PRO-ISRAEL, PRO-PEACE
Your Western Washington Address for Middle East Peace and Security
- Sign up to receive J Street Seattle emails here.
- Email us at seattle@jstreet.org
- Find J Street Seattle on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jstreetseattle
- Call us at (206) 442-2077 (voice mail)
Top of the page: current programming and actions. Scroll down for snapshots of past activities.
|
J Street: In Western Washington and Nationally Get involved: share your ideas; volunteer; invite J Street into your community. seattle@jstreet.org (206) 442-2077 www.jstreet.org/seattle J Street Seattle Steering Committee meetings are often on the Second Thursday of the month. Contact us for more information. |
ISSUES and DECISONS 2012: SECURITY In just a month, it’s 2012! J Street’s work for a Two-State peace is more urgent than ever. The US elections are sure to spark intense debate on how to best secure Israel’s security and a future of peace, hope and opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians. Please join fellow J Street grassroots activists in a potluck series for learning and discussing the issues and J Street’s take on events and opportunities. We hope you will join us Sunday, December 11 at 5 pm to view a short video and discuss the topic of Security and J Street’s policy perspective on “Borders and Security First.” *We’ll provide the address after you’ve RSVPed. To prepare for the program, you can review J Street’s Borders and Security strategy. 
|
PAST EVENTS
Host Committee: Diane Baer, Rabbi Olivier BenHaim,
Rabbi Jill Borodin, Shelley & James Dillon, Phil Gerson,
Rabbi Jay Heyman, Larry Jacobson, Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg,
Gail Katz, Liz Labadie & David Frum, Yaffa & Paul Maritz,
Maxine Nelson & Robert Fahrer, Carol Stockton & Jeff Robinson,
Cantor David Serkin-Poole, Simcha Shtull & Rabbi Dan Bridge, Diana & Ron Schneeweiss
J Street Seattle and Congregation Beth Shalom present
HOPE WITHOUT ILLUSION: THE PALESTINIAN FALL & THE U.N., THE ISRAELI SUMMER, THE ARAB SPRING-
Barriers or New Bridges to Arab-Israeli Peace-Making?
With Professor MARK ROSENBLUM
Sunday, September 18, 1 pm
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Avenue NE, Seattle WA 98115
Epochal events in the Middle East include:
- The Palestinian campaign for U.N. recognition of a state;
- Revolts and repression in the Arab states;
- Israel’s unprecedented social protest of a besieged middle class.
What are the implications for an Israeli-Palestinian negotiating breakthrough?
- Does President Obama have sufficient credibility and leverage to implement a substantive breakthrough toward a two state solution?
- Do the current Israeli and Palestinian leaderships have the will and capacity to successfully resolve their differences on core issues?
- Will the summer surge of Israeli social and economic justice protests influence Israel's peace and security policies?
- Can the West Bank and Gaza be reunified under a single Palestinian Authority that can rein in violence and negotiate a two state solution consistent with Israeli security requirements?
PROFESSOR MARK ROSENBLUM, selected by the Forward Newspaper as one of the fifty most influential American Jews and a founder of Americans for Peace Now, is an award-winning historian at Queens College of the City University of New York where he is director of the Center for Jewish Studies and the Center for Ethnic and Racial Tolerance, as well as the Michael Harrington Center for Democratic Values and Social Change. An expert on the Middle East, he has combined academic research and policy analysis with direct involvement in Mid East conflict resolution since the 1980s.
Day of Action, Tuesday, August 23 · 12:00 Noon - 1:00pm
Henry M. Jackson Federal Building
915 2nd Avenue between Madison and Marion Streets, downtown Seattle
Seattle 98104 WA Map
This is it. The culmination of the Two-State Summer campaign. We've signed the petition. We've held and attended house parties.
August 23, all our work this summer will be realized. It's time for our day of action.
Please RSVP for this important event!
Bring your friends!
We'll be presenting hundreds of postcards to Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray calling for bold action for Israeli-Palestinian peace and two states- with a Seattle flavor!
Across the nation, J Street supporters are visiting over 100 House representatives and over 36 Senators, presenting over 40,000 signed postcards.
We're going to demonstrate to Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell the popular support that exists for a two-state solution when we meet at 12:00 PM at the Arch at the Jackson Federal Building on August 23rd and show our representatives how many of us support a two-state solution.
TWO STATE SUMMER MEETS SEATTLE
Sign the campaign pledge by Tuesday, August 23:
http://jstreet.org/twostatesnow/
Click here to RSVP for the Seattle Day of Action at Noon, August 23.
