APN Update - A must read Alpher, don't be a "freier," whose side are you on? the Inauguration and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: January 24, 2017


"When quoting President Trump we are dealing with a highly inflated ego, a totally unique take on truth and facts, and someone who changes his position at the flick of a tweet."

Yossi Alpher, Israeli security expert, in this week's Hard Questions, Tough Answers (see below).


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

January 23, 2017 - Trump and Israel: the beginning

Q. We’re having this discussion barely three days after the inauguration. What can we say at such an early stage regarding Trump and Israel?

A....he and his young administration have already said things we cannot ignore when it comes to America and Israel...

Q. Start with the inauguration speech.

A....Trump’s dramatic inaugural address must be understood as a foundational document of his administration...

Q. But hasn’t Trump already pledged that his son-in-law would tackle the peace process? And hasn’t his administration declared it was beginning to deal with moving the US embassy to Jerusalem?

A. ...the likelihood of Kushner successfully brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace is low, if not zero...As for the embassy move, could Trump actually be listening to the warnings from the Arab world?...

Q. Where do “alternative facts” enter the US-Israel picture?

A. ...we have to ask ourselves what the Trump team’s world of alternative facts means for the most sensitive dimensions of the Israeli-American partnership...

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Recommended Reading

Medium: "Israel's Freedom Riders" by APN Board Member Mik Moore

American Jews are justifiably proud of those from our community who put their personal safety on the line to end Jim Crow in the South. Yet we ignore or condemn those from our community who put their personal safety on the line to end Jim Crow in the West Bank.

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APN in Action

APN to Trump: Don't be a "Freier"

Soon after President Trump was sworn in, the Israeli Government announced the promotion of approximately 2,500 settlement housing units, the largest amount since previous negotiations were held.

APN warns President Trump about acquiescing to a series of West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements-related measures taken or intended to be taken by the Government of Israel. We urge President Trump to not let the Israeli right-wing make a "freier" (Hebrew for "sucker") out of him, but instead to stand up to both Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and to the settlement supporters who are prominently represented among Trump's own supporters and advisors.

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Peace Now: "Netanyahu is taking advantage of the presidential transition in the United States in order to appease the settlers... Instead of jeopardizing the two-state solution, it is time for Netanyahu to take responsibility for the future of Israel by halting settlement construction and assuring the future of Israel as both Jewish and democratic."

 


APN Statement on The Inauguration of President Trump

APN's statement begins with: Under normal circumstances, Americans for Peace Now (APN) would today be welcoming the inauguration of the new U.S. president, wishing him success and urging him to take action toward peace between Israel and her neighbors. Today’s circumstances are not normal.

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Whose side are you on? - Support APN's "Facts on the Ground 2.0"

APN is developing the new version of its unique "Facts on the Ground" Map App to help fight back against settlement expansion and to preserve the two-state solution.

Go HERE for more on this project, and to help support it.

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APN Update: The Inaugural, Alpher vs. Stephens, meet Avi Buskila, our latest Pod-Cast, and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: January 19, 2017


"Settlements are creating a reality on the ground that increasingly will make a two-state solution impossible."

President Barack Obama, during his final press conference as President, January 18, 2017


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

January 17, 2017 - The four most recent treatments of the Israel-Palestine issue; Netanyahu’s legal troubles

Q. The past week or so has witnessed the publication of four new or renewed treatments of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ways to deal with it. Can you address them? Let’s start with Stephens...

A.Stephens, a former editor of the Jerusalem Post who is identified with the Israeli right, offers a basket of arguments against a Palestinian state...

Q. On to the Eizenstat-Ross “Plan B”.

A. Eizenstat and Ross recognize that a two-state solution is not currently possible, but they have a proposal for interim measures...

Q. Did the Paris Conference indeed save the two-state solution?

A. The 70 countries’ senior representatives who met in Paris certainly registered their anguish over the direction Israel and Palestine are moving...

Q. Finally, the “Commanders”, some 250 retired generals and heads of Israel’s security community, published a provocative ad in the Israeli press and on billboards. It states, in Arabic, “We’ll soon be the majority” and sends the public to a recorded message. Any hope here?

A. ...The current provocative ad is an attempt to jolt the public into understanding, as the Commanders’ phone message states, that 2.5 million West Bank Palestinians will not disappear....

Q. Granted that little of this overly concerns PM Netanyahu, who eagerly awaits a friendly Trump administration. But how do you address the current corruption investigation against him? Could this be the end of his leadership tenure? And if so, what could this mean for the Palestinian issue?

