Mideast Status Quo A Danger

Gary Rosenblatt is correct in his assertion that “meaningful and effective change must come from within” for
Israel to pursue peace with the Palestinians (“Is ‘Change From Within’ Israel’s New Mantra?” June 28). That is why it is imperative
for those of us living outside the country to impress upon Israelis the peril
posed by the status quo.

Many have been lulled into a false sense of security by the sharp downturn in
recent years of rocket and bomb attacks, courtesy of both Israel’s and the
Palestinian Authority’s highly competent security services. But the erosion
of the country’s security proceeds nonetheless. Demographic trends assure
that without a solution, a Jewish minority will in a few years find itself
ruling over a non-Jewish majority. Israel will then have to choose between
continuing as a democracy or as a Jewish state. Only with a two-state
solution can it be both.

Meanwhile, the country’s security — not to mention its Jewish values —
is compromised by a globally despised occupation that deprives Palestinians
of their land, property, freedom of movement, livelihoods, and all too often
their lives.

We must therefore do all we can to persuade Israelis to shake off an inertia
that assures the destruction of the Jewish State as we know it. We can do so
by vigorously supporting Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to restart
the peace talks, and by joining such organizations as J Street in their call
for a just, two-state solution.

Manhattan