JERUSALEM — J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami and Board Chair Davidi Gilo issued the following statement in response to reports of a bus bombing in downtown Jerusalem near the central bus station:
J Street condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s attack in Jerusalem, as well as the increase in rocket attacks on the south of Israel. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families and to the people of Israel who in recent days are experiencing once again an increase in terror and violence. We support the State of Israel in taking the steps necessary to respond to today’s attacks, to protect all its citizens, and to bring those who perpetrated today’s attack to justice. We are in Jerusalem today, a mile from the bombing, for a debate in Israel’s Knesset, at which we reiterated that the security of Israel depends on ending the conflict with the Palestinian people through a two-state solution. We remember at this moment the advice of Yitzhak Rabin that we must fight terror as if there were no peace process, but pursue peace as if there were no terror. Even on the blackest of days like today, we recall his words and seek to carry out his legacy.