This week, Alpher discusses the possible dynamics of PM Netanyahu arriving to talk with President Obama in the midst of the Ukraine/Crimea crisis; the influence of the Ukraine crisis on the Middle East; what we can expect in the weeks ahead regarding the American-sponsored framework agreement and Monday's Obama-Netanyahu meeting; and Netanyahu's thinking for the "day after" failure scenario.
By Aaron David Miller
Why Israel's prime minister can't call the shots on Iran or the peace process.
Benjamin Netanyahu is one smart Israeli politician. This year, he will become the longest continuously serving prime minister in Israel's history. He is the only Israeli leader to win back-to-back elections. And despite his detractors' efforts to portray him as an illegitimate expression of Israeli popular desires, his staying power -- at least on security and foreign policy -- is an authentic expression of where much of the country stands in 2014.
Yet on the eve of his White House meeting with President Barack Obama on Monday, March 3, when the two leaders will discuss Iran, peace talks, and other issues, Bibi faces the prospect of being ensnared in traps that will limit his room to maneuver and undermine Israel's interests, as he defines them.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington today, the Israeli government’s Central Bureau of Statistics issued a report showing a whopping 123% surge in West Bank settlement construction in 2013, more than double the number of new settlement homes built in 2012.
The data was analyzed and highlighted today by Israel’s Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) movement. It confirms past interim reports by Peace Now’s Settlement Watch Project. Americans for Peace Now (APN), Shalom Achshav’s US sister-organization, joins Peace Now in condemning Netanyahu’s government for this reckless policy of settlement construction.
Today, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics released their summary of construction in 2013. The increase in
construction starts confirms what Peace Now has been reporting throughout 2013, massive increases in construction
in the West Bank. Overall, there was a 123% increase in construction starts in 2013.
The CBS reports that in 2013 construction began on 2,534 housing units. Compared to 2012, which had 1,133 units
that began construction. Furthermore, approximately half of the units (1,161) which began construction were
for public buildings. In 2012 there were only 113 units for public buildings that began construction.
Peace Now: "It's official, the Netanyahu government is committed to only one thing: building
settlements. It shows the lack of commitment to negotiations and other issues like the housing shortage inside
Israel. The state has focused its resources on construction beyond the green line."
To view the CBS report click here
APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday March 03, 2014
Quote of the day:
"If our excellent boys wanted to prove that the Israeli media are loyal and obedient, they can check
that one off their list, too...'Troops forcibly entered the building and found his body; – that was the line
dictated by the IDF Spokesman’s Office. This is a lie."
--Amira Hass investigated the killing of Muatazz Washaha, 24, and found that a young man who didn't show up for a police summons was shot dead at point-blank range in his house and that the Israeli media covered for the killing.**
--Amira Hass investigated the killing of Muatazz Washaha, 24, and found that a young man who didn't show up for a police summons was shot dead at point-blank range in his house and that the Israeli media covered for the killing.**
APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday March 02, 2014
Quote of the day:
It’s hard to believe we still are waging a quixotic war about the fact that we are Jews and our state
is Jewish.
--Yoel Marcus writes in Haaretz+ that Israelis must focus on how to live in peace with the Palestinians and divide what was once Palestine.**
--Yoel Marcus writes in Haaretz+ that Israelis must focus on how to live in peace with the Palestinians and divide what was once Palestine.**
A powerful debate between APN's Lara Friedman and Rabbi Daniel Gordis in the New York Times.
Introduction
Israel’s expansion of settlements in the occupied territories has been an obstacle to the two-state solution, considered the most likely hope for peace with the Palestinians.
LA Jewish Journal - February 26, 2014
APN Board Member Sandy Weiner and Steve Kaplan: Boycotting Settlements is the way to fight
BDS
http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/a_victory_against_anti_israel_bds
Oberlin Review (campus newspaper) - February 24, 2014
Interview with APN's Lara Friedman
http://oberlinreview.org/4947/news/off-the-cuff-lara-friedman-former-foreign-service-officer-and-director-of-policy-and-government-relations-with-americans-for-peace-now/
Arutz 7 - February 25, 2014
Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer warns: There are more potential Baruch Goldsteins in the
settlements
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/287956#.UwzaWPldW5I
Arutz 7 - February 25, 2014
Peace Now opposes taxpayer funding for extreme right non-profits
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/177851#.UwzbKPldW5I
Update: this action, now closed, ran in March 2014.
When President Obama meets Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in the White House on Monday, their conversation will
no doubt focus on two issues that are central to the Obama Administration’s foreign policy agenda: Iran and
Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
Tell President
Obama that you are a part of his constituency for peace. Make sure he knows that Americans who care about Israel
have his back.
Uncertainty Dampens Growth on Both Sides of Green Line
By Nathan Jeffay
The latest coalition of Israelis and Palestinians hoping to affect the settlement of the conflict is not your usual bunch of peace activists. They are wealthy businesspeople who work in a broad range of sectors, from construction to high-tech. They don’t need to struggle to be heard in the halls of power — they already have the ears of everyone from Israel’s prime minister to the leaders of Hamas.