ENCOUNTER POINT…
for a Two State Summer!
Sign the campaign pledge:
http://jstreet.org/twostatesnow/
Join a diverse interfaith special viewing of Encounter Point, an extraordinary film about hope and courage amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The film tells the story of an Israeli settler, a convicted Palestinian fighter, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian who reject violence and overcome anger, fear and grief to work for peace and a secure future for their children.
Friday, August 12th 6:30-10 pm
Roy Street Coffee on Capitol Hill
700 Broadway Ave. E., Seattle 98102
location info: www.roystreetcoffee.com
Donations welcome
Please RSVP for August 10 at seattle@jstreet.org or (206) 442-2077
Barbara Lahav, J Street NW Political Director, will open the evening by sharing how we each can help to achieve peace in the region by supporting the President’s two-state vision.
And..
• Coffee, tea, wine and great food available for purchase
• You can join a riveting discussion after the film
• We’ll have a drawing of cool prizes!
About the film: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is perhaps the most divisive, polarizing and documented political issue of our time. Encounter Point moves beyond sensational, dogmatic, canned images and focuses on the grassroots movement of nonviolence and reconciliation that is often ignored by the mainstream media—and serves as an inspirational model on how we can each actively embrace and resolve conflict in our own lives here at home.
August 4th gathering and light dairy dinner at a top-of-the-hill Queen Anne home:
Thursday evening, August 4th, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Learn more about J Street, the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans. Discover what J Street is doing to achieve a two-state solution in the Middle East, and how you can be part of that effort.
The evening will not be a fundraiser. Please RSVP soon - space is limited. When you RSVP we will send the address, hosts and directions.
Please RSVP for August 4 at seattle@jstreet.org or (206) 442-2077
Two-State Summer Launch
Monday, June 27th, at 7 pm
Mercer Island Community and Event Center
at Mercer View
8236 24th Avenue SE, conveniently located on Mercer Island, just a few blocks north of I-90.
Urgency.
Two states.
Israel as a Jewish, democratic homeland.
These are the three pillars of J Street's new Two-State Summer campaign to amplify the voices of Americans and Israelis who believe Israel and the United States should pursue bold moves towards peace.
A well-attended Film and Discussion Salon
featured the movie Amos Oz: The Nature of Dreams
Thursday, June 2nd, at Roy Street Coffee and Tea on Seattle's Capitol Hill. J Street is looking forward to more stimulating film evenings that inspire our grassroots activism.
"The 2009 film, directed by Masha Zur Glozman and Yonathan Zur, is a gorgeous documentary that journeys in the footsteps of internationally acclaimed writer Amos Oz, tracking his writing, and his political beliefs, as he promotes the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over a period of two years."
We should be so proud of
Western Washington!
18 local activists from Seattle and Olympia attended J Street's conference in Washington, DC, contributing to an amazing demonstration of the strength of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement -- with over 2,000 attendees giving voice to our values.
Read the article by Simcha Shtull in the JT News.
The work done by our 38 local groups in 26 states around the country to turn out people to the conference was a fantastic contribution to our national strength. Thank you!
J Street sponsored a sold-out screening of the powerful film Budrus
Directed by Julia Bacha, produced by Just Vision, creators of the noted film Encounter Point
"This film will single-handedly change how many people view the conflict. It's that good and that important." - Boston Globe
Saturday, December 7, 2010, at the Landmark Varsity Theater
Nadav Greenberg of Just Vision led a post-film Q + A, followed by a well-attended discussion facilitated by J Street at
Trabant Coffee and Chai
Budrus has been hailed in The New York Times as " this year's must-see documentary," and featured in major international news outlets, including Newsweek, The Economist, The Washington Post and Charlie Rose. Budrus tells the story of a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites members of all factions along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction. Success looks improbable until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women's contingent that quickly moves to the front lines.
Winner of multiple prizes at top international film festivals, including Tribeca, Berlin and San Francisco, Budrus is produced by Just Vision, an award-winning North American-Palestinian-Israeli nonprofit organization that uses media to increase the power, legitimacy and exposure of Palestinians and Israelis working towards nonviolent solutions to the conflict.
Last Chance for Diplomacy?
