IDF General Dov Tamari rips apart the notion -- promoted in the wake of Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to Washington -- that Israel must retain parts of the West Bank for its defense.
We took time out today from Yariv Oppenheimer's U.S. speaking tour to chat on video about the significance of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement.
Watch it:
This week's mid-term elections will have a profound impact on a wide range of issues that impact every American. It is clear that the battles ahead in Washington will focus on domestic concerns.
But those of us who care about Israel and about peace can't afford take our eyes off the ball in the Middle East.
That is why I need your help. Together, we need to raise our voices to demand that the new Congress stop using peace for Israel as a political football.
In an interview last night with CNN's Larry King, President Barack Obama talked about the way forward after the flotilla incident in very constructive tones.
I was struck by the similarity of his approach to APN's language:
Both supporters and detractors of Israel are engaged in an ugly contest over who is to blame for the tragic outcome of Israel's attempt Monday to intercept ships traveling to Gaza as part of an international aid flotilla.
We've got to get past this culture of blame.
At the root of this disaster is the effort to restrict the flow of people and goods to Gaza. This effort was initiated by Israel (and supported by the Bush administration) after Hamas came to power. This policy failed to improve Israeli security. Nor did it weaken Hamas.
It is time to change course.
On Wednesday, May 12th, APN cosponsored a Capitol Hill Forum on Jerusalem and the proximity talks. A standing-room-only audience of Capitol Hill staff, reporters, diplomats, and activists listened to the program. One Member of Congress was also in attendance.
Here is the video footage of the event.
There is good news in the quest for peace for Israel:
Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, mediated by Senator George
Mitchell, have begun.
These talks are sure to face many obstacles, including the risk that
either side will take steps outside of the negotiations that telegraph
bad faith. Israel's announcement two months ago that it planned to
expand a settlement in East Jerusalem is a clear example of such an
action.
There is news on that front, too.
The revelation in today's print edition of Ma'ariv that Shas' spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, backs a settlement construction freeze in East Jerusalem shows that the Israeli body politic understands that East Jerusalem is central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and therefore must be treated differently that the rest of Israel.
Moreover, it shows that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a great deal of wiggle room. The Shas party is a major power broker within Netanyahu's governing coalition and Yosef has been the moving force behind the party since its inception.
The following is an excerpt from the article:
Today's Yedioth Ahronoth features an article by Kadima Party chief Tzippi Livni, in which she airs a series of criticisms of Netanyahu's approach to peace. This is the most clear and substantive such critique by Livni that I can remember in some time.
Here are some noteworthy highlights:
This is an important moment for those of us who care about Israel and
about peace. I'm asking you to take action: call your Representative and
Senators so that our voice is heard.
Tomorrow, thousands of activists in Washington for the AIPAC conference
will be on the Hill claiming to speak for all Americans, and especially
American Jews who care about Israel. I know from experience that their
agenda is often not the same as ours.
This lobby day comes hot on the heels of the crisis sparked by the
announcement - during Joe Biden's visit to Israel - of a massive
settlement expansion.
Today Hillary Clinton defended the administration's action on the issue.
She told the AIPAC conference that is is America's devotion to peace
for Israel that led the administration to condemn the announcement of
plans for new construction in East Jerusalem.
"This is about getting to the table, creating and protecting an
atmosphere of trust around it - and staying there until the job is
done," she said.
Nevertheless, a number of groups have attacked the Obama administration
for publicly speaking out about the settlement expansion. You can be
sure that this will be a topic discussed during AIPAC's lobby day
tomorrow.
Make sure that our voice is heard. Tell Congress that the real
pro-Israel thing to do is to stop the expansion of settlements.
Settlements undermine the prospect for peace, which is key to Israel's
future.
Congress is now considering two pieces of legislation that will limit
the Iranian regime's ability to crack down on freedom of speech within
Iran.
This is a great opportunity. Empowering the Iranian people must be a
vital part of the American strategy to deal with the threat posed by
Iran to Israel and to key American national security interests.
