J street calls for ‘real leadership’ on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

J Street, which is having a conference across town from the White House, wasted no time in responding to Obama and Netanyahu’s statements, saying that the Iranians aren’t the only ones that need to follow words with actions.

“With serious peace talks with the Palestinians underway, it was reassuring to hear Prime Minister Netanyahu’s renewed commitment to the negotiations,” J Street chief Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. “But we need more than good vibes. We need real leadership from both Netanyahu and President Abbas to step forward and make the tough decisions to actually get to an agreement, and we are going to need strong decisive leadership from the United States to bridge the gaps to help them get there.”

On Iran, Ben-Ami called for the US to keep diplomacy on the table.

“The president’s insistence on real and verifiable actions is absolutely correct. We should avoid doing anything that would weaken Rouhani’s ability to negotiate and strengthen the hardliners in Tehran,” he said. “If Rouhani can deliver real and meaningful concessions to bring Iran’s nuclear program back into compliance with UN resolutions, the international community and the United States must have the flexibility to reciprocate.”