Staff Writer

As she drove through Israel's West Bank last week, Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) said that it became abundantly "clear" to her that Jewish "settlements really get in the way of a lasting peace."

America, the lawmaker said in an interview last Thursday after returning from her first trip to Israel, "would be making a big mistake" if it allows Israel to substitute "outpost closures" for full "settlement closures" throughout the country.

"It was so clear to me," Edwards recalled. "When you drive through the countryside" in the West Bank "and look at the hills where you have" large Jewish settlements amid smaller Palestinian ones, "you could actually see how that would impede any lasting peace agreement with borders that actually leave room for a Palestinian state."

And that's not all the freshman member of Congress observed: From observing a "shocking" session in Israel's parliament to a foray into Gaza, Edward's first trip to the region was not a typical tourist's romp.

Along with Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) and Peter Welsh (D-Vt.), Edwards spent six days in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, meeting with political leaders from both sides of the divide, including Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, Ron Dermer, an adviser to the prime minister, Sderot Mayor David Buskila and Palestinian Authority government ministers in Ramallah. Edwards also met with Palestinian political leaders Hanan Ashrawi and Mustafa Barghouti.

The trip was sponsored by the New America Foundation, a group that promotes U.S. engagement in the Middle East peace process, and whose Middle East Task Force co-director, Daniel Levy, is a close adviser to Edwards.

Following a meeting with Danny Dayan, chair of the Yesha Council, which advocates on behalf of Israeli settlers, Edwards concluded that "natural growth," or the view that settlement expansion is a natural and necessary process, is an obstacle to a functional two-state solution.

"It will be impossible to" form a separate Palestinian state "if settlements are allowed to continue to develop," she said. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week said that the demand to halt "natural" growth in the West Bank is "unreasonable.")

Of the Israeli government's apparent refusal to halt the expansion of settlement communities, Edwards said that President Barack Obama could provide a much-needed diplomatic boost. "Obama's leadership right now in this process is really critical to where we end up," she said.

Edwards' desire for a more aggressive approach to diplomacy in the Middle East -- one in which America grabs the reins to force concessions on both sides -- led her to sign a letter last week urging Obama to be a key player in the push for a final peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Initially sponsored by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), the letter, backed by J Street and billed as the "alternative" to a similar congressional letter backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, called on Obama to pursue a two-state solution aggressively and become fully involved in peace negotiations between the two parties.

As for the AIPAC-backed letter -- which differed by asking Obama to give the Palestinians and Israelis leeway in their negotiations -- Edwards did not join 329 of her colleagues in signing the missive.

"I wasn't comfortable with the language," Edwards said. That letter "really didn't speak to my concerns about what needed to happen in the [peace] process."

Edwards' trip also brought her to the halls of the Knesset where she met with Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni, as well as members of the other political parties, such as Labor and Meretz.

Playing political observer as the Knesset members debated a controversial bill that would make it a criminal offense to, in any form, define Israel as anything but a Jewish and democratic state, Edwards says she was appalled when that measure passed a preliminary vote.

"It was really shocking," she said. "We watched the vote happen and we watched the debate, which was really fascinating because I didn't think it would win."

The bill -- which eventually died, but would have effectively silenced those who defame the state -- epitomized for Edwards "what it means to be in the Arab minority."

"As an African American woman, I really didn't have a perception of a significant minority population in Israel, and there is," Edwards explained. "It struck me that there are issues that are raised in any country when you have to balance the interests of the majority with the minority" so that "people feel like they enjoy the full breadth of their citizenship. In Israel, this is a work in progress."

Also a work in progress is Edwards' relationship with her local Jewish constituents, which has been strained at times. "The criticism to be quite frank has been that our office has not been open in meeting the Jewish community," Edwards said, dismissing the accusation as unfair.

Ron Halber, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington's executive director, disputed that. "The JCRC and other Jewish organizations have not yet had any individual meetings with Edwards one-on-one," he said. "That remains a point of concern."

Halber also said that while her trip appeared "quite comprehensive ... I still do remain concerned that some folks [leading the trip] may have had a certain [ideological] focus outside the mainstream American Jewish community." Edwards, he believes, would benefit from joining "the JCRC or other mainstream organizations on a trip to Israel so that we can ensure she's receiving, from our viewpoint, a healthy diversity of political perspective."

Edwards, meanwhile, says she has repeatedly welcomed the Jewish community into her office. "I've been actually looking back at our logs [of meetings] and we've had, particularly the staff ... over six, seven or eight meetings and phone calls with the local Jewish community" and representatives of AIPAC, Edwards said. "I don't understand the criticism."

One official at a Jewish communal organization, however, dismissed her claim, saying "for [Edwards] to suggest that she's had a meaningful, ongoing dialogue with the Jewish community in her district is laughable."

In particular, Edwards said she has met with at least four separate members of AIPAC, including Brian Shenkman, the group's mid-Atlantic director; Jeff Snyder, an AIPAC board member; and Hilary Kapner, a local AIPAC volunteer. In addition, Edwards recently spoke at a Shabbat program on health care reform held at Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase.

Snyder confirmed meeting with Edwards before she entered office, but declined to comment further. Others could not be reached for comment or did not respond to interview requests.

Josh Block, AIPAC's spokesperson, said in an interview that "since she's been a member of Congress, Congresswoman Edwards has not met with anyone from AIPAC, and while we have been pleased to see members of her staff, we look forward to the opportunity to meet with the congresswoman herself and discuss the issues of importance to the mainstream, pro-Israel community."

For her part, Edwards said she plans to hold a town hall forum on her Israel trip. Edwards' office also acknowledges receiving an invitation late last week to meet with the JCRC and four rabbis in her congressional district.

Edwards said that charges she has been unresponsive to the Jewish community's request for meetings are unfair. "We've had a lot of meetings, so I really don't understand," she said

Admitting that the Jewish community's relationship with Edwards has "gotten off to a shaky start," Halber said that it can certainly be "salvaged and hopefully turned into a positive working relationship."