In my recent op ed published in the New York Daily News opposing suggestions that Jerusalem be redivided.

Along the way, the op ed states:

“While we support a two-state solution that guarantees Israel’s security and Jewish character, the choices required to bring us to that point must be grounded in reality.”

The following is the text of the governing policy Resolution of the Orthodox Union that elaborates on what I tried to encapsulate (in the limited space of an op ed) in the phrase “…that guarantees Israel’s security and Jewish character”:

“The Orthodox Union feels an historic obligation to preserve for the Jewish people the right to live and travel freely and safely in the land of our heritage, including the territories of Yehuda and Shomron. We believe that there is no part of Eretz Yisrael from which Jews should be prevented from living by any other human being absent the most compelling of circumstances.

We are sensitive to prevailing geopolitical realities and the potential that compromise and accommodation could one day bring true security and real peace. Yet, since the Oslo process began, security has not followed from territorial concessions or reliance upon foreign forces to preserve it. Thus, while we strive for security and peace, we are skeptical of any policy that relinquishes part of Eretz Yisrael without obtaining both.”

My use of the phrase “two state solution” was an unfortunate articulation of what I intended to convey in that sentence, it was not a change in OU policy on this matter.

Posted by Nathan J. Diament