To the Editor:
President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are correct to use diplomatic levers to persuade Prime Minister Netanyahu that settlement building in East Jerusalem runs contrary to Israeli and U.S. security because it is incompatible with negotiations on a peace agreement and a two-state solution. East Jerusalem is not part of Israel, it is Palestinian territory.
As Alan Dershowitz wrote in his book "The Case for Peace," the need to divide Jerusalem into two sectors, Jewish and Palestinian, "is obvious to all reasonable people."
If Representative Berkley wants to help Israel and Netanyahu, she should speak out against continued settlement building that will torpedo the peace process and further undermine Israeli and U.S. security.
Paul Surovell
South Mountain Peace Action
Maplewood, N.J.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.