Today, we at Americans for Peace Now (APN) are launching the new APN Research Center. The Research Center is a unique tool, a trove of online resources that covers every major aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the search for its resolution. Here you can find hundreds of articles, reports, books, polls, documentaries, and historic documents on the chief aspects of the conflict. The resources are made easily available for anyone who seeks solid facts and sensible analysis on the issues.

We invested hundreds of hours building the APN Research Center, and will continue updating and upgrading it with new, relevant material. As we worked on the Research Center, we were guided by the recognition that people are often intimidated by the complexity of the subject matter and lost among the immense wealth of content available. Our goal was to make it easy for people to learn about the conflict without spending countless hours searching for good material.

We are unveiling the new APN Research Center as we officially launch the home page of APN’s campus outreach program. The APN on Campus home page also features a “Student Advocacy” section designed specifically for student activists. It helps them plan speaking events with experts from APN, request highly informative resource materials, and find guidance on how to run a student group at their university. Students can also access a large collection of various online media designed to keep pro-Israel, pro-peace student advocates up to date and armed against the extremists’ attack lines.

The APN Research Center is updated daily, and we continue to scour databases and archives to find illuminating content from the most reputable sources. We’re developing new, innovative ways to help pro-Israel, pro-peace student groups be successful on campus. And we’re growing our reach nationally, providing students - of all ages - with a deeper understanding of this heart-wrenching conflict that troubles and affects so many.

We invite you to explore the Research Center, as well as our APN on Campus home page. If you or your friends and relatives are on campus and interested in inviting an APN guest speaker, or would like any materials or resources, please contact Aaron Mann at ic-amann@peacenow.org

Mental illness soars in Gaza
Rasha Abou Jalal / Foreign Policy
May 7, 2014

"Abu Ashraf, a 47-year-old Gazan, spends the majority of his time in his small room with no means of entertainment and only leaves to use the restroom. He sits on his bed for long hours, smoking, with no desire to see or talk to anyone . . ." Read More >

Palestinians and Israelis can coexist if occupation ends
Hussein Ibish / The National
January 18, 2013

"The unstable and unhealthy relationship of dominance and subordination, of discipline and control through violence, built into Israel’s occupation was graphically illustrated this week in two separate, tragic and bloody incidents . . ." Read More >

Racism in Israel: A Predictable Byproduct of Occupation
Lara Friedman / APN Blog
July 26, 2012

"Two generations of Israelis have now been born and raised in an Israel that must constantly find ways to justify the occupation, including justifying both the denial of rights and freedoms to Palestinians and the ever-growing settlement enterprise . . ." Read More >

Go to Hebron
Ori Nir / APN Blog
May 5, 2009

"Go to Hebron. Observe how several hundreds of ultra-national Israeli settlers, a minority in a Palestinian town of 160,000 - have turned the lives of its Palestinians residents into a living hell. . . ." Read More >

< Go back to APN:OC - Op-eds

The Forward (JTA story) - May 8, 2014
APN Board Member Mandy Patinkin speaks at APN event, where he is given an award
http://blogs.forward.com/the-shmooze/197856/how-to-give-a-speech-like-mandy-patinkin/

JTA - May 6, 2014
APN Board member Mandy Patinkin speaks and sings at APN award ceremony, accepting APN award
http://www.jta.org/2014/05/06/arts-entertainment/six-degrees-no-bacon/mandy-patinkin-lets-loose

JTA - May 6, 2014
APN Board member Mandy Patinkin speaks and sings at APN award ceremony, accepting APN award
http://www.jta.org/2014/05/06/arts-entertainment/six-degrees-no-bacon/mandy-patinkin-lets-loose

The Algemeiner - May 5, 2014
APN criticizes CoP vote to reject J Street's membership application
http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/05/after-j-street-rejection-critics-target-diversity-of-conference-of-presidents/

The Forward - May 4, 2014
APN votes in support of J Street CoP membership
http://blogs.forward.com/jj-goldberg/197563/blackballing-j-street-who-voted-how/#ixzz30rWQdmJG

Daily Kos (blog) - May 3, 2014
APN co-sponsors David Harris Gershon book reading event in DC
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/03/1296586/-Palestinian-American-asks-about-BDS-at-my-book-event-and-nobody-gets-hurt

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Israel's High Court of Justice issued an order in November that the state must remove homes on private Palestinian property in the unauthorized West Bank outposts of Ma’aleh Rehavam, Mitzpe Yitzhar and Givat Assaf by Sunday. The order was issued in reponse to a 207 petition by Peace Now, and targeted six unauthorized West Bank outposts: Ma’aleh Rehavam, Mitzpe Yitzhar, Givat Assaf, Mitzpe Lachish, Givat Haroeh and Ramat Gilad.

