A STATEMENT FROM JEWISHcolorado AND JCRC ON UNITED STATES-ISRAEL RELATIONS
By Jacki Cooper Melmed, JCRC Chair 
and Doug Seserman, JEWISHcolorado President and CEO

DENVER, CO (April 3, 2015) — JEWISHcolorado and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) call upon all parties to re-emphasize the bedrock relationship that has existed between the United States and Israel for decades. This relationship is based on common interests, common democratic values, and a common commitment to peace and security for the region and the world.

We are concerned by the current perceived and real struggles between the Israeli and American governments. The relationship between the United States and Israel is mutually beneficial and has never been more important than it is today, especially given the unprecedented turmoil and growing threat of extremism in the region.

We are encouraged by recent White House assurances that both the United States’ commitment to Israel’s military as well as the joint U.S.-Israel intelligence and military cooperation continue unchanged.

We congratulate Benjamin Netanyahu on his recent victory in the democratic election and wish him well in his efforts to form a stable coalition for Israeli citizens, Jews and non-Jews alike. We anticipate that the next Israeli government will act upon his post-election statements, committing to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

We are concerned by the growing divisiveness within American Jewry. Sadly, Israel, which once was a unifying tie that held our people together, is now fracturing some elements of our Jewish community. Rather than focusing on our differences and attempting to change each other’s opinions about Israel, we need to grow our ability to have civil discourse— to better understand each other’s perspectives, not change each other’s minds. For us to remain strong, we need to achieve a shared understanding and belief system of the critical role Israel plays for us as a people. As Theodore Herzl once said, there is no Judaism without Zionism, and there is no Zionism without Judaism.