As Americans have learned from the Daily Show, sometimes satire can be the best way to take the political temperature of a country.
Last month, Eretz Nehederet -- a prime-time satire show broadcast by Israel Television Channel Two -- produced a series of skits about settlers holding Israel's defense forces hostage.
On Thursday, January 28, 2010, APN co-sponsored a forum on Capitol Hill featuring Danny Seidemann and Gregory Khalil.
This event was also co-sponsored by Project Engage (an initiative of the Kairos Project), and the Foundation for Middle East Peace.
Time for Pressure?; Berman Speaks Up for Peace; Mixed Messages; Protest Movement Picks Up Steam; Follow the Money
There is good news today regarding a dangerous project in Jerusalem:
famed architect Frank Gehry pulled out of a plan to build a "Museum of
Tolerance" on top of an ancient Muslim cemetery.
APN repeatedly
called on the Simon Wiesenthal Center to move the planned museum to
another site. Now that Gehry has backed out we have a new opportunity
to get the Wiesenthal Center to do the right thing.
During their visit to Israel this week, Senators John McCain and Joe
Lieberman chose to score political points rather than to help promote
peace for Israel.
The senators pounced on a statement made by George Mitchell. After
being pushed repeatedly by Charlie Rose on this point, Mitchell
observed that previous presidents had withheld loan guarantees to
Israel in order to push Israel to make progress towards peace. Pundits
in Israel quickly interpreted this statement as a veiled threat.
This morning NPR featured the story of a Gazan who is unable to complete her education in Bethlehem because Israeli officials won't let her stay in the West Bank.
It is a difficult story. Berlanty Azzam was expelled from the
West Bank and is unable to return to Bethlehem for the two
months necessary to complete her BA.
Below is the text of the sign-on letter that Reps. Moran and Ingles are circulating:
Below is the text of the sign-on letter that Reps. McDermott and Ellison are circulating:
In East Jerusalem, the spoilers are trying to undermine the prospects for peace.
My colleague Ori Nir just finished an interview with Yariv Oppenheimer, the director general of the Israeli Peace Now movement.
The Israeli government announced on November 25 that it was beginning a 10-month moratorium on new construction in West Bank settlements.
Moments ago I sent out this call to action to APN's activists.
President Barack Obama delivered a video greeting to the Rabin memorial rally held in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
I subscribe to Aaron Lerner's email list. It's a great way to get a sense of what Israeli right-wingers are thinking and reading. His emails give the impression of objectivity, but every so often his ideological bias glares through.
When Israeli extremists want to advertise a ceremony to honor the founder of a Jewish terrorist group, it is Peace Now that stops them.
Moments ago I sent out the following call to action to APN's network of activists:
In a speech to Likud Party activists this week, Moshe Ya'alon -- Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs -- lashed out at Peace Now.
In order to save Israel, Ya'alon said, "we must deal with the issue of the virus that is Peace Now and, if you will, the elites. Their damage is very great. From my point of view, Jews should live in every part of the Land of Israel forever."
Israeli Minister Moshe Ya'alon's rhetoric equating the Israeli Peace
Now movement with a virus have drawn reaction from across the political
spectrum in Israel. Here's a small sample:
Americans for Peace Now is a participating organization in JStreet's Conference for progressive pro-Israel, pro-peace advocates.
From Ynet: Peace Now appealed to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz requesting that
he open an investigation against the Land of Israel Faithful movement
and the Youth for the Land of Israel movement for their allegedly
illegal activities...
The ad is based on a picture of cottage-style homes under construction in the settlement of Revava. The photo was taken by Peace Now's Settlement Watch team earlier this year.
A new report by the Israeli Peace Now movement discloses that enough new housing starts have taken place in settlements over the last six months to make up for the ten months of the moratorium on new settlements construction.
**September 22, 2009** - _Ha'aretz_'s Chief Political Columnist compares Obama's trilateral peace summit to the challenges that President George W. Bush faced in 1992. He notes the urgency for meaningful progress to ensure Israel's future.
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