By BEN HARTMAN
Protesters argue renewed building would ruin talks.
Dozens of activists attended a rally organized by Peace Now near the Talmon settlement, between Modi'in Illit and Ramallah, on Thursday, to demonstrate their support for an extension of the settlement freeze that is set to expire on September 26.
Following the JPost article is: Ynet News: "Leftists protest against resumption of West Bank building"
While most experts and pundits advise an incremental approach to an separate Israeli-Palestinian peace, Marwan Muasher, Jordan's former foreign minister and ambassador to Washington and Israel supports a much more ambitious regional approach, which harnesses the Arab League's Peace Initiative to the Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. 
Press Release
For Immediate Release
August 20 , 2010
Washington, DC - While welcoming the announcement of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Americans for Peace Now calls on the parties to negotiate in earnest. APN also urges President Obama to be prepared to press both parties to engage in the talks to see them succeed.
APN President and CEO Debra DeLee commented:
(Pictured: Peace Now activist placing an announcement during the current campaign)
Israeli soldiers last week again had to chase lawless settlers on the hills of the West Bank.This time, it was settlers from Yitzhar and Bracha, near Nablus, who vandalized Palestinian property, blocked roads, torched fields, sabotaged Israel Defense Forces vehicles, punched, kicked Israeli police officers, cursed and harassed them and resisted arrest...
Peace Now claims settlers violated freeze in West Bank. 
APN's Video Campaign received top billing on Ha'aretz online:
Washington, DC - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today called on the Obama Administration to act quickly and resolutely to prevent an escalation of tensions and military action on the Israel-Lebanon border and between Israel and Gaza.By Lara Friedman 
See more pictures from the Americans for Peace Now - American Task Force on Palestine event at APN's Facebook Photo Album.
to follow us.
Lyndsi Sherman, a junior at San Diego State University, participated in APN's joint internship program with the American Task Force on Palestine this summer. She prepared this reflection on what she learned through her experience here.
"The Elkin Bills" by Yariv Oppenheimer
I just came back from an inspiring event on Capitol Hill, in which young
Israeli and Palestinian peace activists told their stories and urged
Americans to get involved to make Middle East peace a reality. 
The Israeli government opened a criminal investigation
against a group of settlers who expanded their settlement in violation
of Israeli law. 
For years settlers have openly fund-raised in the United States - including in synagogues, on booze cruises, in churches and at gala dinners.
Over time, millions of dollars have flowed, tax-exempt, to settlers and
settlement-related causes, including to support settler extremists in Hebron and East Jerusalem, (cont.)
Washington, DC -- Americans for Peace Now today delivered a petition signed by 15,962 people to President Barack Obama, urging him to press for an extension of the moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements.
SIGN APN's PETITION
On June 30, 2010, APN's board adopted the following policy language regarding Turkey:
Today APN sent the following letter to President Obama, urging him to engage, urgently, on Jerusalem.
Americans for Peace Now welcomes the Israeli Cabinet's
decision to ease the siege on the Gaza Strip as a positive step. What
is now needed is devising a comprehensive regime that would provide
security and international support for Israel, while allowing Gaza's
civilian population greater normalcy. 
More than 10,000 Israelis turned out on Saturday night at a rally in Tel Aviv to call upon the Israeli government to change direction.
APN provides you with links to news and information about this tragic episode and its aftermath. Recent Items:APN welcomes reports that Netanyahu is reconsidering Gaza siege
Washington, DC; Americans for Peace Now (APN) is deeply dismayed at the tragic results of Israel's interception of the international Gaza aid flotilla today and calls on Israel to thoroughly investigate the operation and to reassess its policy toward the Gaza Strip.
Arye ("Lova") Eliav, an icon of the Israeli peace movement, died
yesterday in Tel Aviv at 88. He was one of Israel's most admired leaders, a
visionary, a man of principles, who combined his passion for peace with
a passion for volunteerism and education.
An agreement on Jerusalem that safeguards Jewish concerns is feasible and necessary.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained Monday that a Palestinian boycott of goods produced in West Bank settlements shows a lack of interest in peace.