A. ...we are confronted with hard evidence of what appear to be serious offenses...

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Government Relations

APN Legislative Round-Up: January 13, 2017

  1. Bills and Resolutions Related to the Recent UNSC settlements Resolution/Obama Abstention
  2. Hill Initiatives Related to Moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
  3. Bills and Resolutions Related to Cutting Off UN Funding
  4. Bills and Resolutions Related Iran
  5. Bills and Resolutions Related to Other Things
  6. Confirmation Hearings - Key Excerpts
  7. On the Record

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APN Statement on The Inauguration of President Trump

APN's statement to be released on Friday morning begins with: Under normal circumstances, Americans for Peace Now (APN) would today be welcoming the inauguration of the new U.S. president, wishing him success and urging him to take action toward peace between Israel and her neighbors. Today’s circumstances are not normal.

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Shalom Achshav Executive Director visits Washington

Avi Buskila,Shalom Achshav’s executive director, met with administration officials, policy experts, APN supporters and activists, representatives of fellow pro-peace organizations, journalists, as well as a group of Israelis living in the Washington area.

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APN Audio

APN PeaceCast, Episode #3, "The 50-Year Tipping Point" featuring Oded Haklai

Canadian-Israeli scholar Oded Haklai talks about his recent poll that found the occupation-ignorance tipping point among Israelis is the age of 50, exactly the length of the occupation.

LISTEN > Share

 

Go HERE for the PeaceCast home page that has links to all available episodes, and subscribe to PeaceCast through the podcast app on your smartphone/device.


In The News

APN's News Nosh brings the Israeli headlines to you

From today's News Nosh: ...outgoing US President Barack Obama said, “I continue to be worried about the Israeli-Palestinian issue because the status quo is unsustainable,” while President-elect Donald Trump told Israel Hayom he will move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, "and I'm not a person who breaks promises,".

APN's News Nosh will be an informative resource on the impact of the Trump Presidency on Israel-related issues..

Go HERE for the daily News Nosh feed, and to subcribe to receive it as an email.


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APN Update: Alpher on Azaria case, listen and subscribe to "Peacecast", Huffington Post op-ed, Bubis lecture video and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: January 11, 2017


If you and I agree on the bill, I’ll do everything I can so that you’ll be here as long as you like. I’m looking you in the eye and saying this in the clearest way possible."

Arnon Mozes, publisher of the Yedioth Achronoth newspaper, in a private conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu as reported by Israel Channel Two News. Mozes was referring to the bill that would curb his rival Israel Hayom's share of the market.


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

January 9, 2017 - The Elor Azaria case

Q. Last week a military court convicted a soldier of manslaughter in the killing of a wounded and neutralized terrorist in Hebron. Why did this trial cause such a commotion in Israel? Why isn’t the Elor Azaria case just another “casualty” of the occupation?

A....Israelis’ attitudes toward the army and its values are changing...

Q. But aren’t cases like this usually handled by the army, within the ranks, without so much publicity?

A. ...The difference in the Azaria case is embodied in a combination of...

Q. So how does this affect Israeli society? Aren’t the extremists a relatively small minority?

A. They are. But they are operating in a highly permissive public atmosphere that embraces Azaria...

Q. Still, Minister of Defense Lieberman has moved from sympathy for Azaria to a position of resolute support for Eizenkot and the IDF justice system. All the relevant figures have now line up behind the next steps: sentencing and either reduction of sentence or a pardon. Isn’t this becoming “old news”?

A. True, the pace of events in Israel has as usual guaranteed that the public is now preoccupied with something else...

Q. Okay, so this is standard procedure for armies. But are there broader ramifications to the Azaria case?

A. ...the IDF and especially Chief of Staff Eizenkot emerge from this affair as pillars of decency...

Q. Was Azaria mistaken in assuming that all terrorists should die? Doesn’t the "coup de grace" ("confirming killing" in IDF parlance) happen at other times when there are no cameras around? Doesn't Israel maintain an entirely separate--and far more severe--penal system for terrorists as opposed to common criminals?

A. Whether left or right, the issue is first, the occupation, and second, the nature of the military’s behavior in enforcing the occupation after 50 years...

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Government Relations

APN Legislative Round-Up: January 6, 2017

  1. Bills and Resolutions Related to the Recent UNSC settlements Resolution/Obama Abstention
  2. Bills and Resolutions Related to Moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
  3. Bills and Resolutions Related to Cutting Off UN Funding
  4. Bills and Resolutions Related Iran – AUMF and Sanctions
  5. Congress Panders to AIPAC et al on Settlements UNSCR
  6. Congress on David Friedman Nomination
  7. On the Record on Other Things

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APN Audio

APN releases Episode #2 of PeaceCast

PeaceCast, a podcast produced by APN in Washington, explores issues and trends relating to peace and security for Israel, focusing on its conflict with the Palestinians and efforts to resolve it.

Episode #2 features an interview with Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Amos Guiora, the former commander of the IDF's School of Law, about the Azaria Trial, the IDF, and Israeli Society.

LISTEN > Share

 

Go HERE for the PeaceCast home page that has links to all available episodes, and subscribe to PeaceCast through the podcast app on your smartphone/device.


Recommended Reading

Huffington Post: "Think Trump’s Policies on Israel-Palestine Have Nothing to Do with You? Think Again"

By Lara Friedman

Many Americans doubtless believe that the policies of the next president regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have nothing to do with them. They’re mistaken.

