The American Jewish Congress stands opposed to the Paris Peace Conference led by France on January 15th and the possibility of any further untoward one-sided and anti-Israel resolutions at the UN Security Council meeting set two days later on January 17th. We also support the decision taken by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attend the summit. The way the outgoing Obama administration has acted in its final weeks in office, allowing the adoption of the anti-Israel resolution by the Security Council on December 23rd, 2016, has given the impression that this summit and subsequent Security Council meeting will be biased against Israel.
President Obama is continuing to use his final days in office to wrongly influence the peace process. It is a long-standing convention that an outgoing administration does not take it upon themselves to make major policy changes in the lead up to the inauguration of their successor. The Paris talks should be postponed, as the newly elected President should have the opportunity to represent the U.S. on this issue. Until then, the United States should maintain the status quo and oppose resolutions against Israel by international bodies, rather than turning their back on years of foreign policy.
There is only one way that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be solved, through direct bi-lateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Resolution 2334 has already changed the goal-posts for any talks. Every effort should now be made to bring the parties together on an equal footing, the current moves by the international community are prejudiced against Israel and are preventing constructive dialogue.
The countries attending the Paris summit should be aware that singling out America's ally Israel five days before the January 20th inauguration, will be viewed as a complete lack of respect for American convention and the newly elected Trump Administration. The participants should also recognize that any attempt to put together a second anti-Israel UN Security Council Resolution will make it harder to achieve lasting peace and send a negative message to the incoming Administration whose publicly stated views are in opposition to the anti-Israel resolution.
Thank you for your loyal support of the American Jewish Congress.
Best,
Jack Rosen President American Jewish Congress
Dr. Munr KazmirVice PresidentAmerican Jewish Congress
Dr. Ben ChouakeSecretaryAmerican Jewish Congress