Click here to ask your senators to stand for peace and join this initiative.
"Please stand for Israel. Stand for American interests. End your involvement with this event."
This was the core message of the May 17th letter APN sent to Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, upon announcement of his speaking at the pro-settlement "Israel Day" Concert sponsored by Ateret Cohenim and the Hebron Fund, among others.
Thousands of activists came out Saturday night to a Peace Now demonstration in Jerusalem. Jerusalem Post: "Thousands join left-wing J'lem rally"
A prominent group of American Jewish leaders, encouraged by a European Jewish effort, have produced a statement and you are invited and encouraged to sign on.Once a week, Hagit Ofran − granddaughter of the late Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz − tours the West Bank as head of Peace Now's Settlement Watch project. Israel's policy in the territories, she says, is putting us all at risk.
Jerusalem expert Danny Seidemann, on a visit to Washington, says it is not difficult to take measures to minimize eruptions of violence in East Jerusalem, which might jeopardize the newly resumed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Listen here
Americans for Peace Now placed a large ad in a special supplement that the Israeli daily Haaretz published this week to mark the 150th birthday of Theodore Herzl, the visionary Zionist who kicked off the process that lead to the birth of the state of Israel.
Washington, DC -- APN welcomes the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and the involvement of Arab governments in the process that led to it.
Reports from Israel, the Arab media and from Washington suggest that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations may in fact soon resume.
Sure, these will not be direct negotiations - not yet - but after more than a year of a diplomatic standstill, indirect talks are better than no talks.
An effort is underway by some in the American Jewish community to pressure President Barack Obama to be less forceful in his efforts to promote peace for Israel.
Elie Wiesel published a full page ad in the Washington Post.
World Jewish Congress President Ron Lauder published an open letter to Obama.
Israel's Remembrance Day started yesterday night. It is a national holiday in which Israelis remember their fallen soldiers and those killed by terrorists. Tonight, Israelis will switch gears to celebrate their Independence Day.
Our colleagues in the Israeli Peace Now movement produced Israeli flags with the word "peace" written on them and offered them to the Israeli public in advance of Israel's Independence Day. 
The Newsletter includes a photo gallery of APN and Peace Now activities, events and guest speakers, "News Shorts" and a special interview.
Letters to the editor spurred on by the APN Action Alert "AIPAC doesn't speak for me: Obama's leadership on Israel deserves support" have appeared in newspapers from coast to coast! Thanks to all of you who sent in letters and for making a difference.
Today's Middle East story comes by way of Bialystock. That's Max Bialystock, the failed theater impresario of Mel Brooks' comic masterpiece The Producers.
Passover is a holiday commemorating freedom and renewal. This year APN is proud to offer to resources for you. 
For months APN has been working to get President Barack Obama to step up his efforts in support of peace for Israel. We've called on him to be prepared to confront Israel, the Palestinians, or the Arab states when they fail to play ball.
Last week the Obama administration did just that.
A leadership delegation of Americans for Peace Now, on a fact-finding trip to Israel and the West Bank, met today in Ramallah with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and in Jerusalem with Israel's Opposition
Chair MK Tzipi Livni.
On Monday -- during the vice president's visit to Israel -- American peace envoy George Mitchell announced that Israelis and Palestinians will soon resume peace talks.
Washington, DC -- APN welcomes today's announcement that Special Envoy George Mitchell will be brokering indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. APN welcomes the involvement of Arab governments in the process that lead to today's announcement. 
I'm proud to be one of the thousands of Israelis and Palestinians who joined the demonstration on Saturday night in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The crowd, mobilized by a broad range of groups (including the Israeli Peace Now movement), is united in our opposition to settler groups who are evicting Palestinian families and moving into their homes there.
Residents of east Jerusalem neighborhood celebrate holiday with songs of praise for Cave of Patriarchs massacre. Left-wing activists plan protest
Alpher answers questions about Palestinian rioting in Hebron and the Syrian "resistance" summit. 
