News Nosh 07.26.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday July 26, 2016 


NOTE: News Nosh will be published in a truncated version from July 31 through August 17th. 
 
Quote of the day:
"If you saw the slight shaking of the video clip it's because the cameraperson was laughing his head off."
--MK Ahmed Tibi commenting on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's video clip message to Arab citizens.*
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Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: July 26, 2016


"Inshallah, we will meet in Riyadh."

Saudi Arabian Gen. (ret.) Anwar Eshki to a group of Jewish members of Knesset he met with in East Jerusalem. Read more from APN's News Nosh.


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent Israeli security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

July 25, 2016 - Annexing a settlement? Saudis in Israel? Turkish purge? Netanyahu taking on the media?

Q. Netanyahu's ruling coalition has initiated a move in the Knesset to apply Israeli law to the settlement of Maaleh Adumim. What will this mean if the law is approved?

A. this would be the first territory in the West Bank (leaving aside greater Jerusalem) that is annexed by Israel (annexation being the international legal equivalent of applying Israeli law)...almost certainly be understood by the PLO as a final blow to the legitimacy of the Oslo accords, thereby generating an instant crisis in Israeli-Palestinian relations and in Israel's international standing...(the pro-settler right-wing advocates) openly acknowledge that applying Israeli law to Maaleh Adumim is a trial balloon designed to accustom the Israeli public and the world to further Israeli annexations...

Q. Indeed, last week a Saudi delegation visited Israel, led by a retired general. A breakthrough?

A. ...this must be understood as something of a breakthrough...

Q. Apropos another Muslim neighbor that just patched up relations with Israel, in the aftermath of the abortive military coup in Turkey President Erdogan appears intent on purging tens of thousands of ostensibly disloyal officers, educators and civil servants. Is this an Islamist counter-revolution?

A. Islamist counter-revolution is increasingly the only way we can describe what is emerging in Turkey...

Q. How could this development affect Turkey domestically? How could it affect Israel and the region?

A. The ramifications are potentially far-reaching...

Q. Erdogan, as noted, is clamping down on Turkish media. Is Netanyahu trying to do something similar in Israel?

A. Netanyahu is legendarily paranoid about the way the Israeli media treats him...

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Government Relations

APN Legislative Round-Up: July 9-20

  1. JCPOA Bday Week: Iran-Focused Bills Passed by the House
  2. JCPOA Bday Week: New Iran-Focused Bills & Resolutions
  3. JCPOA Bday Week: Action on Existing Iran-Focused Bills & Resolutions
  4. JCPOA Bday Week: Iran-Focused Letters
  5. Other Bills, Resolutions & Letters (Not Focused Solely on Iran)
  6. Hearings (more Iran here, too!)
  7. On the Record: Slamming the JCPOA, Supporting Iran bills, etc.
  8. On the Record: Defending the JCPOA, Opposing Iran bills, etc.
  9. On the Record: About Everything Other Than Iran

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Settlement Watch

Peace Now Settlement Watch Director in Washington Post article

Hagit Ofran, director of Peace Now Settlement Watch: "Every new construction in any settlement will make reaching a peace deal much, much harder...We are already in a situation that when we get to a peace agreement for two states, Israel will have to pay a high price removing thousands of Israelis from their homes in settlements."

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APN now on Instagram!

 

Adding to its already prominent place in social media, APN is now on Instagram.

Go HERE to see and follow APN.

 

The fifth in a series of security validators for APN features the former US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice

"The United States sees the establishment of a Palestinian state and of a two-state solution as absolutely essential for the future, not just for Palestinians and Israelis but also for the Middle East and, indeed, American interests."

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APN Events

Debra DeLee, APN President and CEO, on panel in Philadelphia in connection to Democratic National Convention

The discussion in Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention features APN President and CEO Debra DeLee, Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy Chairman Sam Bahour, Columnist and Author Peter Beinart, and Arab American Institute Founder and President James Zogby.

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APN Israel Study Tour

Note from APN's Ori Nir in Jerusalem

Greetings from Jerusalem! I'm here to prepare APN's 2016 Israel Study Tour, which will be November 12-17. I've met with Israelis and Palestinians, and discussed plans for the tour with my friends at Israel's Peace Now movement. This will be an engaging, fascinating tour, and I hope you will join us.

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Go HERE for the Study Tour Schedule, and how to secure your spot on it.

Contact us at IsraelTour@peacenow.org or 202-408-9898 with any questions.


APN receives "Narrative Leadership" award

Accepting the award and speaking at the New Story Leadership event: (from L to R) APN's Aaron Mann, APN Interns Mohammed Manasrah (Palestine), Chen Attar (Israel)

APN was honored in Washington, DC for its key role and partnership in the New Story Leadership program that trains young emerging leaders from Palestine and Israel. APN has hosted interns and programs for the past eight years.


Peace Now at Jerusalem's March for Pride and Tolerance

Pictured are some of the Peace Now activists who participated in the July 21 March for Pride and Tolerance in Jerusalem, which drew estimates of 25,000 people.

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News Nosh 07.27.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday July 27, 2016
 
Quote of the day:
"As a bereaved father, I will not let you harm democracy. I didn't pay such a heavy price for this."
--Yoram Tal, the father of Omri Tal, who was killed in Operation Protective Edge, shouted at Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during a memorial ceremony for the soldiers who fell in that 2014 war.*
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Peace Now Settlement Watch: Tenders Published for 323 Housing Units in East Jerusalem

News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:

This morning, tenders for 323 housing units in East Jerusalem were published:

89 units in Gilo
36 units in Neve Yaacov
68 units in Pisgat Zeev 
130 units in Har Homa
 
These tenders are for housing units that have been tendered in the past but were never built (the tender in Gilo was published without dates and details so we cannot tell if these are new units or units that were tendered before). Although the government tried to build these units in the past, it never did so and thus the government is now initiating entirely new construction.
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News Nosh 07.28.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday July 28, 2016 
 
NOTE: News Nosh will be published in a truncated version beginning tomorrow, July 29th through August 17th. 

