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IMRA: The letter was initiated by the Israel Policy Forum.
While the group's website explains
that "Israel Policy Forum is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan
organization with a singular
purpose: to support active and sustained American efforts aimed
at resolving the conflict
between Israel and its Arab neighbors" it is known for its
close ties to the Israel Labor
Party. The term "support active and sustained American efforts"
means "support American
pressure on Israel". During the glory days of Oslo, the
Israel Policy Forum was long on praise
and close to nonexistent in sober concern or interest in Palestinian
compliance.]
November 22, 2004 The Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice National
Security Advisor The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500
Dear Dr. Rice: Congratulations on your nomination by President
Bush to become our country's
Secretary of State. As leaders in Jewish communities and organizations
across the United
States, we are heartened by the strong ties you have nurtured
between our country and the State
of Israel over the past four years. And we are delighted because
we know you will remain true
to the President's vision, to which he recommitted himself on
November 12, of a "peaceful
resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict based on two democratic
states - Israel and Palestine -
living side-by-side in peace and security."
Peace between Arabs and Israelis is a vital concern of all
Americans. A vigorous, American-led
effort to turn this vision into reality would encourage international
support for America's
broad Middle East policy and diminish anti-Americanism in the
Arab and Muslim world. America
needs the partnership of other nations to successfully wage war
on terrorism and bring
stability to Iraq. There are many challenging paths to achieving
our country 's objectives in
Baghdad and, we believe, one of them runs through Jerusalem.
Dr. Rice, we know that you share our conviction that the strategic
concerns of the United
States and Israel intersect at numerous junctures. We believe
that these two great democracies
now share a common interest in the emergence of a stronger, more
democratic Palestinian
Authority. For that reason, we urge you to guide the Administration's
foreign policy towards
the following goals:
The empowerment of new moderate, pragmatic Palestinian leaders,
so that they can bring tangible
improvements to the daily lives of Palestinians right away. These
include Israel's easing of
restriction of movement for Palestinians in the West Bank, allowing
more Palestinians to work
in Israel to support their families and releasing additional
funds to the Palestinian
Authority. We believe that all these steps can become feasible
if the Palestinians move quickly
to bring order to their security system so that they can end
the option of violence by
terrorists and so that they can resume security cooperation with
Israel. But we also believe
that they will need our help, support, and guidance if they are
to accomplish these goals.
Elections for the new president of the Palestinian Authority,
scheduled to take place on
January 9th, that are fair and peaceful, so that the results
are accepted and the elected
president has authority to govern. A successful democratic election
by the Palestinians can
only help in pointing the way to successful elections in Iraq
later that month.
Helping Israel to reorient its plan to unilaterally disengage
from Gaza and several settlements
in the northern West Bank so that its originally unilateral character
is shifted towards a more
bilateral effort. Prime Minister Sharon has said that he plans
"to find every possible way in
which the new Palestinian leadership will be prepared to begin
contacts so as to start
advancing our relations with the Palestinians." Doing so
is an integral component of making
sure that this historic withdrawal succeeds and this bilateral
approach, together with support
from Egypt and the United States, should ensure that it does.
This withdrawal would then become
an important step toward reviving the Administration's "Roadmap
to Peace."
In all these and all future activities by the Administration
in the Israeli-Palestinian arena,
America's ability to serve as a credible, honest broker is essential.
We therefore believe it
is important to work with Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian, and
other Arab leaders, as well as
our European allies, in order to enable the Palestinians to mount
a genuine and concerted
effort to prevent terrorist attacks against Israel. At the same
time, we believe this is the
right time for Israel to fulfill its commitments to stop settlement
activity that it undertook
to the Administration in April 2004.
It will take your ongoing, personal involvement, Dr. Rice,
to reach this noble and crucial
goal, to create reality from President Bush's vision. We believe
the Administration has the
correct policy as stated by the President. Although you enter
office with a myriad of pressing
problems, we also believe that additional time and political
capital devoted to this issue will
bring positive results. Otherwise, a crucial opportunity may
be lost, and dealing with the
consequences will take even more of your valuable time in the
months to come.
We pledge our personal, energetic, and public support for
your efforts to attain this
objective, which is vital to the advancement of U.S. interests
in the region, not the least of
which is the security of Israel. That is why it is so important
for all Americans to support
the Administration's efforts in this regard. We are certain that
the vast majority of American
Jews will. We will do our part to make sure that they do. We
stand ready to work with you and
assist you in any way we can to help take advantage of the change
in Palestinian leadership by
doing our part to bring about a democratic Palestine at peace
with a secure Israel.
Sincerely,
Marvin Lender, CT
Seymour D. Reich, NY
James Adler, MD
David Arnow, NY
Thomas Barad, CA
Rabbi Karen Bender, CA
Rabbi Laszlo Berkowits, VA
Rabbi Jonathan Biatch, CA
Rabbi Bruce S. Block, NJ
Hyman Bookbinder, MD
Rabbi Herbert Brockman, CT
Rabbi Samuel G. Broude, CA
Rabbi Stephen E. Cohen, CA
Lester Crown, IL
Rabbi Jerome K. Davidson, NY
Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein, NY
Rabbi Ted Falcon, WA
Irwin S. Field, CA
Rabbi Harvey J. Fields, CA
Sybil A. Fields, CA
Rabbi Wayne M. Franklin, RI
Linda Gallanter, CA
Sanford Gallanter, CA
Susan Gelman, MD
David Goldberg, OH
Rabbi Samuel N. Gordon, IL
Rabbi Marc A. Gruber, NY
Mimi Haas, CA
Gary Heiman, OH
Rabbi Howard L. Jaffe, NY
Peter Joseph, NY
Rabbi Raphael J. Kanter, MA
Rabbi David Kirshner, NY
Jonathan Klein, WA
Rabbi Chava Koster, NY
Rabbi Douglas E. Krantz, NYThomas Kully, IL
Geoffrey Lewis, MA
Rabbi Brian Lurie, CA
Rabbi Harvey A. Manhoff, CA
Theodore Mann, PA
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, CA
Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk, VA
Alan Patricof, NY
Rabbi Stanley Platek
Rabbi Norman T. Roman, MI
Michele Rosen, WA
Dr. Henry Rosovsky, MA
Rabbi David Saperstein, DC
Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso, IN
Rabbi Sandy E. Sasso, IN
Steve Schatzman, VA
Alan Solomont, MA
Michael W. Sonnenfeldt, NY
Robert Spiegel, NY
Susan Spiegel, NY
Robert B. Spitzer, WA
Rabbi Israel C. Stein, CT
Rabbi Arthur Z. Steinberg, VA
Judith Stern Peck, NY
Rabbi Susan B. Stone, OH
Joel D. Tauber, MI
Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, NY
Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, NY
Melvyn I. Weiss, NY
Rabbi Avi Winokur, PA
Rabbi Jeffrey A. Wohlberg, DC
Kathryn J. Wolf, VA
Rabbi Jonathan S. Woll, NJ
Alan Wurtzel, DC
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, NY
Aaron Ziegelman, NY
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