The May 21, 2020 letter to Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gantz signed by seventeen (17) Senators, all Democrats, including Massachusetts Senators Markey and Warren, New Hampshire Senator Shaheen and Rhode Island Senator Whitehouse, is devoid of historical facts and legal principles, seeks to disguise cynical threats with hollow pieties, and is based upon progressive ideological myths. The Senators claim to be long time supporters of Israel in an attempt to gain credibility as they warn Israel not to unilaterally annex land because such an action would allegedly violate decades of understandings between Israel, the U.S., the Palestinians and the “international community.” The result, they assert, would harm Israel’s relationship with its allies and with the American public.
CJUI hopes that all who support a fair, realistic and moral American policy towards Israel and the Arab world in the Middle East read the letter with discernment and without naiveté. The purpose of CJUI’s response is not to provide a lengthy deconstruction of the Senators’ letter, but to point out that the Senators lost credibility by predetermining the issue through their assertion that annexation would take “Palestinian Land,” and by failing to mention that it is the Palestinians who consistently refuse to negotiate. They also lose credibility by not issuing any kind of similar statement addressed to the Palestinian leadership. Their one-sided letter is consistent with the biased position towards Israel manifested by the refusal of Senators Sanders, Warren and other Democratic candidates for the presidential nomination (other than Biden) to address AIPAC.
CJUI urges that letters to foreign leaders from American politicians, containing ill-defined slogans that address complex issues requiring study and good judgment, be read with discernment and understanding concerning the actual intended audience for the letters – particularly when America is in the heat of a presidential campaign.