Help promote the resumption of bilateral negotiations between Israel and the PA

The Palestinian Authority leadership is pursuing a policy at the United Nations known as Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), seeking recognition as an independent state. According to the latest reports, on September 23, the UN Security Council will be asked to deliberate and vote on this unilateral Palestinian move.

The UDI rejects the long-standing consensus of a negotiated resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, instead using the UN as a vehicle to isolate and build diplomatic pressure on Israel. Such a move will obstruct further negotiations and make it harder for the two parties to compromise in the future. Achieving Palestinian statehood outside a negotiations framework with Israel is contrary to past UN resolutions, the position of the Middle East Quartet (the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia) and long-standing U.S. policy.

President Obama has rejected this unilateral approach, acknowledging that only through direct negotiations can a sustainable peace - one that promotes security and prosperity - be achieved, and actively urging the Palestinians to return to the negotiations table. The Jewish Community Relations Council is currently conducting an extensive outreach campaign to Bay Area elected and appointed officials, union leaders, faith leaders, and Jewish community leaders to inform them about the UDI and enroll their support for a negotiated resolution of the conflict. As part of a wider campaign, the JCRC is also meeting with or sending letters to San Francisco-based Consuls General of key western nations, raising concerns about UDI and urging their governments to stand against the unilateral move in the United Nations.