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Washington Post: "What do Israelis think about settlements? Turns out age matters"

...the issue of Israeli settlements is not just an issue of demographic change...settlements’ contribution to the erosion of the pre-1967 Green Line in the mind-set of the younger generation of Israeli Jews may prove to be the more formidable challenge.

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Video of 6th Annual Professor Gerald B. Bubis Lecture featuring Lara Friedman

Rabbi Ed Feinstein of event host and co-sponsor Valley Beth Shalom and APN's Lara Friedman.

The Professor Gerald B. Bubis Lecture, established by the APN board of directors upon his retirement from it, featured APN Director of Policy and Government Relations Lara Friedman. The event was held shortly after she provided testimony at the United Nations Security Council special session on Israeli Settlements.

WATCH >


In The News

APN's News Nosh brings the Israeli headlines to you

As with all editions of APN's daily News Nosh, headlines like the ongoing investigation into Prime Minister Netanyahu are listed along with a brief summary of news and analysis in an an easy-to-read format.

Go HERE for the daily News Nosh feed, and to subcribe to receive it as an email.


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APN Update - Are you kidding, Ambassador Friedman?! Try PeaceCast, and Please remember us!

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: December 22, 2016


"I understand what it is to lose a home. After the 1999 elections, without any warning, my family and I were driven out of the [Prime Minister's Residence], just thrown on the street. We had to go to the Sheraton Plaza. It's a terrible feeling."

Prime Minister Netanyahu, to illegal outpost residents of Amona who are getting 1 million shekels per family to move off other people's land.


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

December 19, 2016 - US-Israel in the Trump era: Ambassador Friedman and a US embassy in Jerusalem

Q. President-elect Trump has selected David Friedman to be US ambassador to Israel. Friedman and the Trump team assert that the US embassy will soon be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Friedman actively supports the settlements, rejects the two-state solution, and calls J-Street “worse than capos”. A game-changer from hell?

A. Potentially more than one game-changer...

Q. Start with the Friedman appointment.

A. It is sad to note that this is actually the most “lite” of the three issues...

Q. And if the embassy is really moved to Jerusalem and this president makes good on a promise nearly all presidential candidates have made but not kept for decades?

A. ...It is the Arab and broader Muslim worlds that will react angrily and probably violently...

Q. So what should Trump be doing about the embassy?

A. ...Considering how often and unashamedly he zigzags, Trump should have no difficulty in wiggling out of this disastrous commitment.

Q. How do the ambassadorial appointment and the Jerusalem embassy issues factor into the existing divides and conflicts within world Jewry?

A. These two issues are likely to exacerbate the divide in Israel... In America, the Israel-related hawk-dove divide is likely to grow...

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Government Relations

APN Legislative Round-Up: December 8-16, 2016

  1. Bills and Resolutions
  2. AIPAC Touts Accomplishments in 114th Congress
  3. On the Record

Read More


If Not News, Then What? by Rabbi Jonah Rank

Rabbi Rank relates the proliferation of "fake news" to the current Torah portion (Parsha), and how Jewish tradition urges us to speculate not on the origins of evils but the path forward to peace.

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Thank you for your support of APN

The donations APN receives by the end of 2016 will make it possible to take on the challenges ahead in 2017. As seen below, APN is already out front in our actions dealing with President-elect Trump, as well as producing exciting new initiatives like PeaceCast, and as an essential funder of Peace Now, APN's intrepid partner in Israel.

Donations can be made ONLINE, via MAIL (APN, 2100 M Street NW, Suite 619, Washington, DC 20037), and through SALE OF STOCK.

(NOTE: Contribution from IRA's are tax free if you are over 70-1/2).


Action Alert

Tell Your Senators: Reject Trump's Dangerous Choice for Ambassador to Israel

David Friedman is a friend of the settlement movement who backs unlimited settlement expansion, has accused President Obama of being an anti-Semite, and says that liberal Zionists are "worse than kapos." Tell your Senators to reject his nomination to be the next US ambassador to Israel.

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Ambassador-nominee David Friedman, In His Own Words

See a compilation of quotes from articles and speeches by David Friedman so you can better understand and judge his views, based entirely on his own words.

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APN Audio

APN launches PeaceCast!

PeaceCast is a podcast produced in Washington by APN, exploring issues and trends relating to peace and security for Israel, focusing on Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and efforts to resolve it. Episodes feature experts, activists, advocates and scholars whose work or passion is Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Go HERE to listen to the premiere episode featuring Elias Zananiri and Talia Sasson, and subscribe to PeaceCast through the podcast app on your smartphone.

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Briefing Call

LISTEN to APN's Briefing Call with Senator George Mitchell and Alon Sachar

The authors of A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East, discussed their findings, including the imperative of a two-state solution.

