Statements

February-March 2008

Meretz USA is co-sponsoring the traveling photo exhibit of the Israeli veterans group, Breaking the Silence. We believe the objectives of Breaking the Silence, as well as this exhibit, are fully in keeping with the spirit of Annapolis, which has renewed direct negotiations between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to achieve peace and an end to the conflict through the creation of a peaceful Palestinian state.

March 7, 2008

(click here to view the original Meretz USA weblog posting on the topic)

The brazen murder of eight yeshiva students, mostly teenagers, in a landmark mainstream Orthodox institution in Jerusalem, has convulsed Israel in sadness and outrage. That this has occurred within a week of the massive operation in the Gaza Strip, killing about 120 Palestinians, is no accident. About half, if not more, of this latter toll were of fighters of the terrorist factions, but dozens were non-combatant civilians, including children.

12/09/07 

The Board of Directors of Meretz USA , an American not-for-profit organization dedicated to the achievement of a full and just peace between Israel and all its neighbors, and most particularly, the Palestinian people, extends its warmest congratulation and support to President George Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the leaders of Israel and the PLO, and all the participants in the recently held meeting at Annapolis convened with the objective of launching intensive negotiations toward the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the creation of a viable, peaceful Palestinian state.

11/20/2007

Meretz USA President Larry Lerner and Chairman Theodore Bikel have sent greetings to all the participants in the meeting

10/31/07

New York, NY...Meretz USA President Larry Lerner has expressed regret over Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s order to begin cutting the fuel and electricity supply to the Gaza Strip. Lerner termed the order, “an unfortunate decision that will only bring greater suffering to Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

08/20/07

New York, NY…. Meretz USA President Larry Lerner and Chairman Theodore Bikel have denounced the Israel government’s agreement with Egypt, which allows it to turn back illegal immigrants – including those from the Darfur region of Sudan – without first ascertaining their refugee status.

06/26/07

The article appeared, in slightly amended form, in the June 26 edition of New York Resident magazine.

Israel and Palestine Need Negotiations, not Machinations

By Ron Skolnik

Once again, confusion reigns supreme in the Middle East. Last week, in a military offensive in the Palestinian Gaza Strip that seemed to surprise everyone, but should have surprised no one, the forces of the fundamentalist Hamas party overpowered the troops of Fatah, Hamas’ long-time rival for power.

06/10/07

The Executive Board of Meretz USA adopted a resolution on Sunday, June 10, opposing a recently passed resolution of Great Britain's University and College Union (UCU) promoting the boycott of Israeli academics and academic institutions.

05/10/07

New York, NY… Meretz USA President Larry Lerner and Chairman Theodore Bikel today announced that Meretz USA, “supports the recent demonstration staged by the Bedouin Sheep Growers Committee.”  Meretz USA, they said, “joins in the protest of the Bedouin’s unequal treatment by the Israeli government, as well as the Israeli government’s reluctance to engage that community in efforts to address its needs.”

To the editor:

Your report about West Bank settlers’ efforts to hawk real estate to investors in New Jersey (“Seeking New Israeli Settlers, Synagogue Draws Protesters”, Feb. 25) demonstrates, in a few brief paragraphs, the essential folly of the Israeli settlement enterprise.  Whether motivated by religious or economic factors, the settlers became, not guardians of Israel’s security, but security impediments, extracting an enormous cost in Israeli resources and lives over the now forty years of this ill-begotten policy.