Hagai Elad, executive director of Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, on a short visit to Washington DC, was hosted Friday June 17th for a roundtable briefing by the New Israel Fund. NIF is one of B’Tselem’s chief funders.

 B’Tselem, one of the most prominent human rights organizations in Israel, works tirelessly to inform the Israeli public about human rights violations of Palestinian civilians under Israel’s occupation in the West Bank.

 Elad elaborated on B’Tselem’s recent decision to stop referring complaints to the Israeli military law enforcement system, whose role is to handle cases of mistreatment of Palestinians by Israeli Defence Force soldiers. Elad explained that the whitewashing employed by the military law enforcement system has made it extremely difficult for B’Tselem to follow through with investigations: only 3% of cases filed by B’Tselem go to trial. This percentage is so small that even the number of files misplaced and lost in the system is higher.

On Sunday, June 5th, Americans for Peace Now joined the Progressive Coalition at this year's Celebrate Israel Parade. Although the weather was damp, spirits were not as we joined with T'ruah, Partners for Progressive Israel, and New Israel Fund to show the world that there is a strong and vibrant progressive community supporting Israel and thousands of Israelis working for a just and peaceful society.

Pictures below

Thousands of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest the appointment of Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman as Israel’s new defense minister. Protesters carried banners denouncing extremism, racism, and violence in Israel, as well as signs proclaiming “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies” and “Israel, Palestine, two states for two peoples.” Marchers were joined by Knesset members, including Meretz leader Zehava Galon and Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh. Peace Now organized the rally together with Meretz and the Joint Arab List.

Recently, APN Director of Policy and Government Relations Lara Friedman was invited to speak at two events for the American University in Cairo (AUC), organized under the auspices of AUC’s Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research, part of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. The first lecture, entitled “The Middle East and the 2016 U.S. Elections,” took place on March 13, 2016 at AUC's historic Oriental Hall on the Tahrir Square campus. The second lecture, titled “A Conversation with A Washington Insider: Americans for Peace Now's Lara Friedman,” took place March 14, 2016 at AUC's campus in New Cairo.

Click either image below to play the video.

Dr. Baskin, renowned Israeli peace activist and political commentator, award-winning journalist and author, and negotiator of Gilad Shalit's release, visited Los Angeles for this special post Israeli election event.

On April 1, 2015, Lara Friedman (Director of Policy and Government Relations) participated at the "Israel-Palestine Peace Month" event at Roanoke College. After speaking to a class about the lessons of Passover apply to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Friedman addressed a gathering of over fifty students, faculty, and community members about settlements, the occupation, and the potential for a new U.S. approach to achieving a two-state solution.

Sunday, March 15th, 11:30am at Westmoreland Congregational UCC

APN's Rabbi Alana Suskin spoke with Ambassador Warren Clark,  Commissioner Mai Abdulrahman, with the panel moderated by  Alton Frye.

On March 3nd, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak to the US Congress at the invitation of the Republican Leadership, not the White House. It’s a decision that’s driven Netanyahu’s already strained relationship with President Obama to a breaking point.

Thousands of Israelis turned out Saturday night for a large rally in Jerusalem, organized by Peace Now, to protest the “Jewish State” bill and other anti-democratic initiatives of the Israeli government. The rally was held opposite the Prime Minister’s residence. The keynote speakers were former Shin Bet director Carmi Gillon, former minister of education Yossi Sarid, and Israel’s leading rapper, Shaanan Streett, the soloist of popular hip-hop band Hadag Nachash.

This year's Israel study tour was an amazing experience.
Below is a sampling of images from this year's tour: It's not too early to sign up for next year.
If you would like to be placed on the mailing list for the 2015 Israel study tour please contact Ori Nir at 202-408-9898 or at israeltour@peacenow.org