They Say, We Say: "Settlements aren't an obstacle to peace"
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?
Settlements aren't an obstacle to peace. The only real obstacle is Palestinian unwillingness to negotiate and compromise.
No Palestinian leadership, no matter how committed it may be to peace with Israel, will ever sign on to a peace agreement that leaves it a non-viable state, cut to pieces by Israeli settlements, and with no capital in East Jerusalem. Most Israelis understand this.
The reality is that settlements are not only an obstacle to peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state, but that many of those who support settlements do so with this concrete objective in mind.
Unless settlements stop expanding and unless many are removed, a viable, contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with its capital in East Jerusalem, cannot be created. Without the creation of such a Palestinian state, the state of Israel risks becoming either a bi-national state and losing its Jewish character, or becoming an international pariah in which a Jewish minority rules over a disenfranchised Palestinian majority. Either scenario jeopardizes Israel's future.
Settlements are therefore not only a major obstacle to peace but also a threat to Israel's existence and its future.