LISTEN >


Recommended Reading

YNET: "More and more land, less of a state" by Nahum Barnea

The settlement in the territories is the most significant, influential enterprise established in Israel in the past 50 years. On the way, it crushes the foundations of statehood laid by the founding generation.

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APN Update - Sen. Mitchell Briefing Call at 3 (EST), Alpher on Syria, APN in Action, and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: December 15, 2016


"It's not the anti-Israel propaganda and it's not the BDS campaign. There is no need to give them an honor they don't deserve. It's the Israeli government."

Ben-Dror Yemimi, veteran Israeli columnist, in YNET: Israel losing public opinion support in US. A recent poll found that a 47% plurality of the American public would be in favor of imposing economic sanctions on Israel for the ongoing construction in the settlements.


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

December 12, 2016 - Syria

Q. Aleppo in northern Syria is falling to the Assad regime and its allies from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. What are the ramifications for Israel and the region?

A. ...This development has far-reaching ramifications for the Middle East region including Israel...

Q. So that ends the war...

A. Not at all...

Q. What will happen to Assad’s Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah allies as his regime regains control?

A. ...One way or another, they are in Syria to stay...

Q. Lebanon too is part of Iran’s hegemonic design?

A. ...Lebanon just elected a pro-Syria, pro-Hezbollah president, Michel Aoun...

Q. You mentioned Turkey and the Kurds. What sort of Turkey is emerging from recent years’ revolution in neighboring Syria and recent months’ abortive revolution in Turkey itself?

A. President Erdogan’s “Neo-Ottoman” strategy of eliminating all conflicts and friction along Turkey’s borders is in tatters...

Q. What sort of regime can we now expect to develop in Syria?

A. Here it is important to understand the nature of the Assad regime. Think of it as a mafia gang...

Q. Where does all this leave Israel?

A. ...the more he (Netanyahu) drags Israel toward the self-inflicted disaster of a messianic one-state apartheid-like reality with the Palestinians, the more he succeeds in enhancing Israel’s relations with its Sunni Arab neighbors...

Q. How does it contribute to enhanced Israeli-Sunni Arab relations?

A. Israel and its Sunni Arab neighbors share concern regarding all the militant Islamists in Syria...

Q. How does Syria affect the Palestinian situation?

A. The chaos in Syria has for several years dictated a wait-and-see, keep-your-powder-dry attitude on the part of both Hamas and the PLO...

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Briefing Call

 

TODAY at 3:00 pm (Eastern) - Briefing Call with Senator George Mitchell and Alon Sachar

 

Senator George Mitchell, President Obama's Special Envoy to the Middle East in 2009, and Alon Sachar, who served with Senator Mitchell among several other positions connected to Israel and peace negotiations, will discuss their newly released book A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East. The book has been described as providing "a practical roadmap for bringing peace to this complicated, troubled region."

Thursday, December 15, 3:00pm (Eastern Time)

To participate, phone 951-797-1058 and enter code 147414

Go HERE for more on the briefing call speakers. Share

 


Israel's settlement "Legalization Bill": What it is and what it means

If passed, the "Legalization Bill" will retroactively legalize settlement contstruction in the West Bank, which a State Department spokesman has said "would be a dramatic advancement of the settlement enterprise...already greatly endangering the prospects for a two-state solution."

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The New Government Agreement on the Amona Illegal Outpost

According to media reports, the Israeli government has decided to relocate settlers from the Amona Illegal Outpost to adjacent West Bank land, contrary to previous Israeli court legal opinions.

Read More


 

APN in Action

 

"Count us Out"

Given the choice of partner (Azerbaijan) and the choice of venue (Trump International Hotel), APN lodged its objections and chose to forego last night's Hanukkah Party of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations.

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APN to Trump Team: Avoid inflammatory statements on Jerusalem

We urge President-elect Trump to avoid destabilizing moves and statements pertaining to moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, one of the most politically, religiously and culturally sensitive places on earth.

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Letter from Israel

Fania Oz-Salzberger: "For Argument's Sake"

Historian Fania Oz-Salzberger is the author of "Jews and Words" with her father Amos Oz, the renowned Israeli author and a founder of Peace Now. In a special letter for Americans for Peace Now, Oz-Salzberger reflects on her Jewish and Zionist legacies, and her belief in their future crowning achievement: a peaceful and democratic Israel.

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Continue reading

APN Update - APN action on Trump and Conf. of Presidents, Briefing Call with Sen. Mitchell, Letter from Israel, and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: December 8, 2016


"I do believe that Israel, because of decisions that are being made on a daily basis quietly and without a lot of people seeing them or fully processing the consequences, is heading to a place of danger."

Secretary of State John Kerry, in comments at the Brookings' Saban Forum about Israeli government settlement policy and lack of effort in pursuing a two-state solution.

Go HERE to read Kerry's comments on Israel.


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

December 5, 2016 - Palestine-Israel: Abbas crowns himself again; France labels settlement products

Q. Fateh just held its long-delayed seventh conference in Ramallah and unanimously reelected Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to head the movement. So what’s new?

