Israel is considering ending the moratorium on new settlement construction in September.

This would be bad for Israel and bad for peace: Settlement construction undermines faith in peace talks. Settlements constitute a burden to Israel's security services. They create points of friction between Israelis and Palestinians. And they drain Israel's financial resources.

For these reasons, APN activists have worked together to convince Washington to press for a continuation of the moratorium.

Now, it is time to focus our efforts on another important message: As Americans who love Israel, we know that ending the settlement moratorium would play into the hands of those who seek to delegitimize Israel.

We need to deliver this message directly to Israelis, many of whom are not aware of the impact that new settlement construction could have on public American support for Israel.

As part of this effort, APN is asking our activists to make short videos explaining how new settlement expansion could undermine Israel's standing in their communities. The top videos we receive will be featured in Israel starting August 10th as part of the new campaign by the Israeli Peace Now movement.

Here is one such video:

The LA Jewish Federation invited APN's David Pine to speak as part of a pro-Israel rally on Sunday, June 6th.

They did so because there are so many of us who know that Israel needs peace to survive.

See videos and the transcript of the speech.

In an interview last night with CNN's Larry King, President Barack Obama talked about the way forward after the flotilla incident in very constructive tones.

I was struck by the similarity of his approach to APN's language:

On Wednesday, May 12th, APN cosponsored a Capitol Hill Forum on Jerusalem and the proximity talks. A standing-room-only audience of Capitol Hill staff, reporters, diplomats, and activists listened to the program. One Member of Congress was also in attendance.

Here is the video footage of the event.

Author Leonard Fein reflected on the juxtaposition of Israeli Remembrance Day and Independence Day.



Please add your thoughts about Israel and peace below.

Residents of east Jerusalem neighborhood celebrate holiday with songs of praise for Cave of Patriarchs massacre. Left-wing activists plan protest

Video footage (with English subtitles) from Saturday's demonstration is now available.

Check it out:

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.

Accompanied by Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels and Cantor Ken Cohen of Beth Shir Sholom of Santa Monica, the grandchildren of Yitzhak Rabin Peace Award Recipient Irwin Levin speak about the life of the former Israeli Prime Minister and then sing the song “Shir L’Shalom”. This concluded the Americans for Peace Now Yitzhak Rabin Peace Award Luncheon on Sunday, January 24, 2010.

As Americans have learned from the Daily Show, sometimes satire can be the best way to take the political temperature of a country.

Last month, Eretz Nehederet -- a prime-time satire show broadcast by Israel Television Channel Two -- produced a series of skits about settlers holding Israel's defense forces hostage.