APN's Aaron Mann in the Times of Israel: July 13, 2017
"American Jewish leaders must be vocal on prayer - and peace - in Israel"

The June 25th decision by the Israeli government to suspend the agreement to create a pluralistic prayer space at the Western Wall could not have been more poorly timed. Coinciding with a visit of American Jewish leaders to Israel and coupled with the government’s decision to further a bill tightening regulations on Jewish conversions, the message of disrespect, disregard, and rejection was thus maximized – as was the response.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Union for Reform Judaism cancelled a planned dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, along with Rabbi Steve Wernick, CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, called the decision a “betrayal.” Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America called the move “a direct insult.” The outrage even included this line from Michael Siegel, the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel: “Support for Israel does not necessarily mean support for the Israeli government.” Continue reading...

Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly condemns the shooting attack this morning at Jerusalem's Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif. APN sends its condolences to the families of the two Israeli policemen who were killed in the attack, both Arab Druze citizens of Israel, and wishes full recovery to a third police officer who was injured in the attack.

APN implores the Israeli authorities, the Palestinian Muslim clerics in Jerusalem, the government of Jordan, the Israeli and Palestinian publics, and all other stakeholders in Jerusalem, to do all they can to prevent further escalation in Jerusalem, particularly at this highly sensitive and holy spot, and to respect the sanctity of Jerusalem's holy sites.

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

This week, Alpher discusses the strategic significance of the first-ever official visit to Israel by the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi; Putin and Trump's ceasefire agreement in southwest Syria; and whether North Korea's nuclear and missile program is an Israeli concern.

After receiving many requests from scholars and from the media for information on the population growth of West Bank Jewish settlers, we are publishing a table based on data collected by Israel’s Peace Now movement. The table shows the population growth in Israel and in West Bank settlements since 1967. While the data shows the rapid growth of the settlers’ population, it also points out what a small minority the settlers are out of Israel’s overall population.