A. More than meets the eye...

Q. What's wrong with Abbas remaining in power? What are the alternatives?

A. The most public challenge to Abbas's leadership has come from Mohammad Dahlan, security chief of the Gaza Strip before the 2007 Hamas takeover there...

Q. Hasn't this at least given us all an extension of peace and quiet on the West Bank?

A. Not if we believe IDF Chief of Intelligence General Hertzi Halevy...

Q. Granted that Abbas's principal effort, backed by people like Rajoub, is to isolate Israel internationally. So isn’t France’s decision last week to label all goods from the West Bank and the Golan as "settlement products" rather than "made in Israel" a blow to Israel?

A. It is indeed a setback, but a minor one...

Q. So the French/EU approach is flawless?

A. It is hard to find fault with an approach that simply recognizes the fact that the settlements are not part of sovereign Israel...

Q. So where do you stand on boycotting settlement goods?

A. I have long opposed any and all economic boycotts...

NOTE: APN does advocate for a boycott of settlement products and supports other activism targeting the occupation - see our dedicated policy webpage HERE

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Government Relations

APN Legislative Round-Up: December 7, 2016

  1. Bills and Resolutions and Letters
  2. New Legislation Sailing Through Congress Equates Criticism of Israel with Anti-Semitism
  3. Hearings
  4. On the Record

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Follow APN on Instagram

APN's Newest Instagram graphic highlights American support for a UN Resolution on Israeli Settlements.

Go HERE to see APN's feed, and to follow it.


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APN in Action

APN Sends Letter to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Protesting Hanukkah Party Co-Sponsored by Azerbaijan at Trump Hotel

As longtime members of the Conference of Presidents, APN takes issue with the choice of both the partner and venue selected for its Hanukkah party. Azerbaijan's record on human rights and civil rights is dismal, and choosing the Trump International Hotel makes a controversial political statement unrepresentative of the diversity of the Conference's member organizations.

Go HERE to read APN's letter. Share


APN to Trump: Clarify that your Aides' Statements on Israel Don't Reflect your Policies

L to R: Jared Kushner, Donald Trump, David Friedman.

APN President and CEO Debra DeLee: "Yesterday, we heard David Friedman, one of Trump's top advisers on Israel, say that the two-state solution is not 'the only answer anymore' to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Today, we see reports that Jared Kushner, Trump's son in law who was mentioned as potentially being a Middle East peace envoy in the new administration, has been supporting hardline West Bank settlements through the Kushner Family Foundation that he directs. Last month, we heard another one of Trump's senior Israel-affairs advisers, Jason Greenblatt, say that West Bank settlements are not an obstacle to peace..."

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APN joins with 52 NGO's - Jewish, Christian, and other - to call on Trump to nix national security adviser choice

The letter includes reference to Mike Flynn's hostility to Islam and his retweeting of an anti-Semitic tweet as indications that he is unfit to serve as US National Security Adviser.

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Briefing Call

December 15 Briefing Call with Senator George Mitchell and Alon Sachar, co-authors of the new book A Path to Peace

Senator George Mitchell, appointed by President Obama as Special Envoy to the Middle East in 2009, and Alon Sachar, who served with Senator Mitchell and in other US positions connected to Israel and peace negotiations, will discuss their newly released book A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East. The book has been described as providing "a practical roadmap for bringing peace to this complicated, troubled region."

Thursday, December 15, 3:00pm (Eastern Time)

To participate, phone 951-797-1058 and enter code 147414

Go HERE for more on the briefing call speakers.


Letter from Israel

Fania Oz-Salzberger: "For Argument's Sake"

Historian Fania Oz-Salzberger is the author of "Jews and Words" with her father Amos Oz, the renowned Israeli author and a founder of Peace Now. In a special letter for Americans for Peace Now, Oz-Salzberger reflects on her Jewish and Zionist legacies, and her belief in their future crowning achievement: a peaceful and democratic Israel.

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Settlement Watch

One land theft replaced by another -- Settlers from Illegal Outpost of Amona to be moved to nearby land confiscated from Palestinians

Peace Now has reported the news that the settlers from the Illegal Outpost of Amona who are court-ordered to leave, will be moved to nearby land also confiscated from Palestinians. The Israeli government claims these lands as "absentee property", which until now has legally not been allowed for use in establishing settlements.

Read More


APN Weekly Update - Alpher on Israel Fires, "Grand Land Robbery", we still need your help, and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: November 30, 2016


"From our point of view, above all saving lives is what leads us, and so we decided to come. Our motivation is very high, and we're happy to give help and human assistance."

