APN hosted a briefing call with Professor Shibley Telhami, an expert on Palestinian politics and on U.S. Middle East policy, on Tuesday, May 2nd, at 11:00 am, Eastern Time.

One of America’s leading experts on the Middle East, Professor Telhami shed light on U.S.-Palestinian relations on the eve of President Trump’s meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, intra-Palestinian politics, and the current state of efforts to advance a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Professor Telhami is the Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, College Park, and non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. He is the author of The World through Arab Eyes: Arab Public Opinion and the Reshaping of the Middle East, the co-editor of The Peace Puzzle: America’s Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace, 1989-2011, and a leading pollster of public opinion in the Middle East and U.S. public opinion about the region.

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.”

APN commentary & analysis

• 1/8/18 APN Opposes Israel’s Entry Law Blacklist
• 7/19/17 APN briefing call on anti-democratic legislation in Israel with ACRI's Debbi Gild-Hayo
• 7/17/17 Sign Our Petition: Don't Ban Americans Who Peacefully Oppose Israeli Policies
• 6/14/17 APN "Entry Law" Testimonials
• 4/20/17 Annual Study Tour Canceled – Letter to Prospective Participants
• 3/17/17 Thought that Israel’s new “Entry Law” was bad? Well, it’s worse!
• 3/09/17 Haaretz: Am I Too Dangerous to Enter Israel? By Letty Cottin Pogrebin, APN Board Member
• 3/06/17 Press Release: APN Condemns New Israeli Law Banning Entry of Foreign Nationals who Call for Settlement Boycotts
• 1/31/17 (Updated 3/06/17) Israel’s “Entry Bill” – Indefensible & Undemocratic
• 1/31/17 Take Action: Tell Amb Dermer – American Jews Appalled, Outraged by “Entry Bill”
• 1/30/17 (Updated 3/06/17) Israel’s “Entry Law”: What It Is and What It Means

Media coverage & other resources

• 1/7/2018 Israel Publishes BDS Blacklist: These Are the 20 Groups Whose Members Will Be Denied Entry
• 7/28/17: Ha'aretz Editorial: Israel's anti=BDS Blacklists
• 7/28/17: LA Times Editorial: Israel should stop trying to wall out its critics
• 5/03/17: New York Jewish Week: Travel Ban Law Roiling Birthright, Liberals
• 4/26/17 URJ: URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs Asks Prime Minister Netanyahu About Israel’s Entry Ban And Reform Judaism’s North American Trips
• 4/24/17 JTA: Americans for Peace Now cancels annual Israel trip over anti-boycott law
• 4/23/17 Haaretz: First Jewish – American Group Cancels Trip to Israel Over Travel Ban Against Boycott Supporters

Washington, DC - Americans for Peace Now (APN) commends Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his staff for acknowledging the important role that Israel’s civil society and particularly Israeli progressive non-profit organizations play in Israeli society.

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.”

The Australian Jewish News: April 6, 2017
“Plans for New Settlement Condemned,” Peace Now’s Anat Ben Nun says that the creation of a new settlement in the West Bank sends a strong message that Israel is no longer interested in pursuing a two-state solution.

NPR: April 5, 2017
"Assessing Israel's Pledge to Scale Back Settlements," Peace Now's Hagit Ofran quoted on Israel's new settlement policy.

972+: April 4, 2017
“Why Settlement Boycotters Shouldn’t Join the BDS Movement,” APN warns that the bills targeting BDS activists and settlement boycotters fail to differentiate between Israel proper and settlements themselves.

Times of Israel: April 3, 2017
“Planned Amona 2.0 Might Not House West Bank Settlers for 3 Years,” Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran explains that while planning and approving settlements can take a long time, the government knows how to expedite the process to further their goals of strategically fragmenting the West Bank.

New York Times: March 31, 2017
"Israel Says It Will Rein In 'Footprint' Of West Bank Settlements," Peace Now skeptical of Israeli government's new settlement policy. 

Jerusalem Post: March 31, 2017
"Netanyahu under right wing pressure to continue settlement expansion," Peace Now skeptical of Israeli government's new settlement policy.

Los Angeles Times: March 31, 2017
"Israel approves settlement deep in the West Bank for the first time in two decades but pledges future controls," Peace Now skeptical of Israeli government's new settlement policy.

Daily News (UK): March 31, 2017
"US warns Israel on 'unrestrained' settlement building," Peace Now reacts to Israeli government's new Israeli settlement measures: "Netanyahu is held captive by the settlers."

Washington Post (AP Story): March 31, 2017
"Israel says will try to curb growth of settlement footprint," Peace Now says the Israeli government's new settlement policy actually serves the settlers.

San Francisco Chronicle: March 31, 2017
"Israel's new law seeks to silence settlement protests," Ori Nir is quoted in a story on Israel's new Entry Ban arguing that Israel should "should be cognizant of the repercussions" of "dissing a huge sector of a very pro-Israel American demographic."

Times of Israel: April 28, 2017
"Police prevent left-wing rally at outpost against settler violence," Peace Now (and other activists) blocked from reaching West Bank outpost to demonstrate.

JTA: April 26, 2017
"Reform head asks Netanyahu to clarify how anti-boycott law will affect Israeli trip participants," Following APN's cancellation of their Israel trip, Reform Movement sends letter to Netanyahu re: "Entry Law."

Jerusalem Post: April 26, 2017
"Israeli NGOs after German Foreign Minister meeting: We don't take orders from Netanyahu," Peace Now criticizes Netanyahu for delegitimizing dissenting non-profits.

Arutz 7: April 24, 2017
"Netanyahu issues ultimatum to German foreign minister," Netanyahu to German Foreign Minister: If you meet with Peace Now, I won't meet with you.

JTA: April 24, 2017
"Americans for Peace Now cancels annual Israel trip over anti-boycott law," APN cancels annual Israel trip for the first time in 30 years.

Haaretz: April 22, 2017
"First Jewish-American Group Cancels Trip to Israel Over Travel Ban Against Boycott Supporters," APN cancels tour due to new "Entry Law." 

Jerusalem Post: April 22, 2017
"Peace Now: New West Bank outpost built in last two weeks," Peace Now condemns establishment of new illegal outpost in the West Bank.

Haaretz: April 22, 2017
"Israeli Sets Up New 'Jewish-Arab' Outpost, to Chagrin of Settler Neighbors," Peace Now condemns establishment of new illegal outpost in the West Bank.

The Forward: April 20, 2017
"Israel's Settlement Blocs Block Prospects for Peace"
By Ori Nir

Everybody knows,” goes the argument. “Everybody knows that under any future Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, West Bank settlement blocs will be annexed to Israel.” And because everyone knows that, the argument goes, Israel should be allowed, even encouraged, to continue unhindered with settlement construction in the “blocs.”

Proponents of construction in settlement blocs argue the following. There is an Israeli consensus around the future annexation of the blocs once a peace agreement is signed. Even the PLO gave a nod of approval for such a scenario. Both Israelis and Palestinians have accepted the principle of “land swaps” (Israel compensating the Palestinians for lands it will annex east of the Green Line with Israeli land West of the Green Line). The US has made it clear that it will not insist on an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines. Given all that, they say, why not build in areas that “everybody knows” Israel will end up keeping and annexing? How could that damage future negotiations? Continue reading...