"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."

State Department Spokesman John Kirby, in a statement in response to Israel's recent string of announcements approving new construction past the Green Line (See Washington Post: State Dept. criticizes Israeli settlement expansion, demolitions)

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.

August 1, 2016 - Bluffing or confronting history: Palestinians and Balfour Declaration; recovering Jewish property from Arab states; Bibi and Arabs in Israel

Q. Last week, the Palestinian leadership asked the Arab League to support its initiative to sue the British government "because the Balfour Declaration led to the Palestinian Nakba." Is this serious?

A. Next year, 2017, will mark a century since the Balfour Declaration...

Q. At the other end of the historical spectrum, Gila Gamliel, minister for social equality in the Netanyahu government, has declared that she is promoting a project to demand the restitution of property left behind in Arab countries by Jews who fled in the 1950s. Is this an equally fruitless attempt to reverse the course of history?

A. Gamliel is a serious and hardworking minister not known for demagogic grandstanding. Yet it is hard to take her seriously...

Q. Apropos politics and neglect, why did Netanyahu last week “apologize” to the Israeli Arab community and call upon it to “participate in Israeli society, en masse”?

A. ...The timing appears to be designed to upgrade Netanyahu’s image globally as a man of Israel-Arab peace in anticipation of attempts at the United Nations in September to condemn Israel and/or to mandate new action on the two-state solution....

TOMORROW, Thursday, August 4, in Washington DC: Israeli Journalist and News Nosh Editor Orly Halpern Speaks at APN Offices

Is Netanyahu following in the footsteps of Erdogan and Putin? is the topic of the roundtable discussion with Orly Halpern, hosted by APN.

Thursday, August 4, 10:00-11:30am

APN Offices in Washington, DC - Go HERE for address

RSVP to asuskin@peacenow.org

APN Ad featuring Tzipi Livni, Former Israel Minister and Mossad Agent

The woman who has held eight different Israeli cabinet positions, including foreign minister, stated: "Making an agreement with the Palestinians is not weakness but represents the interest of the state of Israel and the entire Jewish people."

Go HERE to see the full ad as it will appear in Jewish newspapers.

Peace Now Settlement Watch: Tenders (approval for new construction) Published for 323 Housing Units in East Jerusalem

Peace Now: "on the one hand the government does not allow for Palestinian construction, and on the other hand it promotes massive construction for Israelis."

Israeli Government's Legal Opinion Submitted to Attorney General Crosses a Red Line -- Would Violate Private Property Rights

Peace Now: "...it could lead to the establishment of dozens of new settlements and to the multiplying of the land taken up by settlements in the West Bank."

Taming the Settlements

 

When the Washington Post wanted to learn the facts about Israeli settlements from an authoritative source, they turned to Peace Now's Hagit Ofran, whose expertise and unflagging determination has done more to expose and tame the settlements than otherwise would be the case.

Go HERE to read more about the work and impact of Peace Now and its Settlement Watch.

New Peace Now Activists Tour East Jerusalem and West Bank

Recently, new Peace Now activists went on a tour to East Jerusalem and the West Bank to learn about the need for a two state solution and about the negative impact of settlements. Peace Now organizes regular educational tours to the West Bank for its activists and for the general Israeli public.

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

The panel discussion in Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention featured 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.

Read a Summary and Watch a Video of the Discussion >

"Amona must stay in place, thrive and flourish. The cabinet must make sure that a vibrant community does not become a desolate place just because of formalities."

Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev on the eviction of Amona, an illegal outpost that was built in violation of Israeli law, characterizing a ruling by the Israeli High Court as a "formality."

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.

August 8, 2016 - Lieberman's sour (nuclear) grapes; Hamas, World Vision and Palestinian elections

Q. Last week, President Obama declared that the Israeli security establishment confirms that Iran is complying with the nuclear agreement. Minister of Defense Lieberman responded by (once again) comparing the nuclear agreement to the pre-WWII Munich capitulation. Why this needless confrontation over a done deal?

A. ...(Lieberman's) "Munich" comment was more likely directed at all those in Israel who he suspects have gone soft on the Iran nuclear deal or who never really opposed it...

Q. Two weeks ago, Hamas surprised the West Bank Palestinian leadership by declaring it would participate in West Bank and Gaza municipal elections scheduled for October 8. How is Israel dealing with this? How does Palestinian leader Abu Mazen hope to win the elections that he himself initiated?