Suhail Abed, a firefighter from Qalqilya, Palestine, who helped Israeli firefighters put out flames in Haifa and outside Jerusalem. (Photo from Yoav Zitun of IDF officer and Palestinian firefighter working together)


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

November 28, 2016 - Forest fires raise strategic issues; so does Golan clash with ISIS

Q. Israel has just emerged from a traumatic week of battling massive forest fires. What have we learned?

A. The fires...posed strategic dilemmas in no fewer than five issue areas...

Q. Let’s take the first three together. Climate change, population growth and forestation are obviously related. Certainly climate change as a national security issue is hardly unique to Israel.

A. ...The past week witnessed days and nights of exceptionally dry winds coming from the deserts to Israel’s east...

Q. Pyro-terrorism?

A. Out of 110 separate fires reported, 17 were deemed to have been the result of deliberate arson...

Q. That brings us to the state of Israel’s emergency services.

A. This wave of fires provided an excellent test of emergency services readiness. Uniquely in Israel, the issue is important not only in view of the danger of forest fires, tsunamis and earthquakes...

Q. What is the strategic significance of all this regional and international aid?

A. All in all, it is positive. That the PA, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey came to Israel’s aid reflects a genuine concern on their part that should be reciprocated by the Netanyahu government...

Q. On Sunday an IDF force clashed with an ISIS force on the Golan. How significant is this?

A. ...The days ahead will tell us whether we just witnessed a dramatic new development...

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Settlement Watch

Peace Now exposes "The Grand Land Robbery" of The Regulation Bill

Map shows Settlements and Illegal Outposts with structures on private Palestinian land in the northern West Bank: Red = Settlements; Yellow = Outposts; Blue = Settlements that have Seizure Orders

If passed, the "Regulation Bill" will retroactively legalize scores of illegal outposts and thousands of settlement structures in the West Bank.

Go HERE to see the key findings, and a link to the full Peace Now report.


APN in Action

APN's Lara Friedman in The Times of Israel: "Illiberal Support for Israel: Antithetical to Jewish Values and Israel's Interests"

We must fight for our Jewish and American values and apply them consistently, both with the respect to what is happening in the United States and what is happening in Israel.

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APN's Debra DeLee: "Fight the Darkness"

APN President and CEO Debra DeLee reflected on her exciting week on APN’s annual Israel study tour. While including some commiseration about leaders with little respect for democracy and the media, who prefer demagoguery and spin over the truth, it also included meeting with an Israeli peace activist living by the Gaza border, Peace Now's inspiring cadre of young leaders, a visit to a bilingual Hebrew-Arab School, and other hopeful experiences.

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Peace Now's Anat Ben Nun in Newsweek: "With the Election of Donald Trump, the Two-State Solution Is at Stake"

When it comes to Trump’s settlement policy, I argue that instinctual assumptions of reckless Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank during his presidency may be misleading. Unfortunately, the likely alternative also contains substantial risks for the two-state solution.

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New APN Israel Security Validator Ad

Yuval Diskin's military and intelligence career culminated with his being director of Israel's Shin Bet security service. "The Palestinians will never accept the status quo of the Israeli occupation...real security can only be achieved through peace."

See the Full Ad APN is placing in the Washington Jewish Week and Baltimore Jewish Times.


 

APN Weekly Update - APN Fighting Back, Israel Study Tour Concludes, Alarming Settlement Bill, and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: November 22, 2016


"Even allowing for the usual exaggeration on the part of taxi drivers--the US is not the only increasingly polarized society."

Yossi Alpher, Israeli security expert referring to Israel in this week's APN Hard Questions, Tough Answers (Yossi is pictured speaking to the 2016 APN Israel Study Tour last week).


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

November 21, 2016 - Early Levant and Israeli fallout from Trump election; the messy meaning of eastern Mediterranean strategic depth

Q. As President-elect Trump announces key appointments, how is the Levant reacting?

A. The most obvious and immediate response among the Syria antagonists appears to be an informal but increasingly widespread recognition that the Assad regime has survived the Syrian revolution...

Q. And the reaction in Israel to Trump’s indication of the far-right direction he plans to follow?

A. The Trump appointees for national security director, CIA director, attorney general and strategic adviser signal that he remains far to the political right where Americans condone the West Bank settlements and are not strongly committed, if at all, to a two-state solution...

Q. What’s the striking exception you mentioned above to the pro-settler sentiments and atmosphere encouraged by the Trump victory?

A. Last week, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman surprisingly called for a freeze on settlement construction beyond the West Bank settlement blocs...

Q. There remains the question whether the Trump victory atmosphere will affect the upcoming Elor Azaria verdict. This concerns the court martial of the soldier who, eight months ago, executed a wounded and subdued Palestinian terrorist in Hebron--an act caught on camera by a B’tzelem activist.

A. The military judges will begin deliberating their verdict this week...

Q. Turning from Trump to the Mediterranean depths, last week witnessed the renewal after a five year hiatus of licensing for natural gas exploration off Israel’s Mediterranean coast, along with a major controversy over an Israeli order for three more submarines from Germany. Can we learn something from this seeming fixation with the Mediterranean?

