Jewish Groups Watch and Wait on Trump Two-State Solution ‘Shift’
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By Josh Nathan-Kazis February 15, 2017
In the hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Trump, Jewish groups are mostly staying mum on a statement from the White House that could signal an historic shift in U.S. policy.
An unnamed White House official told reporters that the Trump administration was not necessarily committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A two-state solution — meaning the establishment of a Palestinian state — has been official U.S. policy for decades, and has served as a lodestone within much of the organized Jewish community.
Jewish groups have remained uncharacteristically quiet on the statement. Neither J Street, AIPAC, the American Jewish Committee, nor the Jewish Federations of North America put out statements.
The only Jewish group to respond to the Forward’s request for comment on the statement was the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. “We strongly believe that two states for two people is the only possible solution to the conflict,” said the group’s president, David Bernstein. “Foreclosing on it could be disastrous.”
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com
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