I applaud the sentiments expressed by my colleague Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove (“On Israel, the Sane Center Must Speak with Passion,” Opinion, Oct. 14), especially his charge that if diaspora Jews “want to effectuate change” in Israel, we should “do it systematically… [by, among other actions,] support[ing] those efforts aimed at creating a two-state solution.”
My involvement with J Street has only solidified my belief that its laser-like advocacy on this issue is a critical component to the communal conversation that Cosgrove suggests.
A two-state solution is required for the usual reasons: it will enable the State of Israel to remain both a democracy and the national homeland of the Jewish people, and it recognizes the moral right of the Palestinian people to their own sovereign country. Perhaps most significantly, it is consistent with the New American Zionism that Cosgrove proposes. It allows all streams of American Judaism to continue to flourish in our wonderful, multicultural, multi-religious country. Continued delay toward a solution seriously impedes this vibrancy, disillusioning the next generation of American Jews.
For the future of our children and grandchildren, I urge the “sane center” of American Jews – whether they identify as cultural, religious, ethnic or “just Jews” – to support all efforts toward this goal.
New York, N.Y.
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