Americans for Peace Now urged the U.S. Jewish foreign policy umbrella to back Israel’s negotiations with Syria.
“In pursuing this brave course – a course that entails painful compromises required to improve Israeli security – the government of Israel deserves the encouragement and support of the organized American Jewish community,” APN wrote in a May 21 letter to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “We urge the leadership of the Conference of Presidents to immediately issue a statement of such support and solidarity.”
APN, a constituent of the Presidents’ Conference, also urged the umbrella group to lobby the Bush administration to back the talks. The administration was unhappy with the announcement of the talks last week, believing that Syria has not done enough to distance itself from terrorist groups.
“No Israeli-Arab peace agreement has ever been reached without the active engagement of the U.S. administration,” APN’ s letter said. “We therefore urge the leadership of the Conference of Presidents to undertake a sustained campaign to ensure U.S. active support for this negotiating track. This campaign should begin by urging the Bush administration to do everything in its power to see that these negotiations succeed.”
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