To view as a PDF or download the file, click here.

President Trump’s Middle East team is preparing to release its Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. Reports regarding the content of the plan are unsettling. While we believe the United States has a vital role to play in bringing together Israelis and Palestinians to make peace, we view the Trump administration’s effort with grave concern. This paper offers guidelines to assess the prospects for success of a Trump peace plan by examining: 1) the current political context, 2) the essential requirements for a plan, and 3) the measures that should be taken to pave the way for negotiations.

Palestinians announced their intention to hold peaceful demonstrations from Land Day (March 30) through Nakba Day (May 15), with Gaza as the focal point. APN and Shalom Achshav respect the right of Palestinians to protest nonviolently, and call on Israelis and Palestinians to exercise restraint and act responsibly to avoid further bloodshed. We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to pursue a political solution.

Action Alert: Tell Your Senators to Support Humanitarian Relief for Gaza

APN and Shalom Achshav Publications

7.30.2018 Hard Questions, Tough Answers (July 30, 2018) – Syria/Iran and Gaza: two fronts and two policy proposals
7.16.2018 Hard Questions, Tough Answers (July 16, 2018) – Gaza
5.1.2018 Hard Questions, Tough Answers - Africans and Gazans: refugees, job seekers, "terrorists"?
4.10.2018 Briefing Call with Israeli political columnist Akiva Eldar. Eldar discusses the current Israel-Gaza crisis, Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing and legal challenges, Israel-US relations, and more.
3.30.2018 Press Release: APN Alarmed at Gaza Death Toll; Calls for Responsible Action to Prevent Further Deterioration
3.31.2018 Shalom Achshav: Netanyahu – Stop the Escalation Now!
4.2.2018 Video from Shalom Achshav protest at Likud HQ in Tel Aviv

3.19.2018 APN’s Debra Shushan in Haaretz: Trump’s Inept and Cruel Gaza Policies
PeaceCast episode #44: Brian Barber Seeks Words for Gaza
PeaceCast episode #43: Omar Shaban sees hope in Gaza
PeaceCast episode #23: Gaza Misery with Abby Smardon of UNRWA
PeaceCast episode #14: Gaza Unplugged
PeaceCast episode #13: Gaza Crisis and Qatar’s Role

They Say, We Say: What About Hamas and Gaza?

Recommended Reading

8.8.2018 Haaretz: Israel, Hamas to Agree on Cease-fire by End of August, Report Says
8.8.2018 YNet: Erdan: There may be secret channels to talks with Hamas
4.9.2018 Amos Yadlin for the Institute for National Security Studies: A Sense of Victory on Both Sides: A Recipe for Escalation in Gaza?
4.2.2018 The New York Times (editorial): Israel Courts Catastrophe in Gaza Protests
4.2.2018 International Crisis Group backgrounder: Gaza Protests Mark Shift in Palestinian National Consciousness
11.11.2017 B'tselem backgrounder on Gaza

President Trump's controversial US Ambassador to Israel has demonstrated that APN was right to oppose his confirmation - and then some. To see why Friedman must go, check out our resources on Ambassador Friedman. These include Friedman Watch, our ongoing APN feature documenting the damage the settlements enthusiast-cum-ambassador is doing in his post.

Join our call and send your own message to the White House asking Trump to tell Friedman what he loves telling others: “You’re fired!”

President Trump today fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and nominated CIA Director Mike Pompeo to succeed him in heading the State Department.

What do you need to know? Here are key takeaways from the shakeup at State, including links to recommended readings.

The world holds its breath as President Trump prepares to unveil his administration's new policy on Jerusalem. Will he move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? Will the US recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital? What are the implications for Israelis and Palestinians and the prospects for peace?

• APN's Debra Shushan in Haaretz: As Trump and Netanyahu Meet, Our Plea as Interfaith Leaders: Stop Boosting the Proponents of a Religious War
• APN's Debra Shushan in Haaretz: The Israeli 'Left' Is Gaslighting U.S. Jews Into Support for Trump on Jerusalem
• APN: Trump's Jerusalem Move Sabotages Prospects for Peace, Endangers Lives, Degrades US Leadership
• 7 Things You Should Know: Trump’s Decision on Jerusalem
• US Public Opinion on Embassy Move: Polling Graphic
• They Say/We Say on Jerusalem
• Yossi Alpher Analysis
• Organizations Specializing on Jerusalem:
  - Americans for Peace Now
  - Shalom Achshav (Peace Now)
  - Terrestrial Jerusalem
  - Ir Amim
• Temple Mount Crisis Resource Page
• Further Recommended Reading:
  - Peace Now:  President Trump’s declaration on Jerusalem is Bad News for Israel; 12/6/17
  - Jake Walles: A Capital Offense
  - Gershom Gorenberg’s Capital Offense
  - David Makovsky on Trump’s diplomatic challenge in framing his announcement
  - Haaretz backgrounder: Jerusalem for Dummies: Why the World Doesn’t Recognize It as Israel’s Capital
  - New York Times mini-video: Why Jerusalem is a Controversial Capital
  - New York Times timeline: the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jerusalem
  - Vox: Trump’s plan to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel will derail decades of US diplomacy

