NEW YORK (JTA) — A coalition of Jewish organizations unveiled a petition opposing the unilateral bid for Palestinian statehood with 100,000 signatures.
The Israel Action Network and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York unveiled the petition Tuesday in a ceremony only a few blocks from the United Nations building where the Palestinian Authority will pursue its statehood bid this week. The groups plan to deliver it to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as well as the U.N. ambassadors from the world body’s 193 member states.
They will deliver the petition in person to the Canadian and U.S. ambassadors in meetings later this week.
"We wanted to reach out not just to opinion leaders but to our communities," Geri Palast, the managing director of the Israel Action Network, told JTA.
Seventy-eight federations and Jewish agencies co-sponsored the petition.
Meanwhile, six blocks away, six Jewish demonstrators were arrested after blocking traffic to protest the United Nations.
