August 8, 2013

Last week, the news was dominated by Secretary of State John Kerry’s announcement of the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. And now, once again, the world waits to see if, at last, real progress can be made in resolving the conflict and arriving at a two-state solution.

It isn’t an easy wait.

According to the polls, most Israelis aren’t feeling particularly optimistic about the potential for peace. The blogosphere is full of predictions of the failure of the nascent process. And even as talks resume, the Israeli government announces that it will extend its subsidization of a number of settlements by adding them to the so-called National Priority list (even as many struggling communities actually in the State of Israel are left off the list).

None of this seems conducive to creating a positive atmosphere for the new peace talks.

And yet . . . Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, in many ways the spiritual father of the Jewish social justice movement of which NIF is a part, warned of the “heresy of despair,” and indeed urged the active “defiance of despair.” Defying despair doesn’t mean pollyannishly ignoring the very real challenges that the forces of peace and justice face at this juncture. It doesn’t mean understating the difficulty of the task. And, even harder, it doesn’t mean allowing the hope that peace may at last be on the horizon to turn our attention from our critical work of supporting those Israelis who work to hold their country accountable to the highest ideals of Jewish tradition, liberal democracy and international human rights. Even when what they have to say and report can sometimes seem to spoil our hopes for the peace process, their work is ever more important, especially in the face of extreme opposition from the radical ultranationalists.

Luckily, the forces of peace and justice have an asset even Heschel didn’t anticipate: Ambassador Martin Indyk. Even though it means he will step down from his long-time position on NIF’s board in order to serve, I’m very happy and extraordinarily proud that Secretary Kerry has named Martin to serve as the special envoy to the peace talks, and as leader of the American team. Martin has devoted much of his career to pursuing peace between Israel and its neighbors, and he is a tireless advocate for an Israel that lives up to the vision of its founders. He has served as a wise, passionate and committed NIF board member and he has helped our organization go from strength to strength.

Beyond all of this, he is a mensch, a man who practices what he preaches, and who does not give up easily. If there is anyone who can carry out this almost-impossible job, I know it is Martin. I know you join me and the rest of the NIF family in wishing him strength, patience and success. Godspeed, Martin. We are all counting on you.