Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2005
Contact: Jessica Rosenblum [email]
Tel: 312 341-1205 or 773 750-7873

American Jewish Group Praises Senate Resolution

Chicago — Brit Tzedek v’Shalom strongly commends the U.S. Senate for its February 1st resolution recognizing last month’s "free and fair" Palestinian election of President Mahmoud Abbas, calling upon him to abide by the terms of the roadmap, encouraging U.S. efforts to support the Palestinian people and, in general, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to "the vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."

"The Senate should be praised for this wide-ranging resolution which in effect adopted much of what we have been urging President Bush to do," said Steve Masters, chair of Advocacy and Public Policy committee of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom. "In our latest message to the president, we urged him to hold both Israel and the Palestinians accountable for implementing the Road Map. And, like the Senate resolution, we urged Bush to work with the international community to provide aid for the reconstruction of infrastructure and restoration of civil society in the Palestinian territories."

The resolution was sponsored by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), with Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN), Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) as co-sponsors.

"This bipartisan acknowledgement of the positive and dramatic developments that have occurred in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the last month should serve to further encourage the President to act urgently and forcefully to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table for final status negotiations," said Marcia Freedman, president of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, who herself is a former Israeli legislator. "The Senate resolution recognizes the current window of opportunity for peace in the Middle East – one that we cannot afford to forgo."

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, is a national organization of American Jews deeply committed to Israel’s well being through the achievement of a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Brit Tzedek has over 24,000 members and supporters and 30 chapters in cities across the country.