US Jewish leaders 'concerned' over Levy report
Forty American Jewish leaders sent a letter to Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday, expressing concerns about the findings
of the Levy Committee regarding the legality of Jewish settlements in the West
Bank.
The letter was initiated and organized by the Israel
Policy Forum.
"As strong advocates for Israel’s security and
well-being as a Jewish and democratic state, we are deeply concerned about the
recent findings of the government commission led by [retired Supreme Court
Justice] Edmund Levy. We fear that if approved, this report will place the
two-state solution, and the prestige of Israel as a democratic member of the
international community, in peril," the letter read.
Signatories to the letter include philanthropists Charles
Bronfman and Lester Crown; Marvin Lender Former National Chairman of UJA;
Deborah Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust
Studies at Emory University; Bernard Nussbaum, former White House Counsel;
Richard Pearlstone, former chairman of the Jewish Agency; and Rabbi David
Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
The Levy Committee, which was formed by Netanyahu and
headed by former Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, said in its 89-page report
released last week that “Israel does not meet the criteria of ‘military
occupation’ as defined under international law” in the West Bank, and that
therefore settlements and West Bank outposts are legal.
The report recommends changing the legal regulations
concerning Jewish settlement in the West Bank in the areas of zoning,
demolitions and building.
The findings of the committee are subject to the review
and approval of Attorney-General Yehuda
Weinstein.
"Securing Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic
state requires diplomatic and political leadership, not legal
maneuverings," the US Jewish leaders continued.
"We recognize and regret that the Palestinian
Authority has abdicated leadership by not returning to the negotiating table.
Nonetheless, our great fear is that the Levy Report will not strengthen
Israel's position in this conflict, but rather add fuel to those who seek to
delegitimize Israel’s right to exist."
"At this moment, it is more critical than ever that
Israel strengthen its claim in the international community that it is committed
to a two-state vision, which is, in turn, central to Israel’s future as a
Jewish and democratic state," the letter concluded.
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