US Synagogue Organization Opposes A Palestinian State

A national coordinating agency for Jewish youth at 150 Orthodox synagogues in the United States and Canada has issued a call to its members to urge the Obama administration to oppose the formation of an independent, armed and sovereign Palestinian state.

The National Council of Young Israel warns an independent Palestinian state would open the door to a new wave of terror attacks against Israeli civilians.

“America’s stated intent to pursue an independent Palestinian state is untenable and unfeasible in light of the Palestinians’ well-documented hatred of the Jewish people and resentment of the Jewish state,” the coordinating agency said in a statement.

The Young Israel memo warns about the following issues:

• That the Palestinian Authority issues a death sentence to people who sell land to Jews;
• That Israeli POW Gilad Shalit is still being held captive by Islamic militants;
• That the U.S. has rejected Prime Minister Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinians acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state before renewing peace talks.
• That Prime Minister Netanyahu’s concerns that ceding control of Israeli land to the Palestinians would exacerbate the situation need to be taken seriously by the U.S., despite its failure in Gaza;
• That Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, cannot be divided;
• That control of Jewish holy sites, and for that matter, the Christian holy sites, cannot and should not be relinquished to the Palestinians;
• That the U.S. has not discussed what would happen in the event that the two-state solution, which it is advocating, eventually fails, nor has it spoken about what role the U.S. is prepared to play in that event to restore a sense of stability to the region.

The Young Israel initiative comes on the heels of the visit of George Mitchell, President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, to Israel.

Mr. Mitchell told his Israeli hosts during a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman: “A two-state solution is the only solution. U.S. policy favors, in respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a two-state solution which will have a Palestinian state living in peace alongside the Jewish State of Israel.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State described the United States’ policy with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the “pursuit of a two-state solution with the two countries living side-by-side in peace.”

These statements signify a trend with regard to the United States’ approach toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, under the assumption that the creation of an independent Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel will achieve a peaceful resolution of the situation in the Middle East.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com