NEW YORK — The Israel Policy Forum was founded in 1993 to build support for the Middle East peace process and its “inevitable” solution: two states, one Jewish, one Palestinian, living side by side.
Twenty-five years later that plan appears more elusive than ever, with some politicians and pundits declaring the two-state solution dead or dying. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offers tepid support for two states but says the Palestinians are unreliable partners. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that he supports two states — but refuses to meet with Israel and the United States.
President Donald Trump broke ranks with his predecessors by refusing to commit to the idea. Both the far left and the far right are offering versions of a one-state solution that erases distinctions between Israel and the territories.
Nevertheless, the Israel Policy Forum remains committed to two states and has begun focusing on a cadre of post-college professionals, aged 21-39, to keep it alive.
Last year, IPF launched IPF Atid, holding happy hours, conversations and events with experts for “rising Jewish and foreign policy young professionals.” It now has networks in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles.
“We recognized a vacuum existed in the Jewish communal landscape for young professionals when it came to meaningfully addressing the core challenges facing Israel and its future,” David Halperin, IPF’s executive director, told JTA. “There is a hunger among millennials for honest and serious geopolitical, security and other policy conversations related to Israel and the two-state solution.”
Adena Philips, IPF Atid’s national chair, echoed Halperin’s comments about a “vacuum.”
