US pro-Israel lobby group J Street says Israeli authorities will have to eventually decide between being ‘Jewish and democratic’ or remaining in occupation of Palestinian lands.

In J Street’s second annual conference in the Washington Convention Center on Saturday night, the president of the organization, Jeremy Ben Ami, said that "the answer to the Israel-Palestinian conflict will determine the future of Israel,” Ha’aretz reported.

“We believe that the Palestinians too must have a national home of their own, living side by side with Israel in peace and security. This is in Israel’s interests. It is in America’s interests. It is right and it is just,” he added.

He said that Tel Aviv must choose among three options: “being a Jewish homeland, remaining democratic and maintaining control over all the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean."

"Israel can have only two of the three. It can only be both Jewish and democratic by giving up the land on which a Palestinian state can be built in exchange for peace,” Ami stated.

This is while the Israeli embassy refused an invitation to attend the conference. Five Kadima and Labor members of the Israeli parliament (Knesset), however, were present at the meeting.

Ben Ami criticized Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren for making "an enormous mistake" by being absent from the conference.

I think that "to meet only with the people that you agree with is not the way you conduct diplomacy and not the way the ambassador of Israel should relate to the US Jewish community," he said.

(Press TV)