Last Friday, Palestinian community organizer and activist Ali
Abu Awwad gave a stirring speech at an APN cosponsored event held at the Middle East Institute. In
particular, Abu Awwad described his own life story, including being raised by an activist mother who was beaten
and brutalized by Israeli security forces, and participating in the First Intifada, as a desperate and angry boy
picking up stones to confront an overwhelming military force.
The White House is expected to unveil President Trump's "Deal of the Century" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on January 28th 2020. APN offers the following analysis to help assess Trump's proposal.
How to Assess the Trump Plan
APN does not presume to prescribe a detailed formula for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We appreciate efforts by past US administrations to avoid prescribing or imposing a detailed peace plan. At the same time, we strongly believe that any US-authored peace plan, if it is to have a chance of succeeding, must assert a framework based on several unshakable principles.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday January 27, 2020
Quote of the day:
"This is what happens when one corrupt politician wants to help another corrupt politician. The real
deal is between Trump and Netanyahu. Peace should be between two peoples and not two crooks."
--Joint List party head Ayman Odeh described Trump's peace plan.*
Front Page:
--Joint List party head Ayman Odeh described Trump's peace plan.*
Front Page:
Partners for Progressive Israel webinar (co-sponsored by Americans for Peace Now and NCJW)
This online discussion can be accessed via your computer or by phone.
REGISTER HERE
Online elections for the 2020 World Zionist Congress are underway – and the results will be crucial, impacting the
distribution of $5,000,000,000 in budget money over the next five years and affecting every area of Jewish life
worldwide and every aspect of life in Israel – including the funding of West Bank settlements.
Joining us on Wednesday, 29 January, 12:30-1:30pm Eastern Time to discuss the World Zionist Congress elections and
their importance both “here” and “there” will be two superb panelists, one American and one Israeli:
Nancy Kaufman, past CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women and a member of the HATIKVAH:
Progressive Israel Slate
Hagit Ofran, Co-Director of the Settlement Watch project of the Israeli Peace Now movement (Shalom
Achshav)
The conversation will be introduced and moderated by Hadar Susskind, Campaign Director for the HATIKVAH:
Progressive Israel slate. This event is co-sponsored by Americans for Peace Now and National Council of Jewish
Women. A Q&A will be included.
Please tune in for this important webinar!
APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday January 26, 2020
Quote of the Day #1:
“While the world is busy worrying about Trump's declarations and the administration's reactions, the situation on the ground is deteriorating, and the aggression and antagonism of the settlers are only getting stronger."
—Ghassan Douglass, who follows settler activities in the northern West Bank, said after settlers attack and injured a Palestinian father and son.*
Quote of the Day #2:
"Don't say I'm delusional. According to what's going on in the State of Israel, it can still happen, anything can happen. If Miri Regev is the Minister of Culture, Naftali Bennett is Minister of Defense, Amir Ohana is Minister of Justice and David Amsalem is Minister of Communications, then (Kahanist Itamar) Ben-Gvir and Trimbobler (wife of killer of Yitzhak Rabin) can integrate wonderfully around the government table."
--Maariv commentator and radio host, Natan Zahavi, wrote that he would not be surprised if two of the most extreme right-wing people running in the upcoming Israeli elections were to become part of the government.*
“While the world is busy worrying about Trump's declarations and the administration's reactions, the situation on the ground is deteriorating, and the aggression and antagonism of the settlers are only getting stronger."
—Ghassan Douglass, who follows settler activities in the northern West Bank, said after settlers attack and injured a Palestinian father and son.*
Quote of the Day #2:
"Don't say I'm delusional. According to what's going on in the State of Israel, it can still happen, anything can happen. If Miri Regev is the Minister of Culture, Naftali Bennett is Minister of Defense, Amir Ohana is Minister of Justice and David Amsalem is Minister of Communications, then (Kahanist Itamar) Ben-Gvir and Trimbobler (wife of killer of Yitzhak Rabin) can integrate wonderfully around the government table."
--Maariv commentator and radio host, Natan Zahavi, wrote that he would not be surprised if two of the most extreme right-wing people running in the upcoming Israeli elections were to become part of the government.*
Front Page:
Americans for Peace Now (APN) is alarmed at reports regarding the plan that the Trump administration is reportedly planning to unveil next week for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. APN joins its Israeli sister organization Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) in stating that a so-called peace plan that does not adopt the principle of two states for two peoples – two sovereign, contiguous states living side by side in peace and security within defined, recognized borders – belongs in the trashcan of history.