Israel is going through a dark time, marked by increased settler violence, intensified incitement against pro-peace leaders and causes in Israel, and vicious demonization of pro-peace, pro-democracy forces. Enough is enough. Stand for peace. Condemn the use of violence by settlers.
Over a thousand Peace Now activists and supporters gathered in Tel Aviv Saturday for a satirical demonstration to assert the notion that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Ehud Barak's peace rhetoric is not backed up by actions.
In the masquerade tradition of the Jewish holiday of Purim, which is celebrated this week, demonstrators were handed masks of Netanyahu and Barak, and placards referring to the Netanyahu government's make-believe peace overtures.
Alpher answers questions about the assassination of Hamas militant Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
On Saturday night hundreds of Peace Now activists will converge in Tel Aviv to make an important statement: Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak may talk a lot about peace, but -- when it comes to actions -- they are implementing an anti-peace agenda.CONTACT: Ori Nir - (202) 408-9898; onir@peacenow.org
Washington, DC -Americans for Peace Now today welcomed President Obama's appointment of Robert Stephen Ford as ambassador to Syria and urged the Senate to promptly approve the appointment.
Acting on a Peace Now petition, Israel's Supreme Court demanded
yesterday that the Israeli government submit a detailed timetable for
razing 16 structures in two West Bank settlement outposts.Violations of the West Bank settlement construction freeze have occurred in at least 34 settlements, a quarter of the total. Below, see footage captured by Peace Now of stealth construction of foundations during the night in the settlement of Talmon.
Washington, DC - Israel's Peace Now movement and Americans for Peace Now strongly condemn the vicious attacks on the New Israel Fund, on its Chair, Naomi Chazan, and on the NIF's grantee organizations who are quoted in the United Nations' fact-finding mission's report on last year's Gaza war. 
Berman to APN: Israel in Danger of Ceasing to be a Jewish Democracy; Praises APN's Commitment to Peace
In advance of the State of the Union address, APN asked President Barack Obama to recommit to pushing peace for Israel.
This followed blessings of hope prepared by Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels on the anniversary of Obama's inauguration.
APN also recently called on President Obama to be prepared to play hardball with Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab world.
A year after the end of the Gaza War, Americans for Peace Now is reflecting on what Operation Cast Lead left behind.
We, Americans who believe that only through peace could Israel achieve true security, are grieving the victims of this war and of the hostilities that preceded it, on both sides of the Israel-Gaza border.
Yesterday, Israel's High Court of Justice held a hearing on a Peace Now
petition calling for the removal of settlers who live in a military
base in Hebron.
Alpher answers questions on Egypt's decision to build an underground wall at the Rafah border, Israel's next steps in the Gilad Shalit negotiations, and Labor MK Ophir Pines-Paz's resignation from politics.
Israeli extremists opposed to the settlement freeze have made threats deemed credible by the authorities on the life of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Also, the arrested Jewish terrorist Yaacov Teitel reportedly told Israeli investigators that he wanted to kill Peace Now Director General Yariv Oppenheimer.
Special analysis from Lara Friedman (Americans for Peace Now) and Danny Seidemann (Ir Amim).
Washington, DC -- Americans for Peace Now (APN) today welcomed the
Israeli government's announcement of a moratorium on most settlement
construction and joined the Obama Administration in hoping that this
Israeli decision, backed by good faith, will be sufficient to catalyze
new Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Such negotiations are the
only real path for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The renowned Israeli author and a founder of Peace Now is one of the most moral voices in Israeli society.
"Israel is capable of doing miraculous things, heroic things. I've seen them happen throughout my life. Surely a country that can do countless heroic things can find a way to peace."
Ehud Barak on November 10, 2009: "We will not leave a single stone unturned in the effort to return to negotiations"
Special analysis from Lara Friedman (Americans for Peace Now) and Danny Seidemann (Ir Amim).
Yesterday Special Envoy Mitchell met with Israeli chief negotiator Yitzhak Molcho in London.
