RJC to Biden Administration: Stop Pressuring Israel on Palestinian State
Washington, DC - Republican Jewish Coalition National Chairman Senator Norm Coleman and Chief Executive Officer Matt Brooks made the following statement today:
We are deeply troubled by the Biden administration's growing pressure on Israel to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state.
Genuine solidarity with Israel requires a clear understanding of the difficult realities confronting the people and government of the Jewish state. Today, Israel is at war against the monstrous terrorists who perpetrated the October 7th atrocities, dozens of Israelis remain captives of Hamas, and no Palestinian faction has condemned the horror that led to the current crisis.
In these circumstances, Israelis across the political spectrum are united behind the objectives of eradicating Hamas as a threat to Israel and securing the return of all the hostages. Until those objectives are accomplished, pressuring the Jewish state to make irreversible and potentially perilous long-term diplomatic commitments is a grave failure to live up to America's proud history of standing with Israel against its deadly enemies.
The Biden administration vaguely admits that the Palestinian Authority is not currently up to the job of administering a Palestinian state when it says that the PA must be "reformed" or "revitalized." But let's be clear: As long as the Palestinian Authority is still rewarding terrorist murderers through its massive "pay-for-slay" subsidies and refusing to condemn the October 7th atrocities, it remains unfit to administer a Palestinian state.
Israel has proven its willingness to make peace over and over again. The Palestinians, very much including the Palestinian Authority, have repeatedly rejected efforts to make peace. The Biden administration's diplomatic efforts will fail if they are based on a denial of that history and a refusal to admit the catastrophic failings of today's Palestinian leadership.
The Biden administration is wrong to assume that Jewish Americans support its pressure on Israel. We urge members of Congress to use all the tools at their disposal to push back against the Biden administration's misguided efforts and prevent the nightmare scenario of a terrorist state on Israel's borders.