By Jeff Warner
[Editor’s Note: Last week, the letter below, written by an Oakland member of Jewish Voice for Peace and addressed to Jeff Warner, leader of L.A. Jews for Peace, urgently was dispatched to Jews for Peace members. The goal was to encourage Vice President Joe Biden to be critical of Israel when he addressed a huge Jewish group yesterday. A brief recap of Mr. Biden’s talk follows.]
In just a few days, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will speak to the largest gathering of Jewish leaders in the country at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America—and we have a real chance to influence what he says.
Timing is critical: Jerusalem is on edge as tensions erupt over the status of the Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount complex. Violence and repression are escalating quickly, sure to be fueled by yesterday’s provocative call by an Israeli official for the construction of the third Temple over al-Aqsa.
Will Vice President Biden avoid the elephant in the room? Or will he show tough love and challenge American Jewish leaders’ de-facto support for expanded settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes, segregated bus lines, and the source of many of the tensions we're seeing now, the “Judaization” of East Jerusalem?
We have just a few days to urge him to tell the truth. Help us flood Vice President Biden’s office with emails and calls to demand an honest conversation about Israeli policies.
While the U.S. government has always provided unconditional support for Israel’s occupation, today the relationship between the White House and Israeli leadership is more strained than ever. Our elected and Jewish leaders need to hold Israel accountable to international law, not pander to the farthest-right elements of Israeli society.
If we don’t speak up now, Biden is likely to tell this gathering of thousands exactly what many want to hear—a tired fairy tale about unconditional support for the United States’ “greatest ally” that allows everyone to continue ignoring the ongoing crises on the ground.
We have four days to deliver our message to Vice President Biden. Send a message to Biden’s office now. Let him know we are watching and expect him to take action, and to challenge leaders at the JFNA gathering.
Mr. Warner may be contacted at info@lajewsforpeace.org
Headline: What Biden Said
By the National Journal
Vice President Joe Biden sought to smooth over U.S.-Israeli relations Monday in an address to the Jewish Federations of North America.
Nearly two weeks after a senior Obama administration official called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a chicken–” in an interview with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, Mr. Biden attempted to play down the scuffles that have characterized the leaders' relationship in recent months. He described the two countries' rapport clearly in his signature, colloquial style.
“Like all close friends, we talk honestly to one another,” Mr. Biden said. “We disagree with one another. We love one another, and we drive one another crazy. That is what friends do.”
Mr. Biden joked that he once signed a picture for Bibi that said, “I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I love ya.”
“We really are good friends,” Biden said of their relationship. “He has been a great, great friend.”