Obama, Netanyahu, Abbas and the Possibility of Peace
With Daniel Levy and Davidi Gilo
2 Events, Tuesday, December 7
As the peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians hang in the balance, J Street Seattle and J Street U are excited to announce two local opportunities to see "Last Chance for Diplomacy? Obama, Netanyahu, Abbas and the Possibility of Peace," with seasoned Middle East experts Daniel Levy and Davidi Gilo.
Come discuss what we can do together to ensure that the two-state solution remains a viable possibility.
A former member of Rabin's negotiating team and at Taba in 2001 and Co-Director of the Middle East Task Force at the New American Foundation, Daniel Levy has spent years on the front lines bringing peace and security to Israel and its neighbors. Together with Davidi Gilo, one of the most successful venture capitalists in Israel, they provide a unique insight into Israel, the negotiations process, and the chances for a two-state solution.
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010, 12:30 pm
Bellevue Library, 1111 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98004, Room 1
Tuesday December 7th, 2010, 8:00 PM
University of Washington Hillel, 4745 17th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98105
BRADLEY BURSTON
PRO-MIDEAST IN AMERICA: GETTING PAST 'PRO-ISRAEL' AND 'PRO-PALESTINE'
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 7 PM
Congregation Beth Shalom
6800 35th Avenue NE, Seattle
Bradley Burston is a columnist for Israel's Haaretz Newspaper, and Senior Editor of Haaretz.com.
During the first Palestinian uprising, he served as Gaza correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, and was the paper's military correspondent in the 1991 Gulf War. In the mid-1990s he covered Israeli-Arab peace talks for Reuters.
He is a recipient of the Eliav-Sartawi Award for Mideast Journalism, presented at the United Nations in 2006.
Burston was born and raised in Los Angeles. After graduating from UC Berkeley, he moved to Israel, where he was part of a group which established Kibbutz Gezer. Burston served in the IDF as a combat medic, later studying medicine in Be'er Sheva for two years before turning to journalism.
Sponsored by J Street / Seattle
Co-sponsored by Congregation Beth Shalom and the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
TAKING A WALK ON J STREET: ORGANIZING AND BRAINSTORMING MEETING
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 7 PM
The 2100 Building, Community Room B, 2100 24th Avenue South, Seattle 98144
YOUNG ACTIVISTS HAPPY HOUR
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010, 7 PM
Do you care about Israel's future? Do you want to support Israel, but feel you haven't found the right place to be involved? Join J Street activists in conversation with J Street Regional Director Gordon Gladstone to discuss our grassroots work in Seattle, and find out how you can contribute. Meet like-minded young activists and young professionals and be empowered to become active participants in the pro-Israel, pro-Peace community.
Bring your friends! Questions? gordon@jstreet.org or seattle@jstreet.org
PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE FOCUS OF J STREET
MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010, 7 PM
Temple Beth Hatfiloh, 8th and Washington SE, Olympia
Gordon Gladstone, J Street Pacfic Northwest/Northern California Director, joined J Street supprters in Olympia to build a J Street presence in the state capitol. Gordon spoke about the politics of boycotts and ways to press for a two-state resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
SUPPORTING ISRAEL IN THE 21ST CENTURY:
J STREET SPEAKS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2010, 10-11:30 AM
Temple Beth Am, 2632 NE 80th Street, Seattle, 98115
J Street's Pacific Northwest Regional Political Director, Barbara Lahav, spoke on how to be Pro-Israel and Pro-Peace in the 21st Century.
BOYCOTT DEBATE AT PUGET SOUND CO-OPS
Many of you may know that on July 15, in a surprise move, the board of the Olympia Food Co-op voted to boycott Israeli products. This event has caused a stir in the region, and sparked an intense debate among co-op membership, which includes many members of Olympia's Jewish community.
J STREET STATEMENT ON BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS
Co-op statement on boycott of Israeli products
Note from Rabbi Seth Goldstein, Temple Beth Hatfiloh, and events in Olympia
J Street opposes boycotts and divestment directed against Israel. Our policy statement is printed below. We have also reprinted an eloquent letter by David Sokal, proprietor of Peace Oil and a member of the J Street Seattle steering committee. This letter is his personal opinion, not J Street's, but it reflects the careful thought that is so important now.
J Street Seattle has been in contact with members of the Olympia Jewish community, and respects the needs of Olympians to resolve this controversy within their own community.
The Olympia Jewish community which is not comfortable with BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) is developing its strategy for responding to this boycott. We will maintain close contacts with Temple Beth Hatfiloh and J Street supporters in the Olympia area. If you live in the Olympia area and have questions, ideas, or are willing to lend a helping hand, please communicate directly with Rabbi Seth Goldstein: rabbi@bethhatfiloh.org.