A. Definitely. In the course of the past two decades the eastern Mediterranean basin has begun to provide Israel with a dimension of strategic depth it never had before, in both security and economic terms. And the two are intertwined...

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Government Relations

APN Legislative Round-Up: November 18, 2016 (Lame Duck)

Note to Round-Up readers: In these difficult times, a couple of things to highlight this week, from elected officials who do, indeed, care about rational policies in the Middle East and do, indeed, understand the U.S. national security interests at stake:

  1. Bills and Resolutions
  2. Letters
  3. Hearings
  4. On the Record

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APN Statement on Congressman Keith Ellison's Record on Israeli-Palestinian Peace

APN has worked closely with Congressman Ellison for nearly a decade. He is a close friend and a trusted ally in the effort to achieve security and peace for Israel and the Palestinians in the context of a two-state solution.

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Consider Donations of Stock Sales to APN

Contributions to APN via sale of stocks is an option worth considering as the year-end approaches.

Information needed: APN's Brokerage is TD Ameritrade, Account #881348597, DTC #0188.


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APN Response

APN is fighting back

The election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States has set off reverberations around the world...But the response cannot be one of despair and resignation. Our collective response must be fueled by hope, commitment, and tenacious perseverance. As one of the last bulwarks against the growing extremism that threatens a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians, APN is here to lead that response.

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Open Letter to President-elect Donald J. Trump from Jewish American Organizations

APN joined proudly with other Jewish American organizations in sending a letter to President-elect Donald Trump laying out many of our concerns and hopes for the coming Administration, and sending an unambiguous message about being powerful opponents, if necessary.

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APN Condemns Appointment of Bannon, Calls Out Jewish Groups for Failure to Stand Against Anti-Semitism and Hate-Mongering

We urge President-elect Trump to cancel his appointment of Bannon. We urge him, too, to finally denounce and reject the abhorrent actions and views of the hate-mongers who are acting, publicly and proudly, in his name.

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Times of Israel: "Illiberal Support for Israel: Antithetical to Jewish Values and Israel's Interests" by APN's Lara Friedman

We must fight for our Jewish and American values and apply them consistently, both with the respect to what is happening in the United States and what is happening in Israel. The silence of too many in the right-wing Jewish establishment today underscores how, for American Jews, the two are inextricably linked.

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Settlement Watch

NY Times Editorial: "Israel’s Alarming Settlement Bill"

Peace Now Director Avi Buskila (on right) in dialogue with Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett during a protest of the "Regulation Bill" at Bennett's home.

Right-wing Israeli politicians see Donald Trump’s election as helpful toward their goal of burying the prospect of a Palestinian state. On Wednesday, Israeli lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a bill that would retroactively legalize settlements built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank.

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APN Israel Study Tour

APN Israel Study Tour Concludes Successfully

A whirlwind of meetings, travel, and experiential activities in Israel and the West Bank has concluded. In addition to Jerusalem (east and west), a West Bank Settlement tour, and a day in Tel Aviv that concluded by hearing from the young Peace Now activists and leaders, the group went to Israel's border with Gaza, the northern cities of Nazareth and Haifa, and the Palestinian cities of Rawabi and Ramallah.

Email IsraelTour@peacenow.org to receive information on next year's Study Tour.

Study Tour visits a Hand in Hand school

The Israel Study Tour group paid a special visit to Bridge Over the Wadi school in Kfar Kana.. Part of Hand in Hand - Center for Jewish-Arab Edcuation, the school has an integrated Jewish and Arab student body and faculty, a fully bilingual curriculum, and provides a community for the Jewish and Arab parents.


APN Weekly Update - Trump and the Middle East, Study Tour, Instagram, and more

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: November 15, 2016


"If you stop pedaling, you fall immediately. A vacuum here does not exist.

Dr. Husam Zomlot, PLO Ambassador to the United States during a meeting with the APN Study Tour group in Ramallah, talking about the need for action on behalf of a two-state solution. 


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

November 14, 2016 - Trump and the Middle East

Q. Everything we can say at this point about a Trump administration and the Middle East is tentative and speculative. So where do we start?

A. Let’s begin by asking where, if at all, the Middle East contributed to Trump’s election victory...

Q. Aren’t there additional contradictions in Trump’s Middle East policy positions?

A. The most glaring one concerns Russia, Iran and Syria...

Q. Couldn’t Trump’s demand that countries like Japan and South Korea and NATO members pay their own way in defense matters also affect Israel?

A. Absolutely. This is my personal near-term worst case scenario regarding President Trump...

Q. One of Trump’s first public policy statements since being elected is that he welcomes the challenge of ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Empty bluster or a serious commitment?

A. I’m skeptical...

Q. But isn’t Trump’s Republican, evangelical and militia-minded constituency committed to Israel’s security from a religious-ideological standpoint?

A. Yes, at the declarative level. But as we have seen, some potential policy directions appear to contradict this commitment...

Q. Some Middle East leaders, following the lead of Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi, openly celebrated Trump’s electoral victory on the assumption that this will reduce US pressures on their regimes regarding human rights issues.

