APN's Lara Friedman at the 6th Annual “Professor Gerald B. Bubis Lecture”

The Bubis Lecture was established by the Americans for Peace Now board of directors upon the retirement from the board of Gerald “Jerry” Bubis (z”l), who was a seminal leader from its founding, including as a national co-chair and other leadership roles in Southern California. The Valley Beth Shalom Congregation, spiritual home to the Bubis family for decades, is a co-sponsor and host of this event.

Lara Friedman, APN Director of Policy and Government Relations, was the guest speaker for this event.  She had recently provided the APN testimony at a United Nations Security Council special session on Israeli Settlements.

Time markers for the video:

 8:40 – Remarks from APN Chair Jim Klutznick

15:50 – Remarks from Lara Friedman, APN Director of Policy and Government Relations (done “in conversation” with Rabbi Ed Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom)

 

College of Jewish Studies: November 30, 2016 from Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue.

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News Nosh 01.09.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday January 9, 2017  
 
Quote of the day #1:
"None of you should dare compare a semitrailer traveling 100 km/h to a terrorist who is lying down, incapacitated."
--An incensed IDF officer cadet who was present at the truck-ramming attack in Jerusalem wrote afterward on Facebook in refute of allegations that her fellow soldiers hesitated to fire for fear of prosecution, following the conviction of Sgt. Elor Azariya, who executed a wounded and prone Palestinian assailant.*
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January 09, 2017 - The Elor Azaria case

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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 why last week's conviction in military court of a soldier of manslaughter in the killing of a wounded and neutralized terrorist in Hebron caused such a commotion in Israel; whether Azaria really benefited from such overt due process or if it were more of a Dreyfus process; how this affects Israeli society; whether with all the relevant figures now lining up behind the next steps: sentencing and either reduction of sentence or a pardon, this is becoming “old news;” and if there are broader ramifications to the Azaria case.

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Back in 2012, I warned a friend who was working on international trade issues: pay attention to what’s happening with the Palestinians at the UN, because it could cause problems for the U.S. on a wide range of issues, including the ones you deal with. I recall clearly his response, mainly because it was so patronizing. In essence, he told me: “don’t kid yourself – nobody is going to let a boutique issue like Israel-Palestine harm truly important U.S. interests (like trade).”

Now, five years later, President-elect Trump and his surrogates are dropping heavy hints about plans to break with longstanding U.S. positions vis-à-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the direction of changes that both Israelis and Palestinians would view as turning away from a negotiated peace agreement. And like my friend in 2012, few people today seem to grasp the consequences – entirely unrelated to Israel and the Palestinians – such changes are set to unleash, or the profoundly negative implications they would have for all Americans.

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News Nosh 01.08.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday January 8, 2017  
 
Quote of the day:
“Gaza is cloaked in desperation. You feel it the minute you cross the border. It’s like traveling to another world. Already at the crossing you see seriously ill people, mainly cancer patients, waiting in line in a hall. They are hoping for some compassion and permission to cross the border and receive some treatment. You go by car and see ruins, thousands of destroyed houses, factories in ruin, sewage flowing through the streets.”
--Salah Haj Yahya, an Arab Israeli who leads delegations from  Israeli NGO 'Physicians for Human Rights' to the Gaza Strip. *
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News Nosh 01.06.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday January 6, 2017  
 
You Must Be Kidding: 
“Someone should take a grenade and blow her up and spread the remaining bits of her around so that her body will be eaten by dogs. G-d will pay her back for this!!!!”
--Post written in social media network by an Israeli angry at military judge Maya Heller who convicted Sgt. Elor Azariya of manslaughter in the execution of Palestinian assailant Abdul Fattah Al-Sharif. Israel's Chief Justice warned that the incitement against judges endangered Israeli democracy.
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News Nosh 01.05.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday January 5, 2017  
 
Quote of the day:
"For obvious reasons, the IDF sought to portray the sergeant as a rotten apple, to be thrown out of the barrel, put on trial and made an example of. But while as an adult he is fully responsible for his actions and, instead of rallying around his family, we should be asking what in his upbringing and education contributed to that fatal shooting, he is one of us. Every single Israeli government of the last 49 years and the Israeli citizens who voted it into power conspired to place him in a bizarre situation that morning in Hebron. The politicians and pundits, not just those on the far-right, who are now baying against the military court, but even “mainstream” ones like centrist Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid, who last year made posturing speeches on how Palestinian attackers should not be allowed to live, gave Azaria a helping hand."
--Haaretz journalist Anshel Pfeffer in an analysis of the verdict.*
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PAST ACTION: Tell Senate to Oppose Rubio-Cardin Resolution

Update: this action, now closed, ran in January 2017. 

Earlier today, I asked you to contact your House member and ask him/her to oppose H. Res. 11, a resolution set to be voted on tomorrow (January 5th), objecting to recent action taken in the UN Security Council regarding settlements. Now, the Senate is poised to pass a similar resolution, just introduced by Senators Rubio (R-FL) and Cardin (D-MD) – and it is critical your senators hear from you on this today.

Contact your Senators TODAY. Tell them: Support Israel -- vote NO on the Rubio-Cardin resolution!

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PAST ACTION: Supporting Israel Means Opposing H. Res. 11

Update: this action, now closed, ran in January 2017. 

Just before the New Year, the Obama Administration took pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-U.S. action in the UN Security Council. It did so by abstaining on a resolution focused on Israeli settlements – a resolution that was wholly consistent with longstanding U.S. policy (upheld by presidents from both parties), and that was consistent with language adopted previously by the UN Security Council (including under past U.S. presidents from both parties).

Now, the House is poised to pass a resolution TOMORROW – H. Res. 11 – unfairly slamming the Obama Administration’s action.

Contact your Representative TODAY. Tell him/her: Support Israel -- vote NO on H. Res. 11!

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News Nosh 01.04.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday January 4, 2017  
 
Quote of the day:
“An 18-year-old who enlists in the IDF isn’t everyone’s child, he isn’t a baby who was taken prisoner. He’s a fighter, he’s a soldier, he’s called on to put his life on the line.” 
--IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said in regards to those who defended Sgt. Elor Azariya, who is on trial for the killing of an incapacitated Palestinian assailant.**
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