement and terror and Israeli settlement expansion and home demolitions.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only end based on mutual agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, and President Obama has repeatedly stated his opposition to the United Nations -- or any other entity -- imposing a binding resolution on the parties. He also has stated and demonstrated a commitment to vetoing UNSC resolutions that are one-sided or anti-Israel.

Recent Congressional resolutions have reaffirmed this position. They have made clear that there is no US obligation to veto UNSC resolutions, like the one passed today, which acknowledge harmful actions, rhetoric or policies of both parties to the conflict. In fact, Democratic and Republican Presidents alike have frequently supported such UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict.

Indeed, a Congressional resolution earlier this year joined by 64 Members of the House of Representatives, and supported by J Street and the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement, encouraged the US government to “firmly articulat[e] 49 years of consistent, bipartisan United States opposition to settlement expansion.”

This resolution conveys the overwhelming support of the international community, including Israel’s closest friends and allies, for the two-state solution, and their deep concern over the deteriorating status quo between Israelis and Palestinians and the lack of meaningful progress toward peace. It is also a clear signal that the international community's patience with an occupation of almost 50 years has limits.

Over the past few years, a major increase in settlement expansion and other activities that undermine the two-state solution have made clear the urgent need for strong US and international leadership to help preserve it, to remind the parties of the responsibilities and to help move them back on the path to a comprehensive negotiated agreement.

The consistent failure of the Palestinian leadership to adequately condemn acts of terror against Israeli civilians, and the apparent commitment of the current Israeli government to expanding, entrenching and retroactively legalizing settlement expansion and land seizure in the West Bank, warrant a strong rebuke from the international community and a clear affirmation of the commitments that are needed from both sides. This resolution helps to fill that need.

The overwhelming majority of American Jewish supporters of Israel continue to believe that the two-state solution is the only way to secure Israel’s future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people, and support strong American leadership to help achieve that goal, even when that means criticizing and rebuking counter-productive actions of the Israeli government. Election Day 2016 polling found that 62 percent of Jewish voters believe the United States should either support or abstain from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank.

Moving forward, J Street hopes that both Israelis and Palestinians will respect the sense of this resolution and take appropriate steps in response. President Abbas and the Palestinians must show far greater vigilance and seriousness in opposing and condemning acts of terror, and acts of incitement -- including actions at the UN that ignore Israeli rights and historic Jewish ties to Jerusalem and the holy sites of the Jewish people. Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israelis must reverse the overwhelming tide of settlement expansion in the West Bank, cease home demolitions and expulsions of Palestinian residents, and marginalize prominent leaders calling for a “one-state solution,” annexation, or permanent occupation.

We urge all actors, including the incoming US administration, to recognize that this resolution is now the benchmark set by the international community and must be respected as such. Steps to abrogate or ignore it would not only damage Israel’s future and the prospects for a two-state solution, but undermine American interests and standing in the world.

[X]

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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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