CUFI Presses Obama to Veto Palestinian State

Christians United for Israel activists have sent more than 33,000 emails to President Barack Obama since Thursday expressing appreciation for his administration’s commitment to veto any UN Security Council action that would unilaterally declare a Palestinian State, and urging the president to remain steadfast in this pledge.

Addressing the President, the emails stated “We appreciate that you and members of your administration have indicated that the U.S. will veto such a resolution in the Security Council and vote against such a resolution in the General Assembly. We’re writing to urge you to follow through on these important commitments.”

The email goes on to express support for a negotiated solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and calls the Palestinian attempted unilateral declaration of independence “a cynical ploy to further the international isolation and delegitimization of Israel.” In addition, the email urges the President to “use all of the significant diplomatic leverage at [his] disposal to persuade our allies around the world to join us in voting against any such General Assembly resolution.”

“It is important to give credit where it is due, and that is why we expressed our appreciation to the administration for their commitment to veto the Palestinian unilateral declaration of independence and vote against it in the General Assembly,” says CUFI executive director David Brog.

In late July, during CUFI’s annual Washington Summit, thousands of the group’s supporters went to Capitol Hill to urge their representatives to oppose further aid to the Palestinian Authority if the Palestinians pursue the UDI.

“If the Palestinians move forward with this initiative, CUFI’s top policy priority will be to seek a suspension of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority. The American people shouldn’t have to send their hard earned money off to an entity which has committed to sharing power with Hamas and which has zero respect for agreements made with the United States and our allies,” says CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee.

“The controversy over this unilateral Palestinian move is more than a tactical disagreement; it has the potential to be the largest step backwards the PA has taken since Arafat was in power,” Brogg adds. “It signals the abandonment of negotiations.”