Briefing call with Senator George Mitchell and Alon Sachar

Mitchell_Sachar_Book_Cover_w_Beige_BackgroundOn December 16 2016, APN held a briefing call with Senator George Mitchell and Alon Sachar.  Senator George Mitchell and Alon Sachar are the authors of the newly published book "A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East."

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News Nosh 12.18.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday December 18, 2016  
 
You Must Be Kidding: 
"I’ll never come back to this place."
--A text message that the co-CEO of the Abraham Fund, an Israeli Jewish-Arab co-existence and equality organization, received from Maqsood Ahmed, a co-leader of Muslim Hands organization and who was decorated by Queen Elizabeth for improving interfaith relations. Ahmed wrote it on his way from the Shin Bet holding cell at Ben-Gurion Airport to the airplane after he was held overnight and refused entry to Israel to participate in Muslim Jewish co-existence activities at the invitation of The Abraham Fund.**


Breaking News:
Palestinians: 19-year-old Killed by Israeli Forces Near Ramallah
Violent clashes take place between IDF and youths in West Bank village against backdrop of searches and arrests. Locals said Ahmad Hazim Ata al-Rimawi was shot with live fire in the chest. (Haaretz and Maan)

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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.

They wrote: "Death to the Police"

Jim Klutznick

Rejecting a government proposal to peacefully move to an adjacent plot, the settlers of Amona, who stole privately-owned Palestinian land to establish an illegal outpost, are vowing to fight. Amona’s forty families – reinforced by thousands of zealous settlers – are hunkering down for a confrontation with law enforcement officials, which could take place as early as tomorrow night.

The settlers are being removed from Amona after Peace Now, together with the Palestinian land-owners, won a petition to Israel's High Court. The settlers promised that they will "only" passively resist the eviction, but past experience shows that their passive resistance quickly and easily turns into violence. Graffiti sprayed in Amona promising "Death to the Policemen” serves as an indication of the settlers' intentions. It's going to be ugly. It's going to be violent. It's going to be bloody. Not because Israel's police and the IDF want that, but because that's the way the settlers want it to be.

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News Nosh 12.16.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday December 16, 2016  
 
Quote of the day:
"I hope (Shimon Peres') memory will inspire us to see the light of those in need and help those in darkness and distress, even if they are different from us. I hope these candles will help us to strive and work for peace, even when it is difficult—especially when it is difficult."
--At the White House Hannukah candle-lighting ceremony, outgoing US President Barack Obama spoke of former Israeli president Shimon Peres as an inspiration for the ideals that today seem increasingly distant, as Peres' son, Chemi, lit the candles.*
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Press Release: APN Opposes David Friedman's Nomination as US Ambassador to Israel

Americans for Peace Now (APN) is alarmed by President-elect Donald Trump's choice of David Friedman to be the United States' next ambassador to Israel. Friedman's choice sends an alarming message about the Trump administration's role in advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace.

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APN Update - Sen. Mitchell Briefing Call at 3 (EST), Alpher on Syria, APN in Action, and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: December 15, 2016


"It's not the anti-Israel propaganda and it's not the BDS campaign. There is no need to give them an honor they don't deserve. It's the Israeli government."

Ben-Dror Yemimi, veteran Israeli columnist, in YNET: Israel losing public opinion support in US. A recent poll found that a 47% plurality of the American public would be in favor of imposing economic sanctions on Israel for the ongoing construction in the settlements.


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

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

December 12, 2016 - Syria

Q. Aleppo in northern Syria is falling to the Assad regime and its allies from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. What are the ramifications for Israel and the region?

A. ...This development has far-reaching ramifications for the Middle East region including Israel...

Q. So that ends the war...

A. Not at all...

Q. What will happen to Assad’s Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah allies as his regime regains control?

A. ...One way or another, they are in Syria to stay...

Q. Lebanon too is part of Iran’s hegemonic design?

A. ...Lebanon just elected a pro-Syria, pro-Hezbollah president, Michel Aoun...

Q. You mentioned Turkey and the Kurds. What sort of Turkey is emerging from recent years’ revolution in neighboring Syria and recent months’ abortive revolution in Turkey itself?

A. President Erdogan’s “Neo-Ottoman” strategy of eliminating all conflicts and friction along Turkey’s borders is in tatters...

