News Nosh 08.22.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday August 22, 2016
 
Quote of the day:
"The normalization of relations with Israel does not mean that we have to remain silent about attacks against the Palestinian people in Gaza. On the contrary, we will continue to defend the Palestinian issue in the face of Israeli actions which violate international law and are contrary to basic human morality.”
- Statement from Turkish Foreign Ministry
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In the past few weeks, it seems like every day brings more alarming news regarding Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Some of this activity poses a direct threat to the viability of a two-state solution.

In the coming weeks, we will urge you to take action to oppose these dangerous developments.

This week, we are inviting you to a Thursday briefing call on this issue with with two of the world’s leading experts on West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements: Hagit Ofran, the director of Peace Now’s Settlement Watch project, and Daniel Seidemann, the founder and director of Terrestrial Jerusalem.

 

Listen here.

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Peace Now Settlement Watch: Settlers' Residence Being Prepared in a Hebron Military Compound

News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:

Summary:
  • Renovations are currently taking place in the military compound of "Plugat Hamitkanim" in Hebron, in order to prepare the area for the residence of settlers.
  • This area, which used to serve as Hebron's central bus station, was seized through a military order during the 80's. By law, and according to a High Court verdict from 1979, it is forbidden to seize lands for military needs and then use them for the purpose of settlements.
  • Having residential housing in a military base also contradicts the principle of distinction between civilians and combatants, and constitutes a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law. Thus, the plan is to deduct a portion of the land seized for military purposes and allocate it for the purpose of a settlement. While the seizure order will be lifted, this constitutes a bending of the law mentioned above for the benefit of settlers.
  • This portion of the land used to be under Jewish ownership prior to 1948 and was leased to the Hebron municipality by the Jordanians. The status of Hebron municipality is of protected tenancy and therefore, until now, the Israeli legal opinion was that the land cannot be taken from the municipality other than in the pretext of military use.
  • In addition, allocating lands belonged to Jews before 1948 to settlers  is practically an implementation of the "right of return" for Jews only and on the expense of the protected Palestinians tenants.
  • In a letter to the Defense Minister and to the Head of the Civil Administration, Peace now demanded to prevent the establishment of this New settlement in Hebron.
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August 22, 2016 - Russian-Iranian strategic cooperation and its ramifications

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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 whether we are on the cusp of a major Middle East power reorientation; why Iran would, when 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; Russia’s motive; how Moscow’s power plays in Turkey and Iran, neither necessarily a friend of the Arabs, are expanding its influence elsewhere in the Middle East; how all this affects Israel; how he assesses the U.S. response to greater Russian penetration of the region; and if a Netanyahu-Abbas summit, perhaps in Moscow, is likely.

 

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News Nosh 08.21.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday August 21, 2016 
 
Quote of the day:
“We are not offering a political solution. We are offering a human solution in which people see a human being facing them. From that point, it will be easier to reach understandings.”
--Hadi Goldschmidt, a religious Jewish co-organizer of a backgammon face-off held in E. Jerusalem between Jews and Arabs.**
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There is no better legacy than peacemaker

The struggle to bring peace and justice to both Israelis and Palestinians remains as important as ever. And so too is the need to understand the history of the conflict, as well as the two peoples who stand at its center.

BeermanI often think of the historical experience and wisdom of my dear friend, Rabbi Leonard Beerman z"l (pictured), who had a deeply personal angle on the conflict. After serving in the U.S. Marines, Leonard joined the Haganah, the underground Jewish militia in Palestine fighting for independence against local Palestinian Arabs. Following his experience, Leonard returned with new powers of understanding and empathy for both peoples, in addition to a life-long commitment to pacifism.

One of the people with whom Leonard most liked to discuss his passions and hopes about the conflict was his dear friend, Milton Viorst. In fact, Milton has dedicated his new book, Zionism: The Birth and Transformation of an Ideal, to "Rabbi Beerman and the other peacemakers, the greatest of the Zionists."

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News Nosh 08.18.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday August 18, 2016

With editor Orly Halpern returning to Israel tomorrow, News Nosh will return to its regular schedule and full format, including translated news, commentary and analysis from the Hebrew media.
 
Quote of the day:
"
We have to eliminate the need for mediators when addressing those who truly seek to pursue coexistence. Just as Abbas holds a direct dialogue with the Israeli public, I want to hold a direct dialogue with the Palestinian public. Abbas is an obstacle...I want to talk with those who do want a deal."
- Israeli Defense Minister Avidgor Lieberman
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APN Weekly Update - Settlement Watch on E-2 and Amona, remembering Menachem Brinker, Study Tour and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: August 17, 2016


"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"


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

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...

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Settlement Watch

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."

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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."

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APN Israel Study Tour

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.

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News Nosh 08.17.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday August 17, 2016

While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
 
Quote of the day:
"As an organization that was started by the Kibbutz Movement, we understand that Israel is the Jewish homeland. But as a democratic state, we understand that we must provide all of our citizens with equality and equal opportunity."
- Yaniv Sagee, Executive Director of Givat Haviva
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News Nosh 08.16.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday August 16, 2016

While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
 
Quote of the day:
"All of the politicians who come to the southern neighborhoods [in Tel Aviv] and promise the residents that all of them are just about to be expelled back to their countries or to third countries, or the moon, are pulling the wool over your eyes. They’re not going anywhere, so let’s channel our energies into absorbing these people, at least temporarily."
- Deputy Tel Aviv Mayor Asaf Zamir
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