An advertisement signed by several prominent Israelis that appeared in the New York Times yesterday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama to work to create a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 armistice lines.
The ad, which largely copied the text of an ad that appeared in Haaretz on Wednesday, was placed in the Times by the left-wing Jewish lobby J Street in advance of Netanyahu's arrival in the United States today.
The Israeli signatories are affiliated with a group that demonstrated in Tel Aviv a month ago in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state. They included Israel Prize laureates, former Knesset members, former diplomats and former defense officials.
The text of the New York Times ad read as follows: "We, the citizens of Israel, call on the public to support the recognition of a democratic Palestinian state as a condition for ending the conflict, and reaching agreed borders on the basis of the 1967 borders. Recognition of such a Palestinian state is vital for Israel's existence. It is the only way to guarantee the resolution of the conflict..."
The advertisement was also published in European newspapers.
