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APN to Signers of Bayh/Risch Letter: Clarify Your Position

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As has been widely reported, 71 Senators signed onto the AIPAC-backed Bayh-Risch letter. APN had serious concerns about the letter, and we urged members to refuse to sign it until/unless it was first amended.  We are pleased that apparently many senators shared our concerns, forcing the letter's backers to hold the letter open 5 days longer than originally intended and requiring them to exert tremendous efforts, and expend a great deal of political capital, to achieve this number of signers.

We are also pleased that while, regrettably, the letter was not amended, most statements from supporters of the letter have omitted the problematic sentiment included in the letter - i.e., the implication that the Senate supports the President in pressing Arab states to take steps toward more normal relations with Israel, but does not support him in pressing Israel to freeze settlements.

Yesterday, APN sent a letter to all signers of the Bayh-Risch letter urging them to clarify, at the earliest opportunity, their support for President Obama's entire Middle East peace policy, and not just the plank that calls for Arab states to take steps toward normal relations with Israel.  Full text of the letter is after the break. 



text of APN letter to signers of the Bayh-Risch letter:


August 12, 2009

 

Dear Senator [name],

 

Recently you signed a letter to President Obama regarding his Middle East peace efforts.  The letter, led by Senators Bayh (D-IN) and Risch (R-ID), was marketed as a non-controversial message - a straightforward demand for Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel  The subtext of the letter, however, is a cause of great concern:  it appears to contradict - we believe inadvertently - the efforts of President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Special Middle East Envoy George Mitchell to promote Middle East peace.

 

We urge you to clarify, at the earliest opportunity, your support for these efforts.

 

President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Special Envoy Mitchell are investing a huge amount of energy and political capital in trying to create a dynamic with Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states, asking each to take tangible steps that can create confidence in the diplomatic process and help build momentum toward Middle East peace.  This is a challenging but promising effort - one that holds out real hope for achieving Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace and, along with it, real normalization of Arab-Israeli relations.

 

·        They are pressing Arab states to demonstrate good faith by taking a range of steps toward normalization of relations with Israel, in the context of meaningful steps taken by Israel toward peace.

·        They are pressing the Palestinians to improve and expand on the positive actions already taken on security, to act forcefully against incitement, and to refrain from any action that would make meaningful negotiations less likely.

·        They are pressing Israel to stop settlement activity. This is consistent with longstanding US policy and with promises Israel has made, repeatedly, to past US administrations. It is also consistent with Israel's own best interests: settlements represent an economic, political and security liability for Israel. Settlements also erode the confidence, even among Israel's friends and supporters, that Israel is truly interested in peace, and make the eventual resolution of the conflict more difficult and more costly for Israel to carry out.

 

Unfortunately, the Bayh/Risch letter appears to endorse a very different approach, making the case that Israel has already taken sufficient steps to show it is serious about peace - regardless of Israel's continued refusal to freeze settlements - and now the onus is on the Arab states, alone, to show seriousness about peace by taking dramatic steps to normalize relations with Israel. 

 

As strong supporters of Israel who believe that Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace are critical to Israel's prosperity and viability, we look forward with longing to the day when there is real peace and full normal relations between Israel and the entire Arab world.  We strongly believe that the Obama Administration's approach offers the best opportunity to achieve this goal.  It is regrettable that the Bayh-Risch letter failed to clearly endorse this effort.

 

We urge you to clarify publicly - in a statement, a speech, a letter, an op-ed, or any other vehicle - that you do indeed support all the components of President Obama's Middle East peace efforts, including pressure on Arab states to take concrete steps that signal willingness to build normal peaceful relations with Israel, as well as efforts to secure a real, verifiable settlement freeze from Israel. 

 

We urge you to do so not just because Americans for Peace Now wants you to, and not just because it is the best thing for Israel (it is), but because it is the policy that the duly elected President of the United States is pursuing and he deserves the Senate's support. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Lara Friedman

Director of Policy and Government Relations