Since the Trump administration announced its intention to submit a "peace plan" for Israeli-Palestinian peace almost three years ago, APN suggested the following guidelines for assessing the viability of such a plan. Following are our guidelines:
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The Times of Israel (Live Updates): "Peace Now: Any plan not based on 1967 borders will end up in dustbin of history" (January 23, 2020)On the left, the Peace Now organization is also warning it probably won’t be a fan of the Trump peace plan. "Any proposal that does not include the formation of a Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders and the evacuation of solitary settlements is a deception that will end up in the dustbin of history," the group says. |
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The Jerusalem Post: "Arab family to be evicted from east Jerusalem home on formerly Jewish land" (January 21, 2020)"This is an attempt to displace a Palestinian community and to replace it with an Israeli one, in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem," said Peace Now in response to the decision. "In addition to the hard blow to the prospects for a two-state solution by preventing a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, this is an injustice and an act of cruelty to throw out families who have lived lawfully in their homes for decades." Read >> |
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Ha'aretz: "Anti-occupation, Pro-religious Pluralism Activists Aim Big in World Zionist Congress Vote" (January 20, 2020)Organizations represented also include Aleph, Ameinu, Americans for Peace Now, Habonim Dror North America, Hashomer Hatzair, the Jewish Labor Committee, the National Council of Jewish Women, the New Israel Fund, Partners for Progressive Israel and T’ruah. Read >> |
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France 24 (AFP): "Palestinian family pledge appeal over Jerusalem eviction ruling" (January 20, 2020)The Israeli anti-settlement NGO Peace Now said a Jerusalem magistrates court ruled Sunday in favour of evicting the Rajabi family from their home in the Silwan neighbourhood following a lawsuit filed by members of the pro-settlement Ateret Cohanim organisation. Read >> |
In January 2020, there was a big bruhaha when a Jeopardy
contestant said on the gameshow that the Church of the Nativity was located in Israel. What’s wrong with that?
The Church of the Nativity is in Bethlehem, a town that came under Israeli rule in 1967 and is closely
intertwined with Jewish history since biblical times.
Bethlehem is not in Israel. Rather, it is in the West Bank, which is a territory occupied by Israel but has never been annexed to Israel. Bethlehem, like the other Palestinian towns of the West Bank, it is ruled by the Palestinian Authority, an interim self-government body established in 1994 as a part of an agreement signed by the government of Israel and the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people.The government of Israel never applied its sovereignty to any of the Occupied Territories, with the exception of the areas that now make up East Jerusalem. Therefore obviously, the Church of the Nativity is not a part of the State of Israel. Nobody in Israel or anywhere else in the world contests this fact.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday January 23, 2020
Quote of the Day:
"On this (International Holocaust) Remembrance Day, world leaders are coming to a prime minister who is
trying to incite them against the court in The Hague. It’s hard to think of a more galling use of the
Holocaust, it’s hard to conceive of a bigger betrayal of its memory than the attempt to undermine the court in
The Hague only because it wishes to fulfill its role and investigate Jerusalem."
--Haaretz commentartor Gideon Levy writes on the occasion of the arrival of leaders and dignitaries from from 49 countries to participate today in the 5th annual Holocaust Forum, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.*
Numbers of the Day**:
2
--Number of Israeli soldiers who fell in battle or were killed by Palestinians in 2019.
12
--Number of Israeli soldiers who committed suicide in 2019. A record high.
27
--Total number of Israeli soldiers who died in 2019, a record low.
Front Page:
--Haaretz commentartor Gideon Levy writes on the occasion of the arrival of leaders and dignitaries from from 49 countries to participate today in the 5th annual Holocaust Forum, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.*
Numbers of the Day**:
2
--Number of Israeli soldiers who fell in battle or were killed by Palestinians in 2019.
12
--Number of Israeli soldiers who committed suicide in 2019. A record high.
27
--Total number of Israeli soldiers who died in 2019, a record low.
Front Page:
Hadar Susskind is a longtime activist and Jewish nonprofit
professional. Currently, he is the campaign director for Hatikvah
Slate, a slate that several progressive Jewish organizations – including Americans for Peace Now – have
put together to run for the World Zionist Congress.