The move to boycott Israeli products causes great concern within the Jewish community, especially in the Puget Sound region where there has been a bitter debate at Madison Market/Central Co-op that resulted in the issue being dropped; the Olympia Food Co-op board has voted in favor of boycott, the Port Townsend Food Co-op has the issue on its agenda, and students at Evergreen College voted to support divestment from Israel.
J Street believes that the growing BDS movement illustrates why it is crucially important to redouble efforts to build an effective two-state strategy for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As long as the dysfunctional status quo allows frustration to mount, both in the Middle East and here in the United States, we can expect more calls for BDS, which J Street sees as hampering work for peace.
WHY I AM AGAINST BDS
By David Sokal, Proprietor of Peace Oil
This letter represents the independent viewpoint of the writer.
I am David Sokal the owner/operator of Olive Branch Enterprises, importer, bottler and distributor of Peace Oil. Just wanted to give my view on the issue of the exemption of Peace Oil from the boycott at the Olympia Food Co-op and the decision to participate in BDS. In my view the boycott of Israeli goods wouldn't really apply to Peace Oil in any case. 75% of the olive oil is from Canaan Fair Trade, a Palestinian owned and operated company based in Jenin Palestine and representing 1700 West Bank Palestinian farmers. Certainly then the largest portion of the oil is not an Israeli product in any way, shape or form.
As for the other 25%, half is from Green Action, www.fairtrade.org.il, an Israeli non-profit activist group that buys all its oil from West Bank Palestinian farmers at a fair trade price. Of course it marks up the price to me as they have to get some monetary support for all the work it takes to get the oil out of the West Bank and to the US. The other Israeli group, Sindyanna of Galilee, www.sindyanna.com, is also a non-profit and it buys all its olive oil from Arab farmers in Israel. Sindyanna also marks up the price in order to support its operations which consist of working to improve the lot of Palestinians living in northern Israel.
Personally, I don't support BDS. Perhaps I'm not the sharpest businessman. If I was more jaded and opportunistic, I probably would, especially if it gets more publicity for Peace Oil as did your decision to join the BDS movement. However, I am for the growing movement towards non-violent resistance in the form of mass protests in the West Bank. These are very risky undertakings and take a great deal of courage. We should do everything we can to support these efforts. Many Israelis are joining Palestinians marching in the West Bank despite risk of arrest, injury and death.
So how the heck can I be against BDS and for non-violent protest in the form of marches, sit-down strikes and the like in the West Bank?
The answer is in two parts: One is personal and one is strategic. I personally don't feel comfortable boycotting Israeli products. I know and love many Israelis, both family members and good friends. Some might even support BDS themselves but most wouldn't. Some of them, like my dear Aunt Chanah, would be insulted and saddened. This is a feeling I understand completely, which leads me to the strategic answer. By far, the majority of Jewish Israelis feel anywhere from strongly uncomfortable to deeply angered by the acts of third party nations that to their view are placing the entire blame for the conflict on their shoulders and singling them out as the worst sinners in the world. This plays into very easily provoked and deep-seated fears of "anti-Semitism" that most Jews everywhere share.
While having been a victim doesn't justify victimization of others, it should be a consideration in determining strategy. And while Naomi Klein and many other "Diaspora" Jews, as well as some Israeli Jews feel BDS is necessary and will have a positive outcome, I am not so sure. Unlike Jews, white South Africans had not recently experienced an attempt to wipe them off the face of the earth. Jews see a direct line from the holocaust to the creation of the Jewish State. Also, white South Africans didn't have the hundreds of years of spiritual connection to South Africa that Jews have to Israel. And while white South Africans did create a unique language that enhanced their sense of ethnicity, it wasn't an ancient tongue that was used in prayer for hundreds of years and now had been reborn as the common language of everyday life.
To sum up this psychological analysis, the one thing that will inevitably push the vast majority of Jews in Israel (and their supporters around the world) to batten the hatches, rally around the flag and talk of fighting to the death, is the sense of isolation that comes from feeling attacked. This great fear of isolation is the step-child of the holocaust in which the rest of the world basically ignored the plight of European Jewry. BDS will act in precisely the manner that many of us who seek a peaceful resolution want to avoid.