The state, had responded that it had plans to authorize the six outposts, if legally possible, but had not yet done so, and in November, the High Court ordered the state to quit dragging its feet, and that  the homes, on private property in three of the outposts, must be removed by May 18.

Settlers in the Ma’aleh Rehavam outpost are planning to fight the order. The Gush Etzion Regional council head wrote to the court, saying, "Most of these Ma’aleh Rehavam residents do not intend to willingly evacuate their homes."

Get the update!

Borders

Bad Borders, Good Neighbors
Ephraim Sneh | The New York Times
July 10, 2011

"Today, as American, European, Russian and United Nations officials meet in Washington to discuss the future of the Middle East peace process, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, remains adamant that a peace deal premised on returning to Israel’s pre-1967 borders poses an unacceptable risk to its security.. . ." Read More >

As Congress And Netanyahu Line Up Against 1967 Borders, Most Israelis And Palestinians Support Them
Zaid Jilani | ThinkProgress
May 23, 2011

"Last week, in a speech on the Middle East, President Obama reiterated long-standing US policy that there should be a final settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is based roughly on the pre-1967 borders and mutually agreed land swaps. Despite the fact that Obama’s declaration was nothing new . . ." Read More >

Israel Doesn't Need the West Bank To Be Secure
Martin Van Creveld | The Jewish Daily Forward
December 15, 2010

"When everything is said and done, how important is the West Bank to Israel’s defense? To answer the question, our best starting point is the situation before the 1967 war. At that time, the Arab armed forces surrounding Israel outnumbered the Jewish state’s army by a ratio of 3-to-1. Not only was the high ground in Judea and Samaria in Jordanian hands . . ." Read More >

Security

Bar-Lev Line in the Jordan Valley
Dov Weisglass | Yedioth Ahronoth
January 2, 2014

"The Israeli demand for a military presence in the Jordan Valley, irrespective of its complete rejection by the Palestinians, requires in-depth examination. Is it really necessary as a security need? Is an IDF force deployed along the seam between Jordan and the Palestinian state the proper security response . . ." Read More >

Who's Afraid of Palestine?
Akiva Eldar | Al-Monitor
May 7, 2014

"A series of studies claims that the establishment of a Palestinian state would benefit regional stability and boost economic growth in tourism, communications and agriculture . . ." Read More >

On Palestine, Israel's Leadership Has a Split Personality
J.J. Goldberg | The Jewish Daily Forward
June 9, 2013

"In late February 2002, shortly after Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah presented columnist Thomas Friedman with his famous Saudi peace plan, the director of Israel’s vaunted Mossad went to his boss, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. His advice: Welcome the initiative as a bold step toward peace . . ." Read More >

The Siren Call of Israeli Unilateralism
Lara Friedman | The Daily Beast
June 18, 2012

"With Israeli-Palestinian efforts at an impasse and immediate-term hopes for progress toward any agreement fading, the appeal of new ideas is understandable. This is no doubt why discussion of Israeli unilateral options—generally in terms of unilateral “withdrawals” from the West Bank—is in the air . . ." Read More >

Jerusalem

Status quo on the Temple Mount
Daniel Seidemann and Lara Friedman | Foreign Policy
October 17, 2012

"Recent developments in Jerusalem pose a threat to the stability of the city and to the region. The world saw a preview over the recent Jewish holidays, when activists challenged the Israeli-imposed ban on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif. Sensitivities at the site tend to peak during any holiday season. . . ." Read More >

Jerusalem the divisible
Richard M. Goldwasser | The Times of Israel
June 6, 2012

"Forty-five years ago today, on June 7, 1967, Israeli forces marched triumphantly into the Old City of Jerusalem, and for the first time in two millennia, the Jewish people gained sovereignty over the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest sites. Concerned about international reaction . . ." Read More >

Top 10 Myths Likely to be Hear from Jerusalem Mayor Nirk Barkat in Washington This Week
Lara Friedman and Daniel Seidemann | APN Blog
April 27, 2010

"To help prepare the mayor's Washington interlocutors for what will no doubt be a lively exchange of views, Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann and APN's Lara Friedman have assembled this guide to some of the most prominent - and inaccurate - assertions often heard about Jerusalem . . ." Read More >

Loving Jerusalem, With Maturity
Daniel Seidemann / The Jewish Daily Forward
May 13, 2009

