J Street Response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Address to the United Nations General Assembly

J Street welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to the UN General Assembly today, warning of the serious threat that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose and recognizing the shared global determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

At the same time, we regret that the Prime Minister did not elaborate further on essential information regarding both the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and the failure to reach a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Prime Minister Netanyahu missed an opportunity to broaden and firm the resolve of the international coalition working against Iran’s nuclear non-compliance by glossing over significant new information detailing how sanctions have begun to put real pressure on the Iranian regime.

Similarly, J Street is disappointed that Prime Minister Netanyahu did not mention the urgent challenges confronting the two-state solution. The catastrophic financial crisis looming before the Palestinian Authority, the potential spread of unrest throughout the Arab world, and the possibility that violence could reignite, all pose a serious threat to Israel’s security and to the prospects of an agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

J Street reiterates the urgency of addressing the multiple threats facing Israel as a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish people including both a nuclear-armed Iran and the failure to reach a two-state solution.