Q. What sort of regime can we now expect to develop in Syria?

A. Here it is important to understand the nature of the Assad regime. Think of it as a mafia gang...

Q. Where does all this leave Israel?

A. ...the more he (Netanyahu) drags Israel toward the self-inflicted disaster of a messianic one-state apartheid-like reality with the Palestinians, the more he succeeds in enhancing Israel’s relations with its Sunni Arab neighbors...

Q. How does it contribute to enhanced Israeli-Sunni Arab relations?

A. Israel and its Sunni Arab neighbors share concern regarding all the militant Islamists in Syria...

Q. How does Syria affect the Palestinian situation?

A. The chaos in Syria has for several years dictated a wait-and-see, keep-your-powder-dry attitude on the part of both Hamas and the PLO...

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Briefing Call

 

TODAY at 3:00 pm (Eastern) - Briefing Call with Senator George Mitchell and Alon Sachar

 

Senator George Mitchell, President Obama's Special Envoy to the Middle East in 2009, and Alon Sachar, who served with Senator Mitchell among several other positions connected to Israel and peace negotiations, will discuss their newly released book A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East. The book has been described as providing "a practical roadmap for bringing peace to this complicated, troubled region."

Thursday, December 15, 3:00pm (Eastern Time)

To participate, phone 951-797-1058 and enter code 147414

Go HERE for more on the briefing call speakers. Share

 


Israel's settlement "Legalization Bill": What it is and what it means

If passed, the "Legalization Bill" will retroactively legalize settlement contstruction in the West Bank, which a State Department spokesman has said "would be a dramatic advancement of the settlement enterprise...already greatly endangering the prospects for a two-state solution."

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The New Government Agreement on the Amona Illegal Outpost

According to media reports, the Israeli government has decided to relocate settlers from the Amona Illegal Outpost to adjacent West Bank land, contrary to previous Israeli court legal opinions.

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APN in Action

 

"Count us Out"

Given the choice of partner (Azerbaijan) and the choice of venue (Trump International Hotel), APN lodged its objections and chose to forego last night's Hanukkah Party of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations.

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APN to Trump Team: Avoid inflammatory statements on Jerusalem

We urge President-elect Trump to avoid destabilizing moves and statements pertaining to moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, one of the most politically, religiously and culturally sensitive places on earth.

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Letter from Israel

Fania Oz-Salzberger: "For Argument's Sake"

Historian Fania Oz-Salzberger is the author of "Jews and Words" with her father Amos Oz, the renowned Israeli author and a founder of Peace Now. In a special letter for Americans for Peace Now, Oz-Salzberger reflects on her Jewish and Zionist legacies, and her belief in their future crowning achievement: a peaceful and democratic Israel.

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News Nosh 12.15.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday December 15, 2016  
 
Quote of the day:
“In the Diaspora, the handful of rabbis did not damage Jewish identity, whereas today in Israel a swarm of rabbis practice as spiritual guides humming in our ears from circumcision to the grave. Many of them are immune to criticism, even if they are thieves, rapists, racist instigators, or attackers of IDF soldiers, as they relentlessly conspire to undermine democratic institutions. As secular law—which is becoming weaker day by day—tries to restrain them, these rabbis receive the support of Hassidic followers, politicians or corrupt government leaders smelling of fascism, who are ready to sell the good of the country for personal gain. Against the defiled trinity of corrupt government, devouring wealth and a violent messianic religion, the people stand helpless, paralyzed and confused.”
--Renowned Israeli author and President of The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Sami Michael, 90, writes in a biting Op-Ed examining where the country has gone since he immigrated in 1951 full of hope.**
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News Nosh 12.14.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday December 14, 2016  
 
Quote of the day:
"I don't reject people because they don't think like I do. I studied Bialik, and the more I learn Hebrew literature, the richer I am (culturally). I recommend that Jews study well Darwish's (poetry)."
--Arab MK Ahmad Tibi said at a tribute to Jewish author Shai Agnon.*
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Peace Now Settlement Watch: The New Government Agreement on Amona - Explained

News from Peace Now:

According to media reports, a compromise has been reached between Prime Minister Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit regarding the relocation of the Amona settlers. The solution agreed between the three, based on media reports, includes the evacuation of Amona and the relocation of the Amona settlers to four plots  (number 28, 29, 30, 38 as can be seen in the map below) in a nearby hill on absentees' property (abandoned property) through a renewable two year lease. These lands are private lands and their use for the purpose of settlement is contrary to previous legal opinions of the State. As shown in previous cases, such as that of Migron, the temporary lease could quickly become permanent and allow for the establishment of a new official settlement on private Palestinian lands. To read a Peace Now position paper on this issue click here.
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