A. Both Israel and the PLO were taken aback by the Hamas announcement...

Q. Can you return briefly to the Hamas/World Vision story? Why is this significant?

A. ...assuming Israel's allegations are true, they appear to verify a constant theme in the approach of the Israeli security establishment to the question of international aid for Gaza...

Help APN while doing back-to-school and other Summer shopping!

Go to Amazon Smile and link your account to APN.

Go to iGive and select Americans for Peace Now before shopping.

Tisha B'Av: Silence threatens peace

Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the month of Av), which will be observed beginning the evening of August 13th, is a fast day commemorating the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.

John Kerry, US Secretary of State, next in series of APN security validators

"The one state solution is no solution at all for a secure Jewish Democratic Israel living in peace, it is simply not a viable option."

Israeli Attorney General indicates willingness to relocate illegal outpost to privately-owned Palestinian land

In response to the Israeli High Court's order to evacuate the illegal Israeli West Bank outpost of Amona, a plan being considered is to re-establish it on nearby lands privately owned by Palestinians.

Come on the APN Israel Study Tour -- Meet young Israeli peace activists

Make plans to participate on the 2016 APN Israel Study Tour - November 12-17.

Always a highlight is meeting with young Peace Now activists, who demonstrate the vitality of their generation and of the Peace Now movement.

Go HERE to see a new video of Peace Now activists speaking about their motivations, including how their experience in the Israeli Army drew them to Peace Now.

Go HERE for more on the Israel Study Tour and to sign up, and contact israeltour@peacenow.org with any questions.

Project Syndicate: "Israel's Government Hawks and Military Doves"
By Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer

Those who lead Israel's defense establishment often come to consider peace with the Palestinians a necessary condition for the country’s security.

Newsweek: "Why New Israeli Settlements Set Back the Day of Peace"
By Alon Liel, former director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and ambassador to South Africa

The further absorption of Palestinian land and erosion of contiguity inside and between Palestinian territories leads inevitably to one outcome: the geographic impossibility of a two-state solution and the continued drift into a non-democratic Israeli polity, if not an apartheid state.

APN Mourns the Passing of Elaine Hoffman

Elaine was a longtime senior member of APN's Board of Directors, a staunch advocate for peace for Israel, a devoted leader of Los Angeles' Jewish community, and a longtime political activist. (Picture: Elaine with Senator George Mitchell at the APN Yitzhak Rabin Peace Award Event).

APN's President and CEO Debra DeLee: "The APN family lost an important member. We all admired Elaine and were inspired by her commitment to public life, to our community, and to a peaceful, progressive Israel."

"I have always felt a deep attachment to Judea and Samaria because of the Bible. But at some point, we began to understand that while fighting for the land, we were losing the people . . . Rabbi Amital would tell us that the people take precedence over the land, and I have always embraced that legacy."

Rabbi Benny Lau, from Ha'aretz: "This Orthodox Israeli Rabbi Is an Ultra-liberal and Not Ashamed of It"

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.

August 15, 2016 - North of Israel: Turkey, Russia, Aleppo

Q. What's the significance of last week’s rapprochement in St. Petersburg between Russia's Putin and Turkey's Erdogan? Are the Czar and the Sultan back together again?

A. ...Russia's relations with Turkey were frozen for more than half a year after Turkish Air Force planes downed a Russian combat aircraft over Syria...

Q. Where does this Byzantine labyrinth leave the US? Europe? Israel?

A. Turkey remains in NATO, however unhappy the two are with one another...

Q. Apropos Erdogan, Putin and Netanyahu, are we witnessing the evolution of regional leadership toward a kind of democratic-autocratic model? Even Egypt's Sisi fits the mold.

A. It is certainly tempting to speculate about this...

Q. How did Putin and Russia become so central to the Middle East drama?

A. Russia has been making inroads into the Middle East ever since, in 2013, Putin exploited the Obama administration’s quandary regarding a response to Syria's use of chemical weapons and stepped in to mediate their removal...

Q. Much of the Russian-Turkish dynamic appears currently to focus on the battle for Aleppo in northern Syria. Last week, 15 Syrian doctors in Aleppo wrote to President Obama begging him to intervene. Why is this city so important?