Action Alert: Tell Congress to Save the Iran Deal, October, 2017
APN Backgrounder: What You Need to Know as Trump Decides Iran Deal’s Fate, October 11, 2017
Briefing call with Robert Malley on the Iran Nuclear Deal, October 10, 2017
The JCPOA at One Year: A Clear Win for the US and Israel July, 2016
Diplomacy Produces Good Iran Deal July 2015
Oped in the Forward - 11 Lies Netanyahu Told Congress on Iran March 3, 2015
APN Analysis & Activism in Support of the P5+1 Negotiations with Iran, 2013-2015

AJC Poll Affirms: APN's Positions Reflect the Opinion of Most American Jews
APN Outraged by Trump Administration's Backtracking on Two-State Solution
APN's Aaron Mann in Times of Israel blog: The right kind of ‘bias’
PeaceCast#22: Major Departure? Trump and the Two State Solution
The Extremists Already Agree... (image)
Jared Kushner Just Made A Huge Blunder On Peace In The Middle East

The “Entry Law,” adopted by the Israeli Knesset on March 6, 2017, bans entry to Israel of foreign national who support or publicly engage in boycotts of either Israel or West Bank settlements, whether they do it individually or are affiliated with organizations that endorse such practices. This law uniquely affects APN, a Zionist, pro-Israel organization that advocates for boycotts of the settlements and the occupation while strongly rejecting boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) targeting Israel.

APN's President and CEO Debra DeLee said: “This new draconian law is a severe blow to Israeli democracy. It is aimed at a basic civil liberty, the freedom of expression, and will severely harm Israel by keeping out some of its greatest supporters, including Americans for Peace Now…We are a Zionist, pro-Israel organization, which cares about Israel's future as a democracy and a Jewish state. As such, we oppose the occupation and the settlements and call on our supporters to express this view by boycotting settlements. It would be absurd for the government of Israel to block us from visiting the country we love and care so much about because we chose to express a legitimate view in a legitimate way.”

***UPDATE: The final language of the bill has been significantly broadened, and now applies to “Any person who is not a citizen of Israel or holds a certification for permanent residency in the state of Israel shall not be given a residing certification or permit of any kind, if he, or the organization or agency for the sake of which he acts (she-hu po’el avuram), has knowingly published a public call to boycott the State of Israel, as defined in the Law to Prevent Harming the State of Israel through Boycott of 2011, or if he has committed to take part in such a boycott, as stated.”*** 

***UPDATE: The Knesset passed the "Entry Bill" into law on March 6, 2017***

APN's statement condemning passage of the law is here.

What is the “Entry Law”?

The so-called “Entry Law” currently under consideration is an amendment to Israel’s 1952 “Entry Law,” which determines who is allowed to enter into Israel and under what conditions.

The amendment stipulates that any person who is not an Israeli citizen will be denied entry into Israel if:

“if the person, or the organization or agency for the sake of which he acts, has knowingly publicized a call to boycott the state of Israel, as defined in the 2011 Law to Prevent Harming the State of Israel through Boycott, or (if that person) has pledged to participate in such a boycott.”[while granting Israel’s Interior Minister the prerogative to issue exceptional entry permits to boycotters “for special reasons.”]

Recommended Readings on the new initiative from Peace Now and its allies, Decision at 50

The Forward 9/6/2016: Israeli Leaders Call for Referendum as 50th Anniversary of Occupation Looms
Radio Tel Aviv, Tzali Reshef 9/6/16 Peace Now on the people's Referendum on the settlements (Hebrew Only)
The New York Times, 9/5/16: Israeli Groups Seeks Referendum on Palestinians
The Washington Post 9/5/16: Israeli groups seeks referendum on Palestinians
Jerusalem Post 9/5/16: Most Israelis support referendum on two states
Haaretz, 9/5/16: Israeli Public Figures, Former Politicians Call for Referendum on Future of West Bank Territories, Hebrew here
YNet, 9/5/16: Israeli groups seeks referendum on disputed territories
Maariv 9/5/16: Referendum Initiative: Public Campaign to Establish a Referendum on the Future of the Settlements (Hebrew only)
Arutz Sheva, 9/5/16: New Radical Left Initiative: Deciding at 50 (Hebrew only)
Al-Monitor, Ben Caspit, 8/29/16: Will Israel hold referendum over two-state solution?
Al-Monitor, Akiva Eldar, 8/25/16: Will 50 years of occupation unite Israel's peace camp?