They Say, We Say: "American Jews have no business telling Israel not to build in the settlement blocs."
We know that pro-Israel does not mean blindly supporting policies
that are irrational, reckless, and counter-productive. Pro-Israel means supporting policies that are consistent
with Israel's interests and promote its survival as a Jewish, democratic state.
You've heard the arguments of the religious and political right-wing, and so have we. They've had their say. Now, we'll have ours.
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Are settlements really a problem?
American Jews have no business telling Israel not to build in the settlement blocs.
The American Jewish community bears a heavy burden of responsibility for the situation today in the occupied territories. For decades, American Jews and our community leaders and organizations have made excuses for Israeli policies, including with respect to settlements, and have worked to inoculate Israel from criticism and pressure. For decades, elements within the American Jewish community have actively supported and funded settlers and settlement projects whose clear mission is to prevent a peace agreement with the Palestinians and obstruct a two-state solution.
Now, 50 years into the occupation, it is time for the U.S. Jewish community to, belatedly, start to act responsibly – before it is too late. American Jews who care about Israel must end their head-in-the-sand approach to Israeli government policies, especially with respect to settlements. Israel’s future and its position in the world are in real jeopardy today, in no small part due to a U.S. Jewish community that has overlooked, made excuses for, funded (directly and indirectly) and otherwise enabled its self-defeating, immoral pro-settlement policies. Supporting Israel today means speaking truth to our Israeli brothers and sisters and to the Israeli government, and letting them know that American Jews, like the rest of the world, cannot rationalize or accept permanent Israeli occupation, and that we won’t be taken in by alternative facts or cynical manipulations meant to convince us that settlement expansion inside or outside the “settlement blocs” is consistent with peace and the achievement of a two-state solution.