A. Before Syria fell apart, Aleppo was its economic capital...

Land Expropriation Advanced for "E-2" - a New Settlement on JNF Lands

Peace Now has warned that the construction project referred to as E-2 "would have a devastating impact on the two-state solution."

Peace Now in Jerusalem Post: Continued work on the project "demonstrates the true path" of Prime Minister Netanyahu's government.

APN to Obama: Act to Reverse Israeli Government Taking Over Palestinian Land for West Bank Settlement

APN calls on the Obama administration to weigh in and reverse the Israeli government's decision to rebuild Amona, a West Bank outpost built in violation of Israeli law. Peace Now: "In order to compensate a small group of settlers who stole private Palestinian lands, the Israeli government itself is now stealing private lands as well."

APN 2016 Israel Study Tour - Registration Closing Soon

Several special elements will be part of this specific trip, including travel days to the north and south of Israel, and to the West Bank.

Go HERE for more about this unique experience and how to sign up, and HERE for the Study Tour Schedule.

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

Menachem Brinker, 1935-2016

Professor Menachem Brinker was a prominent political activist after the Six Day war who co-founded Israel's Peace Now movement. He helped chart the organization's path for many years, in parallel to his academic pursuits which included his receiving the Israel Prize in Hebrew Literature.

The APN Weekly Update can be
Shared on Facebook and Tweeted!

"He who established 28 housing units in the heart of Hevron wants to perpetuate the conflict and fan the flames in the most sensitive and explosive area of the West Bank."

From Peace Now's publicity campaign against Jewish construction in Hebron. The pro-settler Arutz 7 news covered this in an article entitled: "Peace Now 'slanders' activists over Hevron construction."

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.

August 22, 2016 - Russian-Iranian strategic cooperation and its ramifications

Q. Last week you discussed the Russian-Turkish rapprochement. Now Russia is bombing Syria from a base in Iran. Are we on the cusp of a major Middle East power reorientation?

A. It’s too early to say how far this may or may not go...

Q. Let's break this down. Why would Iran, where the Islamic Republic has always insisted on "Neither East nor West", allow Russian bombers to use the Hamadan air base to launch bomber strikes against anti-regime targets in Syria?

A. ...The most obvious motive is Iran's determination to do whatever is necessary to maintain the Assad regime in Syria...

Q. And Russia's motive?

A. More power and influence in the Middle East, more ways to keep the Assad regime in power in Damascus, more blows against the Sunni Islamist movements...

Q. How are Moscow's power plays in Turkey and Iran, neither necessarily a friend of the Arabs, expanding its influence elsewhere in the Middle East?

A. Here are three examples from recent days...

Q. How does all this affect Israel?

A. Israel continues to maintain close operational coordination with Russian air units in Syrian air space...

Q. Indeed, how do you assess the US response to greater Russian penetration of the region?

A. There are two ways to view the response, or relative lack thereof, of the Obama administration...

Q. Earlier you mentioned talk of a Netanyahu-Abbas summit, perhaps in Moscow. Is this likely?

A. No...

The APN Weekly Update can be
Shared on Facebook and Tweeted!

Join the campaign to save the Palestinian village of Sussya

The Israeli government is poised to make a final decision on whether to raze almost half of this Palestinian village located on land in the West Bank long coveted by settlers. Add you voice to the efforts by human rights activists:

Send a message to Secretary of State John Kerry.

Send a message to Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer.

More Information Revealed on Establishing a New Settlement in Hebron

Peace Now: The government invests massive efforts into establishing a settlement in Hebron, the city where the daily reality of the occupation is the harshest and the most disgraceful...The government can still prevent the establishment of this new settlement...

There is no better legacy than peacemaker

Professor David N. Myers, leading Jewish historian, writes about his close friend Rabbi Leonard Beerman (z"l) and the book Zionism: The Birth and Transformation of an Ideal that author Milton Viorst dedicates to Rabbi Beerman and the other peacemakers, "the greatest of the Zionists."

APN extends an offer to send you the book for a donation of $90 or more.

Natalie Portman film based on Amos Oz memoir hits theaters nationwide

A Tale of Love and Darkness, based on the memoir by Peace Now founder and renowned Israeli author Amos Oz, is playing in Los Angeles and New York, and opens this Friday in more Southern California and New York locations, plus the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New Jersey, San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, Minneapolis, and various Florida locales.