A. Indeed...

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Shop and Give

Help APN while doing holiday gift buying and other shopping!

Go to Amazon Smile and link your account to APN.

Go to iGive and select Americans for Peace Now before shopping.

Settlement Watch

Ministerial Committee Approves Regulation Bill

Demonstrating outside of the home of Naftali Bennett, the head of the Jewish Home party,  against the "Regulation Bill" (Peace Now Director Avi Buskila is in the dark shirt).

The "Regulation Bill" seeks to retroactively legalize illegal West Bank outposts built on private Palestinian lands.

Peace Now: "...the government made theft a part of its official policy and took another step on the way towards a one state reality. Such action is contrary to international law, Jewish values and basic common sense, and was even deemed unconstitutional by the Attorney General."

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APN Israel Study Tour

APN Study Tour now in Israel

Top left: Peace Now's Hagit Ofran with group on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives; Top right: The elder Tibbon, Maj. General (ret.) Noam Tibbone, spoke about security needs with Gaza directly behind him. Bottom: The only "bombproof playground" is in Sderet, Israel near Gaza. On the left is the outside of the play structure/shelter, and on the right is a view from the inside.

The group has been immersed in meetings and travel to areas of significance to the conflict and its resolution. So far, the experiences have included meetings with the US Consul General in Jerusalem, the PLO Ambassador to the US in Ramallah, and a powerful experience at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, right on the border with Gaza.

Go HERE to see pictures.


APN's Instagram highlights the Israel Study Tour

If you are not a follower of APN on Instagram, make sure to do so which has lately been highlighting the current Israel Study Tour.

Go HERE to see and follow APN.

 


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APN Weekly Update - APN on Trump Election, Alpher on Israeli Impact, Peace Now remembers Rabin, and More

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: November 9, 2016


"It's time to pick yourself up and you fight for what you believe in, and stay true to the kind of world you want to live in - not just during a campaign, but every day. That's something we on the Israeli left learned long ago."

Mairav Zonszein, Israeli writer, in +972: We feel you, America — it's lonely at the bottom.


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

November 7, 2016 - Netanyahu’s urgent concerns

Q. What is the Netanyahu government’s most immediate preoccupation regarding the outcome of the US presidential election (bearing in mind that many readers will see this after the election is decided)?

A. ...Netanyahu’s primary concern with the outgoing Obama administration has to be its approach to the Palestinian issue between now and January 20, 2017...

Q. Doesn’t a lot depend on who wins, Trump or Clinton?

A. ...in a Trump presidency Obama could easily opt for the more far-reaching and long-lasting option of delivering his ideas for the parameters of a solution by means of a United Nations Security Council resolution...

Q. And if Clinton wins?

A. ...Obama will almost certainly feel bound to consult with her...

Q. You’re assuming Obama really intends to launch a last-minute policy initiative.

A. ...it is entirely possible that the threat of such an initiative on Obama’s part is mainly bluff...

Q. Turning to domestic Israeli issues, there seem to be a lot of heavy controversies on the Netanyahu government’s near-term agenda. Can you elaborate?

A. ...strains and internal contradictions in this coalition are showing....

Q. Start with the High Court?

A. Within months, four High Court justices will be retiring...

Q. The media issue?

A. Some time ago Netanyahu... engineered a move to dismantle the sovereign Israel Broadcasting Authority...

Q. Lastly, religious pluralism?

A. Last January, Netanyahu yielded to a concerted campaign by non-Orthodox Jews, backed by the US-based Reform and Conservative movements, and agreed to set aside an area of the Western Wall, south of the Orthodox prayer areas, for men and women to pray together and woman rabbis to lead prayer...

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Peace Now at the Tel Aviv rally marking the 21st anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination

Top left: Peace Now Director Avi Buskila; Top right: young supporters of Peace Now

On Saturday, November 5th in Tel Aviv, Peace Now joined tens of thousands of Israelis in a rally marking the 21st anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination.

Go HERE for more pictures. Share


Recommended Reading

The Eagle: "To Honor Rabin, Condemn the Occupation and Support the Two-State Solution"

by Naomi Tamura, APN Intern

...We have a choice: Rabin’s 21st yahrtzeit can be just another year of rhetorical support and empty promises, or it can be the start of a united and honest effort toward working together for peace.

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In The News

Stay informed on the impact of the US Presidential Election on Israel

Today's News Nosh included the item that Netanyahu congratulated Donald Trump by phone, and it will continue to cover all the relevant reactions and analysis from Israel on the outgoing and incoming US Administrations.

Go HERE to read and subscribe to APN's daily email news review from Israel


Significance of Israeli-Palestinian peace to US national security

With a new US President elected, it is worthwhile to remember that US leadership in Middle East peace efforts has global implications.

Go HERE for the item in APN's They Say, We Say publication on why the US should care about Israeli-Palestinian peace.


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