This year’s Purim Shpiel award for laughable, destructive diplomacy goes to Donald Trump and his trio
of Middle East “peace” envoys.
We deeply regret and are disappointed by a comment made on Wednesday by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn), who was quoted as saying: “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
Americans for Peace Now (APN) calls upon fellow American
Jewish organizations to join it in condemning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's embrace of the
extremist right-wing political party Otzma Yehudit ("Jewish Power").
Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly condemns the murder of a young Israeli woman, Ori Ansbacher (19), in Jerusalem last week by a Palestinian assailant, who has been arrested and who has reenacted the crime.
Seven years ago, Amos Oz stopped by APN’s Washington DC office to record this video.
It was a last-moment initiative. I scrambled to prepare our clunky recording equipment, and then rushed to
meet him at the elevator. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was. I’ve read all his books – some of them
twice – and have always admired him for his literary achievements and for his dedication to peace and
security for Israel.
Out of the elevator emerged a short, modest man, warm and upbeat.
As I attached the microphone to his jacket, I told him that his book A Tale of Love
and Darkness helped me better know my mother. She grew up in the same Jerusalem neighborhood as he
did, not far from his parents’ home, and shared many of the childhood experiences Oz describes in the
book. He saw how emotional I was. He placed his warm hand on my shoulder and said: “This makes me very
happy, your relationship with your mother.”
Americans for Peace Now (APN) sends its condolences to the Oz family and to the people of Israel,
who today lost Amos Oz, a literary giant, a beacon of morality and humanity, and a founder of Israel’s peace
movement.
The government of Israel seems to be on the verge of legalizing scores of illegal settlement-outposts in the West
Bank and making it dramatically easier for Israeli settlers to construct more such outposts on privately-owned
Palestinian land.
APN is alarmed by these dangerous developments. We call on the Trump administration, as well as friends of Israel
in the United States and worldwide, to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that more West Bank settlements are
not the answer to terrorism and that they further jeopardize Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Known by many as Mr. Jerusalem, one of the world’s leading experts
on Jewish-Arab relations in Jerusalem, Danny Seidemann is the founder and director of Terrestrial Jerusalem, an Israeli non-governmental organization that works to
identify and track the full spectrum of developments in Jerusalem that could impact either the political process
or permanent status options, destabilize the city or spark violence, or create humanitarian crises.
We spoke about the recent elections for Jerusalem’s municipal council and what should be expected of the new mayor, Moshe Lion. We spoke about the settlement in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah. We spoke about the leaping West Bank annexation policies of the Israeli government and the role that Jerusalem plays in these policies. We spoke about the Trump administration’s policy on Jerusalem. The conversation with Danny was fun. He was as witty, smart and analytical as always.
Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister-organization Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) in condemning this week's Palestinian terrorist attacks in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and in urging both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to prevent further escalation.
APN sends its condolences to the families of the victims of this week's attacks and wishes a full recovery to those injured.
Peace Now's director general Shaqued Morag today published an important article lambasting Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his anti-peace policies. It should be noted that the article was published in
the pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom.
To view the Hebrew article online click here.