Every time Israelis and Arabs have moved closer to peace, those Arabs who sought to sabotage the effort didn't have to do much more than launch a single successful attack on Jewish civilians and peace talks would unravel. Of course the same goes when roles are reversed and Jews have wanted to sabotage peace efforts (the current tactic of the Israeli right is to find every excuse they can to expel East Jerusalem Palestinians from their homes). Palestinians are just as beset by fears of violence and persecution. Jews are the modern day Crusaders in the Palestinian psyche and they are the contemporary Nazi in the Jewish psyche.
As such, a key part of any successful strategy of third party nations should be to provide a sense of support and understanding to these two PTSD afflicted groups. Confrontation should always be in the context of, "we support your right to exist, your desire for security, your right to self-determination … but you've got to curtail the settlements, or you've got to curtail suicide attacks."
Why is BDS more likely to lead to a hardening of position among Jews than non-violent protest in the West Bank? BDS comes from Europe and the US for the most part and plays right into the fear of isolation spoken of above. Non-violent protest from Palestinians on the other hand, comes from the rightfully aggrieved party themselves. It shows that their belief in their cause is so strong they are willing to face death, WITHOUT TAKING THE LIFE OF A SINGLE JEW. Jews in Israel and around the world that support Palestinian statehood will have a much easier time convincing Jews in the pivotal and mercurial Political Center that Palestinians are fighting for their valid needs and longings, not to destroy the Jewish State. Hopefully this shift in the political atmosphere in Israel will give the government the impetus to act on its policy of achieving a two-state solution.
There are many ways that third party nations and their citizens can take action to end human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza while also showing their support for a two-state solution. Americans (and especially American Jews) can put pressure on American political leaders in the current administration and in Congress to focus on solving the conflict and to use all the resources available to the US to convince the parties that now is the time to create two states, side-by-side living in peace and as equals. (See www.jstreet.org)
There are literally hundreds of groups in Israel Palestine that are working for peace at the grass roots level. Support these groups. Some are Israeli, some Palestinian and some are joint operations. Here's where I plug Peace Oil, www.peaceoil.net, a joint project of Israelis and Palestinians. :-)
Of course there are many other activities to support as well. I've listed just a few on the links page on my website (http://www.peaceoil.net/html_1/peace_links.html).
In the end, I know very well that my fears could be entirely unjustified. I know the following scenario is possible: BDS continues to spread and the Israeli government gets the message. Along with pressure and security guarantees from the US government, continuing security improvements and economic cooperation in the West Bank between Israel and the PNA, BDS plays a positive role in bringing about a meaningful, negotiated, sustainable and just two-state solution. If that's what happens, I will be glad to say that I was wrong. If I am right, and BDS delays or derails a peaceful resolution entirely, it will have been a tragic miscalculation for all of us.
David Sokal
Olive Branch Enterprises
You are invited to meet with
GORDON GLADSTONE
Regional Director for the Northwest and Northern California
Monday, July 19
7:30 PM - 8:30 PM, Conversation with Gordon Gladstone;
8:30 PM - 9:00 PM , commemoration of Tisha B'Av, led by Rabbi Jay Heyman (Tisha B'Av* begins at sunset)
Please RSVP: seattle@jstreet.org or (206) 442-2077
Parent Trust's Center, 2200 Rainier Ave South , Seattle 98144 MAP
Approximately 7 blocks south of I-90, at Walker and Rainier, one block south of 23rd and Rainier. South side of Walker, two parking lots on east side of building, both OK to use. Enter in back door from parking lot.
Please join in welcoming Gordon Gladstone, past director of the University of California/Berkely Hillel, who is excited to visit us inSeattle: an opportuity to learn more about and discuss the evolving work, presence and policies of J Street and its expansion on the West Coast. He will be working in parallel with Northwest Political Director Barbara Lahav.
The newest member of the J Street 'family' of Regional Directors comes to J Street after seven years of community building at the University of 
California/Berkeley Hillel where he held a number of positions including Executive Director. Gordon is an Israeli Tour Educator and spent more than five years working in Israel and living at Kibbutz Gezer. Gordon holds a BA and MA in History. He was born in Manhattan, grew up in Wisconsin and spent three years living in Kansas City where he learned everything there is to know about BBQ. Gordon is an avid cyclist and cook who co-writes a Jewish food blog.
* Tisha B'Av commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples by the Babylonians and Romans and other events. It is said that the Spanish Expulsion happened on or around Tisha b'Av. Traditionally, Eicha (Lamentations) is read on Tisha b'Av, it is a fast day, and mourning customs ar e followed. Among progressive Jews, the bombings of Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9) are often linked to Tisha b'Av, as well as climate disruption and militaristic nationalism. Right, detail, Arch of Titus)
J Street Seattle invites you to join us at the theater! 
