AIPAC Statement on Lowey-Granger Letter

April 15, 2016

I want to share with you good news from Capitol Hill.

In a timely and overwhelmingly bipartisan statement, more than 90 percent of the House of Representatives signed a letter to President Barack Obama yesterday stating, “We are deeply troubled by reports that one-sided initiatives may arise at the UN in the coming months concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

This letter urges the president “to continue to insist that it is only at the negotiating table – and not at the UN – that the parties can resolve their complicated differences.”

And most significantly, the letter concludes, “Your continued commitment to longstanding U.S. policy to veto one-sided UN Security Council resolutions remains fundamentally critical.”

This was one of three central lobbying items at AIPAC’s Policy Conference last month, and was supported by thousands of our members’ emails and calls to congressional offices.

Led by Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Kay Granger (R-TX) — joined by Karen Bass (D-CA), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) — the letter underscores that direct negotiations between the two parties remain the only viable path toward a lasting peace.

The letter also highlights that the “United States must maintain its indispensable role of mediator” and keep to these tenets:

• Close coordination with our democratic ally Israel;
• A refusal to support counterproductive efforts aimed at imposing a solution on the parties;
• Opposition to Palestinian efforts to seek recognition of statehood status in international bodies;
• A willingness to oppose and, if need be, veto one-sided United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions;
• A commitment to work with Arab states to contribute to peace and development efforts; and
• Unequivocal condemnation of terrorist organizations like Hamas until such groups recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce terror, and accept prior Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

AIPAC joins the overwhelming majority of House members who support these vital principles, which lay the foundation for a sustainable peace and reject efforts to bypass direct talks through one-sided UN resolutions.

Please take a moment to thank your representative for signing this important letter by clicking here.

I want to thank you for your hard work to secure broad bipartisan support for this initiative, and for your commitment to AIPAC’s important efforts to ensure that any future two-state solution is achieved through direct negotiations between the parties themselves.

Sincerely,

Lillian Pinkus
AIPAC President