Russian Jews call for Israel not to give in to western peace calls
Prominent Russian Jewish businessmen, activists and artists have called in a letter to the Israeli PM to pursue an independent policy and not give in to pressure from Western countries.
The signatories claimed that they had learned about the letter sent to the Prime Minister Netanyahu by “one hundred influential Jews from the United States” who urged the national leader to show readiness to make territorial concessions for the sake of peace.
The Russian Jews assured they were also concerned about Israel’s security and guaranteed future, but urged the Prime Minister to make decisions on the basis of his own understanding of the situation and in the interests of his country’s citizens, according to the Russian Jewish Congress press service.
The authors of the message then asked Netanyahu not to succumb to external pressure, wherever it might come from – international public opinion, US authorities or American Jews, even the influential ones..
The letter was signed by the head of the Russian Jewish Congress Yuri Kanner, the head of the Federation of Russian Jewish Communities Aleksander Boroda and the chief rabbi of Moscow and the president of the European Rabbis Conference, Pinhas Goldshmidt, and others.
The Russian Jewish Congress said the collecting of the signatures under the letter continues.
It is apparently a reply to the letter sent to PM Netanyahu by over 100 Jewish Democrats, Democratic donors, and liberal rabbis in which they asked the Israeli leader “to make painful territorial sacrifices for the sake of peace” with the Palestinians.
The letter also said that the Israeli government must demonstrate its commitment to the ‘two states for two peoples’ solution and challenges Palestinian leaders to make similar steps.
The Jewish Democrats also asked Netanyahu to work closely with US Secretary of State John Kerry in order to find pragmatic approaches that would be in line with Israel’s security needs. The Secretary of State visited Israel and Turkey over the past weekend.
During the visit to Israel John Kerry said he sees "a road ahead" on the two-state solution and added that the Israeli public had “to believe in the possibilities to be able to get there”.
Israeli President Shimon Peres told Kerry he felt the two-state solution as the best and added that the parameters for that agreement already existed. “Two states for two peoples - a Jewish state, Israel, and an Arab state, Palestine," Peres said, according to Yediot Ahronot newspaper.
Israel and Palestinians are currently observing a truce that was agreed in November through Egyptian mediation following several days of violence. However, the peace is sometimes marred by escalations of violence like the one in early April when Israeli forces exchanged missile strikes with Palestinians in Gaza.