SIXTEEN WOUNDED
By Eliam Kraiem
A play about the human side of the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict
JUNE 13, 7:30 PM
Open Circle Theatre
2222 2nd Ave.
Seattle, WA 98121 MAP
$10.00 special ticket rate for J Street supporters:
Just say you are with J Street when you purchase your ticket.
(Regular tickets are $15; J Street thanks the producers
for their generosity.)
RSVPs welcomed: seattle@jstreet.org or (206) 442-2077
Post-play discussion with the cast and J Street activists
Read the Seattle Times review
"Sixteen Wounded" yields rare insights into the human factor behind cycles of repression and revenge in the Middle East through the story of Mahmoud, a Palestinian, who is rescued by a stranger who happens to be a Jew..."
- Seattle Times, June 10, 2010
A production of the People's Theater of Seattle, SIXTEEN WOUNDED is Eliam Kraiem's provocative drama about the human side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The play is a powerful evocation of a "conflict… where two sides can be clearly right."
Sixteen Wounded examines the human side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by exploring the fateful collision of a lonely Jewish baker (Hans) and a passionate Palestinian (Mahmoud). Combining political argument, comedy and romance, the play explores the ramifications of a fateful collision that has brought together two very different men: Hans, a baker and Jewish Holocaust survivor, and Mahmoud, a passionate young Palestinian who becomes his apprentice. After an act of violence brings the two together and sets into motion an unlikely friendship. As the friendship deepens, the two struggle with identity and loyalty to their beliefs as well as each other. The play is a provocative and poignant discussion exploration of the intricate roots of hatred, love and friendship.
The tension between Jews and Arabs offers "good conflict for a play… where two sides can be clearly right," playwright Eliam Kraiem said in a 2003 interview with the New York Times, which declared that 16 Wounded "could be the most provocative drama of the spring."
The cast includes Zaki Abdelhamid (Mahmoud), Drew Hanson (Ashraf), Devin Kearns (Nora), Hanafi Libman (Hans) and Walayn Sharples (Sonya).
STATEMENT ON GAZA FLOTILLA:
IN WAKE OF FLOTILLA TRAGEDY,
J STREET URGES STRONGER AMERICAN LEADERSHIP TO END CONFLICT NOW
May 31, 2010
Today, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami released the following statement upon reports of an IDF clash with the Gaza Flotilla:
J Street is deeply shocked and saddened by reports that at least 10 civilians have been killed and dozens more wounded (including Israeli soldiers) this morning as Israel intercepted a naval convoy bringing humanitarian supplies and construction materials to the Gaza Strip.
We express our condolences to the families of those killed and we wish the injured a full and speedy recovery. We hope that leaders on all sides will take immediate steps to ensure that this incident does not escalate into a broader round of violence - in Israel, in Gaza, or in the region.
There will undoubtedly be calls in the coming days for a UN investigation into today's events. A credible, independent commission appointed by the Israeli government should provide the world with a full and complete report into the causes and circumstances surrounding the day's events and establish responsibility for the violence and bloodshed.
This shocking outcome of an effort to bring humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza is in part a consequence of the ongoing, counterproductive Israeli blockade of Gaza. J Street has been and continues to be opposed to the blockade - believing that there are better ways to ensure Israel's security and to prevent weapons smuggling than a complete closure of the Gaza Strip.
We do not know yet what the impact of today's incident will be on the just-restarted peace process, on Israel's relations with the international community, or on the health of Arab-Jewish relations within Israel itself.
We do know, however, that today is one more nail in the coffin for hopes of ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict peacefully and diplomatically and for preserving Israel's Jewish and democratic character. We urge President Obama and other international and regional leaders to take today's terrible news as an opportunity to engage even more forcefully in immediate efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
J Street is a fast-growing political action movement that serves as a home for pro-Israel/pro-peace Americans and is transforming the way Israel plays out on Capitol Hill and in communities across the United States. J Street - the family of organizations which includes J Street, a 501(c)(4) lobby, the J Street Educational Fund, and the legally-independent JStreetPAC - advocates for vigorous U.S. leadership to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and seeks to broaden debate around Israel and the Middle East in national politics and the American Jewish community.
Get involved; share your ideas; invite J Street into your community:
seattle@jstreet.org / (206) 442-2077 / www.jstreet.org/seattle
