Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2005
Contact: Jessica Rosenblum [email]
Tel: 312 341-1205 or 773 750-7873

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom Condemns Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s Attack on Israel

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, a national grassroots organization of more than 30,000 American Jews supporting a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, condemns the recent statement by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad dismissing the Holocaust as a "myth" and rejecting the right of Israel to continue to exist in the historic homeland of the Jews.

These remarks are fodder to those Muslims and Jews who believe that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be settled until the other side has been annihilated.

Despite President Ahmadinejad’s claims, he represents neither the best interests nor the popular sentiment of the Palestinian people, the majority of whom recognize that the viability of the future Palestinian state depends on its ability to coexist with Israel.

In fact, Palestinian Authority spokesperson Saeb Erekat was the first Arab leader to condemn similarly inflammatory remarks made by Ahmadinejad in November, stating: "We have recognized the state of Israel and we are pursuing a peace process with Israel, and...we do not accept the statements of the President of Iran. This is unacceptable."

Erekat’s sentiment is echoed by the majority of Palestinians, two-thirds of whom support the recognition of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, in conjunction with the recognition of a Palestinian state alongside it (poll conducted September 2005, by the highly respected Palestinian Center for Policy and Research).

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom urges the leadership of Arab states that recognize and maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, including Jordan and Egypt, to follow the Palestinian Authority’s example by immediately repudiating President Ahmadinejad’s incitement and moving decisively to isolate the extremism.

We likewise renew our call to the US Administration to appoint a high-level American envoy to work to defuse the growing tension between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and to bring the two parties back to the negotiating table. Only a peace negotiated between the two sides and actively supported by the US can decisively change the climate that made the Iranian President’s statements possible.

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, two-state settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Brit Tzedek’s network is now over 30,000 people strong, with 32 chapters in cities across the country.