Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s Executive Director, issued the following statement in response to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s comments last night at AIPAC’s Policy Conference:
J Street rejects former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s attacks on President Obama and his Middle East agenda at the annual AIPAC conference and in The Jerusalem Post. Gingrich’s comments that the President is “endangering Israel” by working toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are particularly misguided, as such a solution is critical to securing Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic homeland, as well as to broader regional peace efforts. The former Speaker’s endorsement of military action against Iran, as well as his baseless criticism of diplomatic engagement, fly in the face of the widely accepted strategic assessment that tough, direct diplomacy is the necessary first step to dealing with Iranian threats. We reject the old, failed policies of threats and fear promoted by Gingrich, and stand with President Obama in his pursuit of a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to Israel’s conflicts with its neighbors.