"On May 21, Jerusalemites, barely recovered from a city shut down by a papal visit, will brace themselves for yet another round of massive gridlock. Throngs of religious-nationalist youth will take over the center of town. Yeshiva students will march en masse into the Old City, in celebration of the “reunification” of Jerusalem in 1967 . . ." Read More >

Refugees

Exploiting Jews from Arab Countries
Lara Friedman | The Daily Beast
August 2, 2012

"Last month saw an assault in Congress on Palestinian refugees—an effort to use legislation to re-define the Palestinian refugee issue out of existence.  This week the other shoe dropped, when a bipartisan group of members of Congress introduced a new bill embracing the cause of “Jewish refugees from Arab countries” in a way that Congress has never replicated on the Palestinian side . . ." Read More >

Mental illness soars in Gaza
Rasha Abou Jalal / Foreign Policy
May 7, 2014

"Abu Ashraf, a 47-year-old Gazan, spends the majority of his time in his small room with no means of entertainment and only leaves to use the restroom. He sits on his bed for long hours, smoking, with no desire to see or talk to anyone . . ." Read More >

Palestinians and Israelis can coexist if occupation ends
Hussein Ibish / The National
January 18, 2013

"The unstable and unhealthy relationship of dominance and subordination, of discipline and control through violence, built into Israel’s occupation was graphically illustrated this week in two separate, tragic and bloody incidents . . ." Read More >

Racism in Israel: A Predictable Byproduct of Occupation
Lara Friedman / APN Blog
July 26, 2012

"Two generations of Israelis have now been born and raised in an Israel that must constantly find ways to justify the occupation, including justifying both the denial of rights and freedoms to Palestinians and the ever-growing settlement enterprise . . ." Read More >

Go to Hebron
Ori Nir / APN Blog
May 5, 2009

"Go to Hebron. Observe how several hundreds of ultra-national Israeli settlers, a minority in a Palestinian town of 160,000 - have turned the lives of its Palestinians residents into a living hell. . . ." Read More >

Go back to APN:OC - Op-eds >

• Following freeze of negotiations: Netanyahu examining alternative political move
• [Main photo] More than 250 killed in mine in Turkey
• State Comptroller slams Israel's treatment of asylum seekers
• Associate of Prime Minister: We will advance law that will make the leader of the largest party the prime minister
• Ministers' externally funded flights doubled
• Police violating rights of minors
• Today hearing about sentencing of Shula Zaken
• 70% of sexual offenders in jail did not go through rehabilitation

• Flying government - Ministers of previous government increased number of flights abroad and suspicion of receiving favors rose
• Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Netanyahu and his wife [main photo]
• Failure in math: Teachers are not suitable and study plans are outdated
• Number of people entitled to apartment without VAT expanding
• Anger in Turkey: "Erdogan responsible for mine disaster"

• Germany changes its mind: No discount for warships
• Hurts the pocket - Sentences in Holyland affair will put more than 10.5 million shekels in the state's coffers
• Violent clashes during evacuation of illegal outpost at Maaleh Rehavam
• One of maintenance workers at Petach Tikva school arrested

• Security forces destroyed 7 houses in Maaleh Rehavam outpost in Gush Etzion (Hebrew)
• Treasury published draft of 0% VAT for housing law
• Who is harming the judicial system - The bill that allows a judge to prevent a murderer from receiving a pardon actually strengthens the system // Zeev Kam (Hebrew)
• The crisis continues - Hadassah Hospital employees announced sanctions following Treasury's withdrawal from agreement (Hebrew)
• Economy in danger - State Comptroller ruled that budget pension payments threaten economic stability in Israel
• High Court rejected Nochi Dankner's appeal against sale of IDB Holdings

• Zaken's Day: The deal - and the recording - The moment of truth for (Olmert's) confidante
• State Comptroller: "Significant increase" in ministers' flights abroad
• Associates of Minister Ariel: He opposes the law that would harm Israel Hayom
• Take-out medicines - Soon you'll be able to receive them by courier
• Security forces evicted Maaleh Rehavam outpost
• Race for presidency: MKs received video clip that defames Reuven Rivlin

