PERSPECTIVES ON MIDEAST PEACE : American Jews Have a Stake, Too : The Israeli right has reached its limit in resisting U.S. proposals, which this corner of the Diaspora supports.

By chance, I happened to be on the Golan Heights in 1981 when Israel announced its annexation. As I watched Israeli tanks climb the steep roads to intercept any Syrian resistance, I looked down into the Galilee Valley where children had spent days in underground shelters, protected from Syrian shelling. My heart said this annexation is necessary; my head said it was wrong.

Although I am a Diaspora Jew, I have a visceral comprehension of Israel’s vulnerability to its Arab neighbors. Unlike most of my generation, I have experienced vicious anti-Semitism. I grew up in a small American village in which anti-Semitism was so strong that parents would not let other children play with me. As the only Jew in school, I sat quietly through the Lord’s Prayer every morning, praying I would be spared snowball attacks in the afternoon. On the Sabbath, we walked to a small schoolhouse where my father, the most learned person in the village, held services for the small community of Jewish elders.

Despite this unusual American experience, I am part of the loyal opposition, which the American Jewish right and many Israelis would like to silence. I have admired Israel’s chutzpah and also disagreed with its foreign policy for more than 20 years. Still, my emotional ties to Israel run deep. Last winter, when one of my students told me the news that Iraqi bombs had just struck Tel Aviv, I was shocked by the tears that suddenly ran down my face. I am also no fan of President Bush or his secretary of state. But I strongly support their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the disputes that plague the Mideast.

Now a window of opportunity, as they say, has just opened. At long last, Syria has agreed to the Bush plan for a peace conference. The Saudis have agreed to end the boycott of Israel. The Jordanians have decided to come along. One hopes that the Palestinians also will recognize the rewards of such bilateral talks. I fervently hope that the Israelis will not only accept the Bush plan but also participate in good faith.

If Israel listens only to the most vocal Jewish organizations in the United States, it may have the impression that most American Jews support the Likud Party’s refusal to trade land for peace. This is not so. There are other voices. They are not as well established, but they reflect a new majority of American Jews who believe that Israel’s security will be secured only when it has ended the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and reached bilateral agreements with all of its Arab neighbors.

The Jewish-American community no longer speaks with one voice that unconditionally supports any Israeli policy. Five years ago, the magazine Tikkun, the leading voice of the American Jewish loyal opposition, did not exist. With a circulation of 40,000 readers, it is now the most widely read Jewish journal in the United States. It publishes some of the nation’s most influential intellectuals and is widely read in Washington.

Regional and international conferences organized by Tikkun have drawn thousands of Jewish participants who desperately want Israel to enjoy peace and security. Most of these people believe that Israel should agree to talk to its enemies and trade land for peace.

There has been talk of withholding U.S. aid or loans if Israel rejects efforts to convene a conference and hold bilateral negotiations. At the same time, advertisements have appeared in American newspapers claiming that Israel will talk peace “any time, any place.” This is a terrific public-relations campaign. Now Israel must prove that it is also the truth: Likud must drop its promise never to trade land for peace.

It is right to say “Never again” to genocide, but never say “never” to peace talks.