FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 11, 2008
CONTACT: Ori Nir - (202) 728-1893
Washington, D.C - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today launched an initiative aimed at the Obama and McCain
campaigns, urging the candidates and their surrogates to keep Israel and the peace process out of any partisan
rhetoric in the race for President. To kick off its campaign, APN issued the first in what will be a series
of issue briefs and recommendations to the campaigns on various topics, including: the U.S. role in the effort to
achieve Middle East peace, Jerusalem, Syria, and Iran. APN is a non-partisan American Jewish, Zionist organization
dedicated to peace and security for Israel and to supporting the Israeli Peace Now movement.
Commenting on the campaign, APN President and CEO Debra DeLee stated:
"For Israel, the best U.S. president will not be the one who makes the most hard-line claims during the election
campaign or who most adamantly insists that he is the more 'pro-Israel' candidate. Rather, he will be the one
who rebuilds U.S. strength and credibility in the international arena, permitting the U.S. at long last to reclaim
its role as a real leader and agent of stability in the Middle East.
"Unfortunately, in this election, like so many others that have preceded it, there are people both inside and
outside the campaigns who want to use Israel to score political points. This has to stop. Support for
Israel has never been and must never become a partisan issue, and such tactics come at the expense of Israel's and
America's best interests.
"History is clear: the U.S.-Israel relationship is solid and secure, anchored in a longstanding recognition,
by both Democrats and Republicans, of the importance of the special relationship between the two peoples and
countries. It is buttressed by the clear national security and strategic interests that the U.S. has in a
safe, secure, and strong Israel living at peace with its neighbors.
"U.S. policy in the Middle East, including the U.S. role in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace and broader
Israeli-Arab peace, has a legitimate place in the campaign discourse and debate. However, there is an obvious
difference between engaging in serious, responsible discussion over U.S. policy and playing politics. To the
extent that Israel is a factor in this race, it should be in the context not of challenging or proving the
candidates' pro-Israel bone fides. Rather, it should come in the context of a serious discussion of how, if
elected, the candidates would advance Israeli-Palestinian peace and the non-partisan goals of establishing two
states living side-by-side in peace and security and of pursuing broader Israeli-Arab peace and
normalization."
Following is the text of the first issue brief of APN's initiative, sent today to both presidential
campaigns:
APN Presidential Campaign Issue Brief Number 1:
The U.S., Israel, and the Quest for Peace
The issue of Israel has a legitimate place in the debate and discourse of a U.S. election. This place is as
part of a serious discussion of how, if elected, the candidates would advance the non-partisan goals of
Israeli-Palestinian peace - establishing two states living side-by-side in peace and security - and of pursuing
broader Arab-Israeli peace and normalization. Unfortunately, during U.S. elections there are often people
both inside and outside the campaigns who want to play politics with the issue - using Israel to score political
points for themselves or against their opponent. This is a cynical tactic that comes at the expense of the
best interests of both the U.S. and Israel.
Support for Israel has never been a partisan issue. Since the birth of the Jewish state, American political
leaders - from both major parties - have supported the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel. This
relationship is anchored in shared values and interests and recognition of the historical imperative to provide a
safe homeland for the Jewish people. The U.S. commitment to Israel has been demonstrated with vital economic
and military assistance and uncompromising moral and diplomatic support, helping Israel survive and flourish in
this dangerous region.
This special relationship has been buttressed by America's clear national security interest in a safe, secure, and
strong Israel living at peace with its neighbors. Presidents from both parties have long recognized that
Israeli-Arab peace is essential to Israel's security and well-being. They have also realized that the
Arab-Israeli conflict impacts broader U.S. national security interests in the region and around the world.
Presidents from both parties have understood that sustained, credible U.S. efforts to achieve Israeli-Arab peace
are a necessary element of U.S. support for Israel and a cornerstone of any serious U.S. approach to confronting
the challenges emanating from this volatile region.
Over the past six decades, true friends of Israel in the White House from both parties have worked to achieve
peace. Their efforts strengthened Israel in times of crisis and paved the way for enduring peace treaties
with Egypt and Jordan. Sadly, similar efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Syrian, and
comprehensive Israeli-Arab peace and normalization have met with disappointing results. These failures
underscore the need for redoubled efforts and creative diplomacy; real support for Israel demands that such efforts
not be abandoned, regardless of how difficult the current circumstances or how distant the prospects for peace may
appear.
For Israel, the best U.S. president will not be the one who, in the heat of an election campaign, tries to outflank
his opponent with dogmatically hawkish positions on Jerusalem or the peace process. Rather, the best U.S.
president will be the one who, during the campaign and then in office, rebuilds U.S. strength and credibility in
the international arena, permitting the U.S. to reclaim and re-energize its role as a leader in the effort to
achieve Israeli-Arab peace and as an agent of stability in the Middle East.
APN urges each of the Presidential campaigns to:
- Resist efforts to politicize the issue of support for Israel, recognizing that pro-Israel credentials are not measured in point-scoring and hard-line declarations during a campaign, but rather in credible, sustained commitment and action once in office;
- Commit to making the achievement of Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Syrian, and Israeli-Arab peace a top U.S. foreign policy priority, and to investing the kind of sustained, credible U.S. leadership necessary to achieve real progress toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
- Refrain from making statements that undermine U.S. credibility, foreclose political or diplomatic options for the next President or create obstacles for U.S. diplomacy and leadership in the Middle East.