Yaakov (Jack) Teitel (pictured in Israeli custody) is not the first and probably not the last
Israeli terrorist to target Palestinians or Israeli supporters of
peace. 
The settler take-over of a home in the midst of a Palestinian
neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Tuesday did not go unanswered. Last
night the Israeli Peace Now movement mobilized over a hundred
demonstrators to protest at the site.
Peace Now is generating pressure on Israel's government to make real
progress towards peace. That pressure is clearly being felt by Labor
leader Ehud Barak, who is slowly losing control of his party. 
American baby-boomers will always remember where they were when President Kennedy was assassinated.
APN congratulated J Street this week for its successful First National Conference.
Washington D.C. - APN's Board of Directors met here today and unanimously agreed to urge Israel's government to launch its own independent investigation of alleged violations of human rights and international law that may have taken place in the context of the Gaza war, including those documented in the United Nations Human Rights Council report on last winter's Gaza conflict,known as the "Goldstone Report."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set January 24, 2010 as the date for new elections for both the presidency and the legislature of the Palestinian Authority. 
Go HERE
to see the APN-produced flyer with a map of the
West Bank detailing: 
Upcoming APN events in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and the S.F. Bay Area will feature:Alpher responds to questions on the ramifications of a continuing US military presence in Afghanistan, the recent unrest in Jerusalem, and Abbas' decision not to demand UN action on the Goldstone report.
Washington, D.C - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today congratulated President Barack Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize and urged him to keep pushing for Middle East peace, viewing the prize as an international expression of confidence in his policy of engagement, negotiations and multilateralism, particularly in the Middle East.
by Tovah Lazaroff , THE JERUSALEM POST
Peace Now charged Monday that settlers had accelerated the pace of construction and started work on more than 800 new homes in the last three months to thwart US demands that they stop building.
CONTACT: Ori Nir (202) 408-9898
Washington, D.C - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today expressed alarm at the spiraling violence in Jerusalem and urged the Obama administration to take immediate action to help stop the deterioration.
"Recent history teaches us that clashes in Jerusalem have a tendency to ripple throughout the region..."
Born and raised in Jerusalem, Ori Nir is the spokesman for Americans for Peace Now. Previously, Ori worked for Haaretz Daily, Israel's leading newspaper, where he covered Palestinian affairs and Israel's Arab minority. He also served as Washington bureau chief for Ha'aretz and the Forward, America's largest and most influential independent national Jewish weekly newspaper.
A video from September 14th of the captured Israeli St.-Srg. Gilad Shalit, held in Hamas captivity for more than 3 years, was released to the public following a deal which included Israel's release of 20 Palestinian female prisoners. WATCH THE VIDEO that has raised hopes he can and will be freed from captivity.
Volume 11, Issue 3
Washington, D.C - Americans for Peace Now (APN) praised President
Obama's comments regarding Iran's construction of a covert uranium
enrichment facility near the city of Qum.
"Peace Now claims that the entire outpost is built on private Palestinian land"
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
Touring the Netiv Ha'avot outpost in Gush Etzion along with other members of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday, MK Yuli Tamir (Labor) confronted the settlers and reprimanded them for what she said was their illegal presence at the site.
A
Three-Way Summit; Call My Bluff; Hoping
for a Diplomatic Solution; Peres
and the Russian Deal; Checkpoint
Removal; Unfriendly
Fire
Key lawyer working on behalf of Peace Now named one of the "Israelis of the year"
by Dan Izenberg , THE JERUSALEM POST
On a recent roots trip to Poland, from where his parents immigrated in 1968, Michael Sfard found a lithograph which summed up in one picture what his professional life as a human rights lawyer is all about.
Volume 11, Issue 1
When Will Israeli-Palestinian Talks Renew?; The Fierce Urgency of Peace; Settler Campaign Falls Flat; Who is a Sucker?; What to Make of the Iranian Proposal?; Did Netanyahu Agree to Withdraw from the Golan Heights?
Alpher responds to question on where the broader Obama plan for the Middle East stands, and the level of unrest anticipated if West Bank Settlers are evacuated.