Quote of the day:
“All the building will be done by the Defense Ministry and will be presented as construction for the IDF’s needs.”
--Document revealed that confirms the system of confiscating Palestinian land by military order, which is allowed by international law, as a cover for the purpose of establishing settlements, which is not.*
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Taming the Settlements

Hagit Ofran

Early this week, the Washington Post ran a piece titled, “In the settlement of Kiryat Arba, the demand is to expand.” If you just read the title, you might think it was about the continuing growth of Israel’s settlements. If you only read the first few paragraphs, you might think that it was about the shocking murder of Hallel Ariel and the cynical use of her death to promote settlement growth.

But read to the end and you find that Kiryat Arba – one of the most iconic and radical of the ideological settlements, the settlement home to Baruch Goldstein (y”sh), who murdered Muslim worshipers at the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs in 1994 – is shrinking. Settlers there are given to lament that “political considerations and outside pressure means nothing changes.”

Donate TodayWho is helping lead the charge to bring this “outside pressure”? Peace Now.

So it is no surprise that in the same article, when the Washington Post wanted to learn the facts about Israeli settlements from an authoritative source, they turned to Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran.

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News Nosh 07.29.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday July 29, 2016
 
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation during the holidays, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
 
Quote of the day:
"We strongly oppose settlement activity, which is corrosive to the cause of peace. These steps by Israeli authorities are the latest examples of what appears to be a steady acceleration of settlement activity that is systematically undermining the prospects for a two- state solution."
- John Kirby, State Department Spokesman
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APN and Peace Now in the News: July 23-29, 2016

 Letty Cottin PogrebinNew York Times - July 28
"Bill Clinton Would Be an Ideal Middle East Convoy"
by Letty Cottin Pogrebin

 

What should Hillary Clinton do with Bill? That's easy. She should appoint him as special envoy to Israel/Palestine ​with a presidential mandate to jump start the peace process.

Bill Clinton is the perfect person to create bridging proposals and persuade both parties to make crucial compromises. No one in America is more conversant with the issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians and the events that have led them to the current impasse. No one else knows the neighborhood better — not just its leaders but the civil society activists and local organizers who will ultimately make peace a reality on the ground.

Because of his role as facilitator of the 1993 Oslo process that culminated in the handshake between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat on the White House lawn, and his last ditch efforts at the 2000 Camp David summit meeting with Arafat and Israel's then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Bill knows the map right down to the streets in Jerusalem and the squares in Ramallah. He knows where the minefields are — right of return, borders, security, and who controls the Temple Mount. If there's the slightest possibility that this 100-year-old conflict can be brought to a peaceful, permanent conclusion, Bill Clinton is the one who can make it happen.

Such an assignment would focus his formidable energy and expertise on this single complex issue and leave the rest of the country for Hillary to run.

 

Washington Post - July 29
State Dept. criticizes Israeli settlement expansion, demolitions, Peace Now welcomes US criticism of Israel's settlement expansion

 

Israel Hayom - July 29
US slams increase in Israeli construction beyond Green Line, Peace Now quoted on Israeli government tenders for settlement homes

 

The News - July 29
New Israeli Settlement Plans Provocative, Peace Now quoted on Israeli government tenders for settlement homes

 

Haaretz - July 28
Left-wing Israeli Activists Facing Violence, Death Threats, Hagit Ofran, director of Peace Now's Settlement Watch, describes growing threats to the organization

 

Haaretz - July 28
Secret 1970 Document Confirms First West Bank Settlements Built on a Lie, features Peace Now's aerial settlement maps and Hagit Ofran, director of Peace Now's Settlement Watch, cites the first usage of military orders to seize land for civilian use

 

Reuters - July 28
US concerned over Israel's settlement activityPeace Now quoted on Israeli government tenders for settlement homes

 

Daily Sabah - July 27
US slams new Israeli settlement plans for undermining peacePeace Now quoted on Israeli government tenders for settlement homes

 

The Jerusalem Post - July 26
IDF raizes 15 illegal Arab homes in East Jerusalem and West Bank, Eyal Raz, spokesman for Peace Now, says demolitions could exacerbate tensions

 

Washington Post - July 23
In the settlement of Kiryat Arba, the demand is to expand, Hagit Ofran, Director of Peace Now's Settlement Watch, quoted on the threat of settlement expansion to peace

 

Legal Duality in the Occupied West Bank

Hiba Husseini / Palestine-Israel Journal (July 1, 2016)
The dual legal systems violate the human rights of West Bank Palestinians under both Israeli and international standards by infringing on their access to justice, human dignity and equality. Read More >

Summary of Recent Brookings Poll Findings on American Attitudes Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Americans for Peace Now / (July 13, 2016)
Summary results of the surveys on American attitudes towards Muslims and Islam before and after the Orland massacre. Report shows that despite anti-Muslim rhetoric of the presidential election campaigns, and that the Orlando shootings were executed by a radicalized Muslim, 58% of those questioned before Orlando, and 62% of those after Orlando held favorable attitudes towards Islam. Read More >

 

 

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