Pro-Israel and Pro-Peace

It is a thrill to be here at the first national conference of J Street, the new advocacy organization that, in the first 18 months of its existence, has amply demonstrated the strength of the previously quiet majority of American Jews who support a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a comprehensive agreement between Israel and her Arab neighbors.  The atmosphere here at the conference in D.C. is electric, as one would expect in a room filled with nearly 1500 Jewish peace activists.  Rousing ovations regular greet speakers who announce their devotion to a safe and secure Israel living as a Jewish and democratic state alongside a vibrant State of Palestine.

I resonate deeply to J Street’s essential message - that a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not only essential to stopping the violence in a region which has suffered for far too long from the parties’ own pain and passion for land and exclusive truth.  A two-state solution, recites one speaker after another, is essential to both the physical safety and the communal, philosophical, and religious integrity of Israel as a state that is true to time-honored Jewish values of human dignity, respect for all persons, and particularly, passionate concern for those marginalized in any human society.   I could not agree more.

At first, I began to count how many participants publicly declared their passionate love for Israel and their agonized concern for Israel’s physical safety and spiritual well-being.  By the middle of my first afternoon here, I lost count.  Profound concern for Israel, foundational commitments to  democratic values and the timeless Jewish belief in universal human dignity, animate the great majority of participants in their support for J Street’s platform.

At this conference, the usual discourse has been radically and persuasively reframed. To be “pro-Israel” is no longer to be “anti-Palestinian” or “anti-” anything.   Rather, to know and care about Palestinians and to strongly advocate for a strong, viable and recognized State of Palestine is the only way to be truly “pro-Israel” in our day, for the status quo can only bring more violence to all the people of the region, and more deterioration in the view of Israel by young American Jews and by the international community. This conference marks the coming of age of a movement of people passionate about being pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-democracy, and pro-justice  (though one particularly charismatic speaker quipped that this is way too long a tagline for a new movement).

There is much talk of a great moment for progressive Jewry, and of the majority of American Jews, Israeli Jews, and Palestinians who endorse the idea of a two-state solution to the conflict.  There is no public prayer, as this is a very diverse group of secular Jewish political activists, religious Jewish leaders, and a few Muslim peace activists.  But I am certain that, amidst the enthusiastic applause and animated conversation, I am not the only one praying, with newfound hope, for peace.