For those who believe in Mideast peace, Iran remains an issue of central importance, and our policy on Iran represents the only effective approach for dealing with Iran - one that looks soberly at the current situation and offers the most pragmatic, constructive, and effective way forward.
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Hundreds of activists attended a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for a new neighborhood connecting the West Bank city of Maaleh Adumim with Jerusalem.
A government minister from each of the Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu and Habayit Hayehudi parties attended Monday's ceremony in the controversial E-1 area, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Aides to Binyamin Netanyahu told the media on September 3rd that the Israeli prime minister will approve building hundreds of new homes in West Bank settlements before he considers a settlement freeze. Early the next day, the White House issued a stern message telling Bibi that he cannot have the cake and eat it too.
The founder of APN, professor of history at Queens College and its Director of the Jewish Studies Program, penned a letter for the upcoming Jewish New Year about redicating ourselves to the cause of APN, which begins:
All of us who believe in Israel and in peace wonder sometimes if enough progress is being made toward our goals. There has been progress, and friends of Americans for Peace Now can take a lot of the credit.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hagit-ofran/mitchell-netanyahu-meet-o_b_269743.html
by Hagit Ofran, Peace Now Settlement Watch Director
Posted: August 26, 2009 04:00 PM
Following the meeting between US Senator Mitchell and Israeli PM Netanyahu, it seems that Israel and the US are getting close to some kind of agreement or understanding about a settlement freeze.
A settlement freeze is one of the key factors in order to enable a resumption of peace talks.
Unfortunately, I doubt I have to begin to look for another job. Settlement activity will always be one of the most important issues on the political agenda of our region.
ARTICLES from Ha'aretz, Jerusalem Post, AP, and Ynet appear below viedoes
VIDEOS
Two videos embedded from Israel News (in English) about settlement construction, featuring Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer (pictured left), and Idan Goldberger.
Is something new happening in the East Jerusalem settlement of Pisgat Ze'ev?
Last month, members of the largest pro-Israel lobbying organization in the country gathered in Washington, DC. And no, I'm not talking about AIPAC. 4,000 evangelical Christians participated in Christians United for Israel's (CUFI) 4th annual Washington Summit on July 20-22, hearing from speakers such as Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA), and spending a day lobbying on Capitol Hill.
News and analysis from the Israeli and Arab press that goes beyond the American headlines:
THE FIRST IN MANY YEARS: Palestinian delegates traveled to Bethlehem from around the Arab world last week to participate in Fatah's 6th conference, the first held in 20 years, and the first ever held on Palestinian soil.
The leaked cable that Israel's Consul General in Boston, Nadav Tamir, sent to his superiors in Jerusalem last week is still reverberating in Israel and the U.S.In the confidential cable, which was leaked to the Israeli media, Tamir harshly criticized the Israeli government for escalating its disagreements with Washington's regional peace initiative.
Israel’s Peace Now movement and Americans for Peace Now express solidarity with the gay and lesbian community in Israel, following the attack on the gay youth center in Tel Aviv, and strongly reject the intensifying violence and intolerance within Israeli society.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh tells APN that he supports "sequential, reciprocal, concurent" measures to be taken by Israel and the Arab world in support of credible negotiations of a regional peace deal, but comments that no "unilateral action" should be taken, which might undermine peace efforts.
On August 4, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published a full page ad in the New York Times challenging President Barack Obama's approach to bringing peace to Israel.
The ad urged the Obama administration to stop pressuring Israel over settlements. "The settlements are not the impediment," it claimed.
Peace Now activists in Israel have gone to the street to remind Israelis that settlements are a burden to Israelis. They have been handing out yellow Post-It notes that say "Not just Obama's problem. Not just the world's problem. The settlements are our problem."
APN President and CEO Debra DeLee met this afternoon with President Barack Obama. She was part of a small group of Jewish leaders who were invited to the White House.
Immediately following the meeting, DeLee said "President Obama and his team are doing all the right things to generate progress towards peace for Israel. We will continue to support these efforts."
