Washington – A number of conservative Republicans in Congress have launched a pro-Israel caucus predicated on getting the Palestinians to acknowledge defeat.
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The co-chairs of the new Israel Victory Caucus, Reps. Bill Johnson of Ohio and Ron DeSantis of Florida, were among those on hand for Thursday’s launch. A number of other Republicans stopped by to express support; no Democrats spoke.
“We believe Israel has been victorious in the war and that this reality must be recognized for any peace to be achieved between Israel and its neighbors,” Johnson said.
An array of conservative pro-Israel groups was represented, including the Middle East Forum, the Zionist Organization of America, Emet, Christians United for Israel and Americans for a Safe Israel.
Daniel Pipes, the Middle East Forum president, who recently laid out the theory that imposing defeat on the Palestinians was the likelier path to peace, said decades of negotiations assuming neither side had won had resulted in a “war process” instead of a peace process.
“Victory means imposing your will on your enemy,” Pipes said.
Code Pink, a left-wing protest group, briefly disrupted the event.
Pipes’ paper, published in the March issue of Commentary, acknowledges that Israelis prefer a negotiated solution, but calls this consensus “myopic.” Instead, he advocates “coercing” Palestinians to change their view, including reoccupation of Palestinian areas should they be used to launch attacks on Israel and cutting off water and electricity as a means of responding to intensified violence.
A bipartisan Congressional Israel Allies Caucus exists and embraces pro-Israel policies identified with more conservative supporters of Israel, including the recognition of all of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv. However, like much of the pro-Israel community, it defers to Israeli government positions on the peace process.
Liberal groups slammed the Israel Victory Caucus, with the Southern Poverty Law Center saying its recommendations were “extreme” and J Street, the liberal pro-Israel lobby, advising Congress members to “stay as far away from such savage and dangerous ideas as possible.”
I find it sardonically humorous that J Street is referred to a pro-Israel lobby group. It is anti-Israel, anti-Jewish. I would not even call them liberal. I would call them progressive, and we know how much immorality and insanity is correlated with that term.
It is about time that someone proposed an avenue to stop the Muslim terror, and to stop supporting it. The only ideas allowed to be raised until now were how to make Israel concede more and more while ignoring the bloodthirsty violence that these animals have inflicted on innocent Israelis and Jews everywhere else.
If they want a state, they need to indicate some semblance of civility to earn it. They have not done so yet.
Wow! It’s only due to the staunchly pro Israel Trump administration that this would even be contemplated without fear of the anti Semitic nations and the UN, who will no doubt call this racist!
J Street is NOT a “liberal pro-israel lobby.” It’s a rabidly anti-Israel, George Soros funded abomination. I applaud this caucus for their clear view of reality and for formulating the best idea for peace since “Palestine” was invented! These are realists who are ready to make the tough decisions to end this war!
The palestinian arabs weren’t defeated in the war with israel .I understand that they only agreed to a -hudna-truce.In their way of thinking the truce will only last untill they will have the power to fight and win,Now they think that they can win by killing jews one at a time by stabbing or by cars running over jews.BY having a strong influence in the world media to gather sympathy for their -right to have a state of their own ,in which they can fight the jewish neighbors.
K street is not a pro israel lobby.
It’s pro Israeli Palestinians.