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