If you haven't already, you must see this video of our very own Yossi Alpher (APN's guest author of Hard Questions/Tough Answers) and Ghassan Khatib sitting down for an interview with international superstar Sacha Baron Cohen, whose new movie "Bruno" debuts today in theaters worldwide... When even Jimmy Carter says Gush Etzion should remain in Israeli hands, there's no need anymore to discuss whether we're going to hold onto the large settlement blocs, including the "new" neighborhoods of Jerusalem, in any final peace agreement.
This is territory we've insisted on in the "land swaps" we've been negotiating with the Palestinians since Camp David. They accept the principle of land swaps across the Green Line, the Israeli peace camp insists on it, the Clinton and Bush
Some stunning footage just became available of a settler attacking a team of Peace Now activists who were surveying West Bank settlement construction.
The assault took place at the settlement of Dolev. The incident was captured on video and reported by Israel's Channel 2 Television, whose news team was documenting Peace Now's work, and was also assaulted.
The new resolution that the Union of Reform Judaism that was just adopted by the URJ's Board of Trustees meeting in New Orleans shows just how supportive most American Jews are of President Obama's push for Mideast peace.
It is significant that the organization representing the largest Jewish denomination in the U.S. comes out with such language on Obama's regional policy, on his Cairo speech, on settlements and on settler violence.
(This blog was authored by APN Intern Elizabeth Goldstein)
The Jerusalem Media & Communications Centre conducted two polls this year of Palestinians: one in late January, one in late June. The surveys indicate that in general Palestinians seem to feel better about their leaders and the U.S. role now than earlier in the year. At the same time, indifference and distrust for all politicians is prominent when it comes to local politics, U.S. relations, and relations with Israel.
Earlier today we published our latest edition of Settlements in Focus, "Top 5 Bogus Excuses for Opposing a Settlement Freeze." The response has been tremendous -- clearly, many many people are sick of spin and want real facts.
This response is very encouraging. Also encouraging is the experience of the past two weeks, during which I brought Hagit Ofran - the head of Peace Now's Settlement Watch and the foremost expert on West Bank settlements - and Danny Seidemann of Ir Amim - the foremost expert on everything related to Jerusalem land and settlement issues - to meeting on Capitol Hill and in the Obama Administration. From these meetings - more than 30 on the Hill and with Administration officials - it was clear: this Administration is absolutely serious about Israeli-Palestinian peace. And this Administration is resolute in its demand for a total settlement freeze. And Democrats in Congress are firmly behind President Obama.
So that's another very encouraging sign.
And here's one more: today's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. It's a powerful statement, expressing hope for and commitment to Israeli-Arab peace, and making clear that if Israel takes serious steps toward peace (perhaps a settlement freeze?) the Arab world stands ready to reciprocate. It is just one more encouraging sign of the times.
8/23 12:36p
Heads of the Israeli legal system visit the settlers in Silwan & break the last shred of credibility they had - http://wp.me/pNGKN-60
8/23 The Heads of the Legal System Visit the Settlers in Silwan
9/2 5:41a
From the archives : on Bibi's demand for "Recognition-Plus" from the Palestinians | http://bit.ly/b3XZAz
Pre-Dinner remarks: Obama, Mubarak, Abdullah, Netanyahu, and Abbas
9/2 6:16a
@Elizrael There r signs that Palestinians r moving towards a compromise on refugees along Geneva model. See, 4 example, http://bit.ly/8X2p2G
Settler violence won't stop tomorrow's Peace Now rally
9/2 5:56a
RT @ygurvitz: תזכורת: לימור לבנת החלה את הקריירה שלה כבריונית שהתפרעה ושיבשה הצגות "שמאלניות" בשנות השמונים. י
8/30 Maariv: Israel a significant importer (and re-exporter) of Iranian goods
8/28 2:58p
Shas spiritual leader, Rabbi Yossef: Death to Pres' Abbas and "these Palestinians" Time to fight Incitement! http://bit.ly/cUdty0
AUDIO - Muasher says 'Go Regional'
APN's direct connection to Israel
