This week, Alpher discusses the Iran nuclear deal being fully implemented, with sanctions lifted earlier than originally predicted, and the US and Iran exchanging detainees; where these leave Washington’s relations with Israel and the Sunni Arab states; and the essentially Sunni Arab movements of Islamic State and al-Qaeda and the collapse of several Arab states - how and why all this began five years ago and whether we have figured that out so we can avoid repeating past mistakes.
APN's Lara Friedman op-ed: No comparison between Israeli NGO bill and US law (JTA, 1/11/2016)
APN's Ori Nir: New anti-NGO bill is part of broader battle between conservatives and progressives in Israel (Voice of America, 1/14/2016)
Peace Now's Anat Ben Nun op-ed: Israel's NGO Bill is an Attempt to Crush Critics of the Government (Newsweek, 1/10/2016)
Following Peace Now report, US condemns Israel expanding West Bank settlement bloc (Washington Post/AP, 1/8/2016)
On Monday, most Israelis will celebrate Tu Bishvat by cherishing the fruit of the land and planting plant trees.
But in the West Bank, extremist settlers routinely destroy trees belonging to Palestinian farmers - not to mention other forms of vandalism and assault.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,
11,254 trees have been vandalized in the West Bank in 2015, a 20% increase over the previous year. It is
bitterly ironic that many of the trees these cowards choose to uproot or vandalize are olive trees - the
very symbol of peace.
Americans for Peace Now welcomes the statement issued by the European Union's foreign ministers, which states that no European agreements with Israel would be applicable in the Occupied Territories and reiterating the EU's policy of labeling products made in West Bank Israeli settlements.
APN warmly welcomes implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and congratulates the Obama Administration and its international partners on this historic achievement. The JCPOA has already succeeded in dramatically rolling back Iran’s nuclear program and will stringently limit this program going forward, in order to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear program in the future. In doing so, the JCPOA is a clear win for the American people, for U.S. leadership, for U.S. national security and, we believe, for Israel. It is for these reasons that APN and our supporters across the U.S. for years worked in support of a diplomatic solution to the challenge of Iran.
