Thursday, February 28, 2008

OU, Bnei Brith, & Hadassah endorsing palestinian state?


OU, Bnei Brith, & Hadassah endorsing palestinian state?

February 28, 2008
A short time ago I received the following document. According to my sources, this was initiated by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni.

(A little while ago I posted an important blog entry – but that was before I received this.)

Listed below the document are members of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Take note of words used, such as ' Palestinian intransigence' as opposed to 'terror' or continuing rocket attacks, etc.

(See OU clarification on position and role on JCPA Resolution at end of document)

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs endorsed for the first time a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

At its annual plenum Tuesday in Atlanta, the body, an umbrella organization representing 14 national Jewish groups and 125 local Jewish community relations councils, resolved that "the organized American Jewish community should affirm its support for two independent, democratic and economically viable states -- the Jewish state of Israel and a state of Palestine-- living side-by-side in peace and security."

The resolution also included compromise language reflecting American Jewry's "diverse views about current and future policies of the Israeli government towards settlements," and blamed the standstill in the peace process on Palestinian intransigence. It appeared to pass unanimously, though the Orthodox Union, which has been outspoken in objecting to any deal to share or divide Jerusalem, had considered abstaining. According to one of its officers, David Luchins, the O.U. was satisfied with the final text, but still felt it represented an attempt to "micromanage" the peace process.

The resolution came about in response to recent events like the seizure of Gaza, the "reconstitution" of the Palestinian Authority and the latest U.S.-backed peace initiative, said the JCPA's senior associate executive director, Martin Raffel.

(See also: http://tinyurl.com/2rmaqg ).

Members of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs

American Jewish Committee
http://www.ajc.org
American Jewish Congress
http://www.ajcongress.org
Anti-Defamation League
http://www.adl.org
B’nai B'rith
http://www.bnaibrith.org
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
http://www.coejl.org
Hadassah
http://www.hadassah.org
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Life
http://www.hillel.org
Jewish Labor Committee
http://www.jewishlabor.org
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
http://www.jrf.org
Jewish War Veterans
http://www.jwv.org
National Conference on Soviet Jewry
http://www.ncsj.org/
National Council of Jewish Women
http://www.ncjw.org
National Jewish Coalition for Literacy
http://www.njcl.net
ORT America
http://www.ortamerica.org
Union for Reform Judaism
http://www.urj.org
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
http://www.ou.org
United Jewish Communities
http://www.ujc.org
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
http://www.uscj.org
Women's League for Conservative Judaism
http://www.wlcj.org

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CLARIFICATION: OU POSITION AND ROLE ON JCPA (see original)
February 28, 2008

The Orthodox Union is a member agency of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) and participated in its annual conference this week.

As reported in the media, the JCPA debated and adopted a resolution with regard to the Israeli - Palestinian peace process. The media report, however, did not fully and accurately present the Orthodox Union's position and activities with regard to the resolution; we do so here.

The OU delegation engaged in the debate over this resolution by proposing and/or opposing provisions of or amendments to the resolution text. The following were the actions of the OU on this matter:

> The OU attempted to remove the resolution's text which would have, for the first time, put JCPA on record in support of the "two state solution" - but we were defeated by a vote of the delegates to the JCPA.

> The OU succeeded in inserting into the resolution's text the statement that "Israel's repeated offers to establish 'two democratic states living side by side in peace and security' have been met, time after time, by violence, incitement and terror."

> The OU attempted to remove the resolution's text calling for American Jewish support for any negotiations by the Israeli government over the re-division of Jerusalem - but we were defeated by a vote of the delegates to the JCPA.

> The OU succeeded in inserting into the resolution text which calls upon the American Jewish community to support Israel's insistence upon being recognized by the Palestinian Authority as a "Jewish state."

> The OU succeeded in defeating a proposed amendment to the resolution text which would have stated that the American Jewish community views the establishment or expansion of Israeli settlements as an "impediment to peace."

At the conclusion of the debate and amendment process, the OU delegation abstained from the vote on final passage of the resolution and informed the JCPA of our intention to file a formal, written dissent from the portions of the resolution with which the OU disagrees.

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