Americans for Peace Now / (October 5, 2016)
Chart detailing legislation by Congress to denounce the BDS movement, and in effect, efforts to legitimize Israeli
settlements. Read More >
As of April 1, 2017, the up-to-date version of this table is found
In 2015, a campaign began in Congress (as well as at the state level) to hijack concerns about BDS against Israel in order to pass legislation giving unprecedented legitimacy and recognition to Israeli settlements by, in effect, making it U.S. policy to treat them as part of Israel. These efforts continue through the present day.
This table -- which
will be updated regularly -- is intended to help people understand and follow what is happening in
Congress.
APN rejects this cynical effort to exploit concerns about BDS in order to erase the distinction between Israel and the occupied territories.
Daniel Kurtzer / Middle East Institute (October 2016)
This report discusses the Israeli government's continued support for settlement expansion and the United States'
continued failure to take real action against it. Kurtzer concludes with recommendations for the incoming
administration to balance its support for Israel’s security and its opposition to expanding settlements, which
continue to obstruct a path to peace. PDF >
Americans for Peace Now / (October 1, 2016)
Explanation of the United States' policy to not recognize any party's sovereignty in any part of Jerusalem.
Read More >
[Originally published August 12, 2011, in the context of the Supreme Court's consideration of a case challenging longstanding U.S. policy in Jerusalem (the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the Obama Administration and - by extension - every U.S. administration that preceded it. -Archived version is here]
The United States does not recognize the sovereignty of any party in any part of Jerusalem (East or West). This is not a new policy imposed by the Obama Administration, as some seem to believe or want others to believe. It is a policy that dates back to pre-1948, and has been followed by every U.S. Administration since, regardless of the President or party in the White House. Across this entire period, the policy has applied equally to Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian claims in the city. What follows are representative examples across this entire period illustrating the consistency of this policy.
Back in April 2016, the New York Times published an oped I authored regarding President Obama and the United Nations Security Council. The genesis of that oped was the assertion - made repeatedly by policy experts and pundits, by journalists, by Jewish leaders, by members of Congress, etc - that no U.S. president has ever gone against Israel in the UN Security Council.
On the 15th anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks, we remember the nearly 3,000 men, women and children who perished. Let us resolve to continue working to advance peace and security.
Update: this action, now closed, ran in September 2016.
The policies and actions of the current Israeli government are actively fanning the flames of violence, further entrenching and expanding occupation, and killing the two-state solution. Some of the most recent and ongoing outrages are:
Expanding the settlers' hold in Hebron: The Israeli government is in the process of establishing – by stealth –the first new settlement complex (28 units, providing housing for some 100 settlers, or a 10% increase in the settler population in the area) in Hebron in more than a decade. It is doing so by taking properties seized years ago by the Israeli government for military use and handing them over to the settlers. This action directly contravenes Israeli law, which prohibits seizing lands for military needs and then using them for the purpose of settlements. It also contradicts the principle of distinction between civilians and combatants, and constitutes a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law. In addition, allocating these properties to the settlers based on the argument that they belonged to Jews before 1948 in essence constitutes implementation of a “right of return” for Jews, at the expense of protected Palestinians tenants – even as Palestinians are denied any parallel “right of return” to properties they left or were expelled from before 1948. Click here to learn more about this new Hebron development and to find out how you can take action.