Contact:
Sarah Anne Minkin, office 510-465-1777 x304, sarahanne@jvp.org
www.JewishVoiceforPeace.org

[San Francisco, June 6, 2008] The national peace group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) expressed deep concerns today regarding statements made by presumptive presidential candidates McCain and Obama at the AIPAC conference.    

"Since declaring on Wednesday at the AIPAC conference that Jerusalem 'must remain undivided,' Senator Obama has backtracked and indicated he is open to a shared Jerusalem. We welcome his new statement, because the first one undermined the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that Obama promises to promote, " said Sarah Anne Minkin, JVP's Director of Education.

"Indeed, declaring Jerusalem as Israeli-ruled-only violates U.S. policy and international standards. It ignores Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem and the more than 240,000 Palestinian residents there, while implicitly supporting Israel's continued land expropriation, demolition of Palestinian homes, and expansion of settlement building, such as the 900 tenders issued to new housing for Jewish Israelis in East Jerusalem this week."

Further, JVP expressed concerned that both Senators McCain and Obama promised massive unconditional military aid to Israel.

JVP believes the U.S. must hold Israel accountable for using U.S. weapons against civilians. Numerous human rights organizations have documented Israel's use of U.S. weapons against civilian populations - from the basic maintenance of the Occupation of Palestinian Territories to the bombing of civilian areas in Gaza to the use of cluster bombs against Lebanese civilians in 2006. The use of weapons against civilians is in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act; even the U.S. State Department itself believed it likely that Israel's cluster bombs in Lebanon violated U.S. law. We implore the Senators to hold Israel accountable to U.S. law and prevent the use of our weapons against civilians.

Finally, both Senators McCain and Obama continued to demand the exclusion of Hamas from the negotiating table.

While JVP deplores any and all violence against civilians, we stand behind former President Jimmy Carter when he claims that Hamas must be included in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. 64% of Israeli citizens want their government to speak to Hamas, the democratically elected leadership of the Palestinian people. Peace agreements are negotiated with enemies, not friends. For the sake of achieving a just peace, we ask the Senators to support the inclusion of Hamas in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

About Jewish Voice for Peace
Founded in 1996, Jewish Voice for Peace is a national grassroots peace organization dedicated to promoting a US foreign policy in the Middle East based on peace, democracy, human rights and respect for international law. With over 20,000 supporters, JVP's board of Jewish American and Israeli advisors includes Pulitzer and Tony award winner Tony Kushner, actor Ed Asner, poet Adrienne Rich as well as other respected rabbis, artists, scholars and activists. For experts on peace between Israel and Palestine, contact us directly at cecilie@jvp.org.