• IDF evacuates illegal settlement outpost, amid token resistance - Far-right activists had tried to block access to outpost, the first of three tapped for demolition; IDF bracing for 'price tag' attacks in retaliation. (Haaretz+ and Ynet) 
• **Yaalon: "We need to eradicate terror erroneously called 'price-tag'" - Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon slams worrying phenomenon, saying: "We need to combat racism, violence and xenophobia, to eradicate terror, erroneously called 'price-tag' and to strive for full equal rights for minorities, women and anyone who is different," he said in speech at ceremony to commemorate the 3,050 fallen members of the kibbutz movement. (Maariv This Week, p. 3)
• Likud activists: "Yaalon is bad for the settlement enterprise" - 60 Likud members signed a letter against the Defense Minister over the eviction from Maaleh Rehavam outpost and protested against his intention to evacuate 28 buildings in Givat Assaf and Ramat Gilad (outposts). Ya'alon's associates attacked: "An exploitive gang does not represent the views of the (Likud) party." (NRG Hebrew) 
• Three right-wing activists held on suspicion of involvement in hate crimes - Two of the detainees, both minors, are being held under a special order that prevents them from meeting with their attorneys. (Haaretz+)
• Israeli forces detain 14-year-old boy in overnight (E.) Jerusalem raid - In the early morning hours, Israeli forces surrounded Musallem Musa Odeh's house in the Silwan neighborhood of E. Jerusalem and detained him. (Maan)
• Israeli bulldozers demolish structures in East Jerusalem neighborhoods - Bulldozers entered the Palestinian neighborhoods of Beit Hanina, Shuafat, and Ras al-Amoud, where they destroyed two shops and a workshop. One owner said Jerusalem municipality workers had issued demolition orders "several times," but that he had paid a total of 20,000 shekels in fines to postpone the demolition. (Maan)
• Cutting power from (Arab) residents of E. Jerusalem (and preparing to help settlements) - In wake of Palestinian Authority's debt, Israel Electricity Corp announced it would cut electricity for two hours a day to (Arab) E. Jerusalem residents. IEC also preparing for possibility that Palestinians will respond by damaging electricity lines to settlements; IEC is supplying them with generators. PA disputes the amount it owes and wants to involve international arbiter. (Yedioth, p. 12)
• Israeli military vehicles enter Gaza border area - The vehicles escorted six Israeli bulldozers, which leveled Palestinian fields near the separation barrier in the northern Gaza Strip. (Maan) 
• Low pay, no leave: Jordan Valley farmers exploiting Palestinian labor - Critics accuse Israel of ignoring illegal abuses of West Bank farmers. (Haaretz+)
• World Bank transfers $30 million to Palestinian Authority - The funds, contributed by Japan, will go towards "education, health care, and other vital social services for the Palestinian people," the statement said. (Maan)
• Netanyahu wants to let largest party form government - Prime minister is expected to advance legislation that would take away the president’s role in the process. (Haaretz+)
• Comptroller report slams rising ministerial travel, slack gun oversight - Many of the trips were financed by external organizations, some were unauthorized or involved apparent conflicts of interest. (Haaretz+, Ynet and Israel Hayom)
• Petition to Lapid: Prevent those who commemorate Nakba Day from receiving budget money - A letter sent by MK Kirshenbaum to the Minister of Finance and Minister of Education demanded they implement the "Nakba Law," which denies funding to universities that commemorate the Nakba. (NRG Hebrew)
• Israel to seek UN recognition of Yom Kippur as holiday - Yom Kippur should be an official U.N. day off, just like Christmas and Eid al-Fitr, says Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Ron Prosor. U.N. recognizes 10 holidays, none of them Jewish. Campaign launched with aim of winning General Assembly vote. (Israel Hayom)
• New bill would limit pardons for convicted terrorists - In preliminary reading, Knesset approves bill that would make terrorists ineligible for presidential pardons unless they pay compensation to their victims. Meretz leader slams bill, which was proposed by United Torah Judaism MK Yakov Litzman. (Israel Hayom)
• Mossad recruiting candidates through Facebook - Former members of Israel's intelligence community received job offers from the spy organization through the social network. The ad reads: "Life is what you make of it." (NRG Hebrew) 
• Israel offers to help Turkey with coal mine disaster - With efforts underway to improve bilateral ties, Israeli Embassy calls off belated Independence Day celebration in Ankara. (Haaretz)
• Report: Egypt seeks alternative to Tamar gas - "Interfax": Egypt in talks with Norway's Hoegh LNG to lease a floating unit. (Globes)
• Was secret Iran nuke program trigger for tough sanctions? Past findings says Iran may have worked on secret bomb program, UN nuclear watchdog says. (Agencies, Ynet)
• Hillary Clinton skeptical about Iran nuclear deal - Speaking at American Jewish Committee forum, Clinton says U.S. needs to be tough on Iran talks, and that U.S. commitment to Israeli security will never waver. (Haaretz) 
• Israeli Arab arrested upon return from fighting with rebel forces in Syria - Umm al-Fahm resident Ahmed Shorabji has been charged with entering enemy country and engaging in prohibited army exercises. (Haaretz+)

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