State of the Union and Israel

This year’s State of the Union address comes at a crucial moment in prospects for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Negotiations have finally restarted after a year and a half with no communication between the two parties, punctuated by the PA’s actions at the United Nations this fall. The talks in Jordan earlier this month, under the auspices of The Quartet (comprised of the European Union, US, Russia and the UN), revived the peace process that was considered dead in September 2010 after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu refused to re-institute a settlement freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused to return to the negotiating table without this and other preconditions. President Obama should use his podium on January 24 to urge both parties to remain engaged in dialogue.

Although the talks in Jordan on January 3 addressed no substantive issues, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said afterward that the atmosphere was positive and “the important thing is the two sides have met face to face today.” Talks have progressed over the past few weeks; while it has been reported that the negotiation sessions have gone late into the night, it is unclear how productive they have been, and negotiators will make a decision by the end of the month about whether the talks should continue. Meanwhile, PA leaders are pursuing dual tracks of reconciliation with both the Israeli negotiators in Jordan and
Hamas leaders in Gaza, although the latter discussions are taking place amid Israeli objections.

This year has been a particularly turbulent one across the Middle East and within Israel’s domestic political environment, but we must not forget our obligation to “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15). As Reform Jews, our interest in seeing a sustainable and peaceful solution to the conflict over Eretz Yisrael is central to our identity, and President Obama can help to secure this. Furthermore, as a global leader, it is the President’s responsibility to model to the world that peace in the Middle East remains a
priority.

Watch the speech on Tuesday, January 24, at 9 p.m. ET to hear if President Obama mentions the need for peace in Israel and make sure to follow along with the RAC’s BINGO board to see what else he discusses. Also, keep checking RACblog between now and the speech for more updates on the issues we chose for our BINGO board.

Picture courtesy of Doug Mills/The New York Times