US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly criticized the European Union’s recent decision to issue new guidelines boycotting Israeli entities in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, at a meeting with American Jewish leaders last Thursday at the White House.
Using force and pressure will not help matters, Kerry was reported as saying, saying the new EU guidelines are the sort of move that could nudge away Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Instead, the international community can promote peace by dealing with Israel’s fears for its security, he said.
During the meeting, aimed at looking for support on the US push for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, Kerry read a prepared speech in which he told the heads of Jewish organizations that peace was a "strategic imperative" and that time was running out.
Kerry , who was accompanied by his special Mideasd envoy Martin Indyk and National Security adviser Susan Rice, updated the Jewish leaders on the resumption of Israel-Palestinian talks and hear their concerns.
According to people familiar with Thursday's meeting, Kerry outlined a five-track approach for the negotiations with the Israelis and Palestinians: security, economics, international outreach, public outreach, and direct talks between the parties.
Some Jewish leaders asked Kerry to push Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to tone down his anti-Israel statements and to urge him to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Present at the meeting, were leaders from the Conservative movement, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), J Street, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Conservative movement, the Orthodox Union, American Friends of Lubavitch, B’nai B’rith International, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish Federations of North America, Hadassah, the National Jewish Democratic Council, the National Council of Jewish Women and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Talks between Israel and the Palestinians restarted last month in Washington for the first time since almost three years. They will continue on Wednesday in Jerusalem and later in Jericho.