Today, 13 leading American Jewish organizations submitted a letter to Knesset opposition leader Isaac Herzog expressing opposition to the discriminatory “Nation-State Bill,” which is currently advancing in the Knesset. The bill would alter Israel’s constitution-level Basic Law in ways that pose severe risks to minority rights and Israel’s democratic foundation. The letter is signed by the New Israel Fund, J Street, T’ruah, Americans for Peace Now, Ameiny, Avtzim’s Green Zionist Alliance, Habonim Dror North America, Hashomer Hatzair North America, Keshet, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Right Now: Advocates for Asylum Seekers in Israel, and Tivnu: Building Justice.
Professor Shibley Telhami, an expert on Palestinian politics and on U.S. Middle East policy
joined us on a briefing call on Thursday July 19th, 2018.
One of America’s leading experts on the Middle East, Professor Telhami will comment on the current state of
American-Palestinian relations, on Donald Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian policy, on Trump’s prospective “peace plan,”
and on the role of Arab governments in the current dynamics between the US, Israel and the
Palestinians.
Listen here.
Shibley Telhami is the Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, College Park, and non-resident senior fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. He is the co-editor of The Peace Puzzle: America’s Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace, 1989-2011, and the author of The World through Arab Eyes: Arab Public Opinion and the Reshaping of the Middle East.
Elana Kravitz is a student at Columbia University studying Political Science and Arabic, currently an Americans for Peace Now intern
Mohammed Bin Salman was elevated to the status of crown prince of Saudi Arabia just over a
year ago, and what a year it’s been. He quickly became an international celebrity better known as MBS, the
man of the hour in the Middle East, and even a welcome presence on the Rock’s Instagram. He captured the world’s
attention with a prolonged charm offensive and “revolutionary” reforms in Saudi Arabia such as allowing
women to drive and disempowering the infamous Saudi Arabian religious police.
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.
Week 1 Books - Exposing the divisions that exist in Israeli society between different ethnic, religious, and political groups.
Americans for Peace Now (APN) condemns Israeli actions toward Bedouin communities in the West Bank, including Khan al-Ahmar. Israeli authorities have demolished structures in Abu Nuwar and moved in bulldozers to Khan al-Ahmar in preparation for demolishing that community. The Israeli government plans to forcibly transfer the Bedouin members of the Jahalin tribe to Al Jabel, a village near the garbage dump in Abu Dis.
These moves are not only violation of Palestinian human rights; they are also a deliberate move by Israel’s right-wing government to harm prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Americans for Peace Now invites you to join us in “Three Weeks of Contemplation: Hate, Peace, and Reconciliation,” featuring a hand-picked selection of current books by Israeli and Palestinian writers.
Information obtained by Peace Now indicates that the Binyamin Regional Council concealed tens of millions of
shekels in funding for Amana, an organization that stands behind the establishment of most of the illegal outposts
in the West Bank and is involved wide scale illegal construction in settlements. Many more millions were granted to
political organizations, striving to affect public opinion and government bodies to support the settlements and to
help the right-wing ideas.
Every local authority in Israel, including those in the West Bank, is allowed to allocate funds to non-government organizations for the benefit of its residence, in the framework of transparent criteria, and to limited list of causes regulated by the Israeli Ministry of Interior. The funding for all of the West Bank local authorities is coming from the Israeli government in addition to local taxation, collected by the localities from their residence.
Following a Peace Now petition under the Freedom of Information Act, the Binyamin Regional Council was forced to disclose detailed information about the funds it provides to non-governmental organizations. The information shows that between 2013 and 2015, the Council distributed over NIS 65 million to various organizations. 85% of the support funds (more than NIS 55 million) were transferred to political NGOs striving to affect public opinion and government bodies to support the settlements, and to Amana, which engages in illegal activity. Only 15% of the funds were transferred to other non-profit organizations that deal with welfare, education, sports, etc., in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Interior.
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.