A number of leftist Jewish groups and former diplomats have urged United States President Barack Obama to push for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming visit to Washington.

Four former U.S. ambassadors and officials of a left-leaning Jewish organization sent a letter to Obama on Wednesday asserting that there was a broad consensus within the American Jewish community and among policymakers in support of an active U.S. role in assisting the sides to reach such a solution.

"We believe that this formula both advances America's interests in the entire Middle East and is the best achievable means of ensuring Israel's survival as a Jewish state and a democracy," they said in the letter, which is expected to be published this week in the New York Times.

The former envoys are: Samuel W. Lewis, former ambassador to Israel; Robert H. Pelletreau, Jr., former ambassador to Egypt; Thomas R. Pickering, Jr., former ambassador to Israel and Jordan; and Edward S. Walker, Jr., former ambassador to Israel and Egypt.

They also called for an immediate renewal of U.S.-mediated Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, a freeze on West Bank settlement construction, the immediate reconstruction of Gaza and the cessation of Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis.

The letter's other signatories were all officials at the Israel Policy Forum: Peter A. Joseph, President; Nick Bunzl, Executive Director; and Larry Zicklin, Chairman.

The dovish Jewish dovish lobby J Street, meanwhile, has launched a petition urging Obama to ignore calls to "go slow" and take a "hands-off approach" to Middle East peacemaking.

"This Administration's first year is crucial to promoting peace in the region - and the President needs to know that he has strong support in Congress if he chooses a path of leadership and real action," the group says in the petition.