J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami released the following statement upon the conclusion of the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly in Washington, DC:

J Street applauds White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s strong remarks this morning at the General Assembly, underscoring the Obama administration’s continued commitment to end the Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab conflicts peacefully and diplomatically, as well as to the unbreakable US-Israel relationship.

A strong US-Israel relationship means not only working to ensure Israel’s security in the short-term, but also working to achieve a two-state solution that is essential to Israel’s long-term security and future.

To that end, we also welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu’s own remarks at the GA in which he emphasized that there is no time to waste.  We support his statement that it’s time we “stop talking about the negotiations” and focus on resolving the key issues at hand.

It is in the clear interests of the United States, Israel, the Palestinians, and the entire region to resolve the conflict through two states for two peoples and to achieve a comprehensive, regional peace.

Now more than ever, we urge the Obama administration to provide the bold American leadership so urgently needed to bridge the divides between the parties and to achieve lasting peace.