Massachusetts Democratic Party fails to pass resolution calling settlements ‘obstacles to peace’

An effort to amend the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s platform with language that calls Israel’s settlements in the West Bank “obstacles to peace” is ruled out of order at the state’s convention, ending a months-long effort to push through the controversial resolution.

The move by proponents to amend the party’s platform at the full state convention on Saturday follows a failed attempt last April to have the party adopt a resolution on “peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians” that singles out Israeli settlements in the West Bank without mention of Palestinian violence.

The proposed resolution, submitted by a long-time party activist, states that “Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace and security,” and cites a July 2016 State Department declaration that opposed settlement activity. It calls on the state’s US Congressional delegation to oppose Israeli settlements in pursuing a negotiated peace.

State party leaders and Jewish communal organizational leaders vehemently opposed the resolution, calling it unbalanced and one-sided. Its supporters, including leaders from Cambridge-based Palestine Advocacy Project, say their resolution was not a radical departure from the positions of past US administrations.

— JTA