Dear President Obama,
I am deeply concerned about your speech yesterday in which you, in effect, urged Israel to begin negotiations with the Palestinians from the starting point of her 1967 borders, which means the 1949 armistice lines.
As a negotiating strategy, this means that it is merely a starting point and that the Palestinians will start from there as a minimum negotiating position.
In addition, such a peace agreement, if it ever materializes, will leave the State of Israel in an indefensible position in the face of a Palestinian Authority – Hamas coalition whose fundamental position is the elimination of Israel.
Your unforgettable remarks in Sderot before you were elected President, and concerning which I spoke to you at the National Prayer Service marking your Inauguration, are ringing in my ears. You said, “If anyone were shooting rockets into a home where my children were sleeping, I would make sure that they could never do that again.” Imagine the Israeli families in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and throughout the heartland of Israel, whose houses will be rocketed if a “peace agreement” is premised upon indefensible borders.
The three most important principles in any negotiation between Israel and its sworn enemies are:
1) Defensible borders
2) Unconditional recognition of Israel as a Jewish State by the Palestinian Authority – Hamas Coalition
3) No withdrawal of Israeli forces until the above two principles and the issues of Jerusalem and the “refugees” have been resolved.
Respectfully,
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein
I am deeply concerned about your speech yesterday in which you, in effect, urged Israel to begin negotiations with the Palestinians from the starting point of her 1967 borders, which means the 1949 armistice lines.
As a negotiating strategy, this means that it is merely a starting point and that the Palestinians will start from there as a minimum negotiating position.
In addition, such a peace agreement, if it ever materializes, will leave the State of Israel in an indefensible position in the face of a Palestinian Authority – Hamas coalition whose fundamental position is the elimination of Israel.
Your unforgettable remarks in Sderot before you were elected President, and concerning which I spoke to you at the National Prayer Service marking your Inauguration, are ringing in my ears. You said, “If anyone were shooting rockets into a home where my children were sleeping, I would make sure that they could never do that again.” Imagine the Israeli families in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and throughout the heartland of Israel, whose houses will be rocketed if a “peace agreement” is premised upon indefensible borders.
The three most important principles in any negotiation between Israel and its sworn enemies are:
1) Defensible borders
2) Unconditional recognition of Israel as a Jewish State by the Palestinian Authority – Hamas Coalition
3) No withdrawal of Israeli forces until the above two principles and the issues of Jerusalem and the “refugees” have been resolved.
Respectfully,
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein
