J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami issued the following statement in response to the resignation of George Mitchell, President Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East:
J Street has deep respect for George Mitchell’s service as special Middle East peace envoy over the past two years. We are and will continue to be inspired by the Ambassador’s firm conviction that ‘there is no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended.’
As Ambassador Mitchell leaves the Obama Administration, it is of utmost importance that the White House move swiftly to carry Ambassador Mitchell’s crucial work forward and to advance Middle East peace at this critical juncture.
With a new Palestinian unity government in the making, revolutions at Israel’s doorstep, and a planned UN vote on Palestinian statehood, the ground is shifting dramatically under American and Israeli feet. If the US would see a just, two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it must act with a renewed sense of urgency.
J Street calls upon the Obama Administration to seize this historic moment to put forward a credible diplomatic initiative and take concrete steps toward ending the conflict once and for all. Not only is this essential to the interests of both the United States and of Israel, it is the only way to leave Israel’s fate and security in its own hands. Without genuine movement toward a bilateral peace, Israel will soon find itself forced to react to the unilateral decisions of others.
When such bold steps are taken, and that ‘one day of success’ to which Ambassador Mitchell often alludes comes to fruition in the achievement of a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, George Mitchell will rightfully share in that accomplishment. We wish him all the best, and thank him for his efforts to advance Middle East peace.