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​B’nai B’rith International protested plans for an upcoming Middle East peace conference at which 70 countries are expected to attend. The summit, scheduled to occur in Paris on Jan. 15, figures to be a one-sided farce and an impediment to peace.
 
“This conference will provide the international community an opportunity to gratuitously gang up on Israel. The past two weeks have already seen Secretary of State John Kerry deliver a speech unfairly blaming Israel for the current impasse and the United Nations Security Council pass a resolution broadly condemning the Jewish state. The Paris summit should not take place, as it will only further embolden the Palestinians and disincentivize them to negotiate,” B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman said.
 
B’nai B’rith has long-maintained that peace can be achieved only by direct bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Gatherings like the Paris conference effectively negate Israel’s role in discussions about its own security. This feeds the Palestinian strategy of hindering the peace process by hiding behind the international community and using the United Nations system to advance the Palestinians’ goal of demonizing and isolating Israel.
 
“The Paris summit may set the stage for yet another one-sided U.N. Security Council resolution, which would continue to cloud the prospect of a negotiated peace. By prejudging the outcome of future negotiations, repeatedly castigating Israel, and pressuring the Jewish state to make unilateral concessions, the international community continues to encourage Palestinian rejectionism,” B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin said.