APN/Peace Now in the News: December 5 – 9, 2016

Times of Israel: December 5, 2016
Attorney General Says Outpost Bill Still Illegal, Even Without Amona”  Peace Now warns that regardless of whether or not settlements in the West Bank were built in “good faith,” the Regulation Bill still legalizes outposts and Israeli settlement expansions on privately-owned Palestinian land.

Arutz Sheva: December 5, 2016
Regulation Law Passes Preliminary Reading” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked sardonically thanks Peace Now and other left-wing organizations for unwittingly enabling the Regulation Law to pass during its preliminary reading.

Ynet New: December 7, 2016
Regulation Bill Passes First Knesset Reading” Restating Shaked’s remarks, HaBayit HaYehudi party leader and Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, gives thanks to Peace Now for helping the Regulation Law pass as a bill.

Times of Israel: December 7, 2016
Four Liberal Jewish Groups Join Call on Trump to Nix National Security Adviser Choice” Americans for Peace Now, J Street, T’ruah, and the National Council for Jewish Women urge President-elect Trump to revoke his appointment of Mike Flynn as the next National Security Advisor.

Haaretz: December 7, 2016
Four Jewish Groups Join 53 Organizations Calling on Trump to Rescind Michael Flynn's Nomination” Americans for Peace Now signed a letter condemning Trump’s appoint of Gen. Michael Flynn to National Security Advisor, arguing that his explicit malice towards Muslims and Islam and his retweeting of an anti-semitic tweet renders him unfit to represent the country.

The Jewish Week: December 7, 2016
Battle Over Ellison Heats Up As Some Dems Warn Party” Americans for Peace Now and other American Jewish organizations reaffirm support for Keith Ellison amidst a series of attacks on his Israel platform, citing him as a progressive ally towards brokering a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: December 7, 2016
8 Liberal Jewish Groups to Skip Conference of Presidents Party at Trump’s DC Hotel” Americans for Peace Now, in partnership with 7 other liberal Jewish members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, will not attend its Hanukkah Party at the Trump International Hotel on December 14, maintaining that the venue location misrepresents the interests of most American Jews.

The Yeshiva World News: December 7, 2016
Yair Lapid To Peace Now: Where Is A Minimum Of Respect For The Dead?” Yesh Atid party leader, Yair Lapid, calls upon Peace Now to support an extension for the destruction of a memorial for two fallen IDF soldiers that was built on private Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank.

Al-Monitor: December 8, 2016
Israel's Controversial Settlement Bill Provokes Palestinian Blitz” Peace Now expresses concern over Israel’s Regulation Law that would retroactively legalize at least 55 outposts and 72 settlements in the West Bank, enabling the government to expropriate nearly 8,000 dunams of Palestinian land.

The Forward: December 9, 2016
Like Houdini, Netanyahu Is a Great Escape Artist — Just Look at His Contortions On Settlements” Recalling Peace Now and other organizations’ lawsuit brought against Amona’s construction in 1995, the Regulation Bill’s support for outposts and settlements on Palestinian property may trigger actions from the Obama Administration and the UN Security Council.

APN/Peace Now in the News: December 10 – 16, 2016

NPR: December 16, 2016
Trump's Pick For Ambassador To Israel: 'End The 2-State Narrative,'” Several left-wing U.S. Jewish groups — among them Americans for Peace Now and J-Street — say they will work to defeat David Friedman’s nomination.

JTA: December 16, 2016
Jewish doves vow to lobby Senate to block Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel,” Americans for Peace Now called Friedman’s nomination “destabilizing.” “Friedman opposes the very essence of APN’s values and mission,” it said in a statement.

The Guardian: December 16, 2016
Donald Trump's Israel ambassador is hardline pro-settler lawyer,” Lara Friedman, of Americans for Peace Now, tweeted: “I don’t know about the Palestinians, but I know Jews who truly care about Israel’s security, democracy & place in the world are outraged.”

Times of Israel: December 16, 2016
Liberal Jewish groups rage against Trump’s Israel ambassador pick,” Lara Friedman, the director of policy and government relations for Americans for Peace Now, did not mince words either, tweeting: “I don’t know about the Palestinians, but I know Jews who truly care about Israel’s security, democracy & place in the world are outraged.”

New York Times: December 15, 2016
Hanukkah Event at a Trump Hotel Highlights a Rift Among Jews,” Ori Nir, the communications director at Americans for Peace Now, a group that declined an invitation to the event, said he and his colleagues initially thought the invitation was a hoax. The group wrote a letter to the Conference of Presidents expressing its concerns. “As members of the conference we try to be discreet,” he said. “But this time around it was so insensitive that it really merited a public expression.”

Jerusalem Post: December 14, 2016
Jewish groups opt for White House bash over Trump hotel Hanukkah party,” Americans for Peace Now among Jewish groups who stand against the Conference of President’s Hanukkah party at Trump hotel.

The Jewish Week: December 14, 2016
Ellison Acceptable,” J Street and Peace Now are two of the most pro-Israel pro-peace groups . . . If J Street and Peace Now support Ellison it shows that he is responsive to our concerns about the peace process and Israeli occupation.

American Prospect: December 14, 2016
The Last Thing Netanyahu Wants to Say is ‘Annexation,’” according to Hagit Ofran of Peace Now, 41 families are still living in Amona in mobile homes and the grace period has ended.

Times of Israel: December 11, 2016
Ministers back bill barring national service volunteers from B'Tselem,” the Ministerial Committee for Legislation gave the go-ahead for a bill barring national service volunteers from working with organizations that get most of their funding from foreign sources – this bill is seen as targeting human rights groups like B’Tselem and Americans for Peace Now.

i24 News: December 11, 2016
Bill barring completion of Israeli national service at B'Tselem heads to Knesset,” the bill was initiated by Amir Ohana of the ruling Likud party after human rights NGOs B’Tselem and Americans for Peace Now testified against Israel's West Bank settlement building policies at a United Nations Security Council forum in October.

The Hill: December 10, 2016
Jewish groups divided over Hanukkah party at Trump hotel,” Americans for Peace Now among the progressive Jewish organizations objecting to the Conference of President’s Hanukkah party at Trump hotel with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

1