We at APN are sad to inform you that long-time board member Elaine Attias has passed away. Elaine, who lived in the Los Angeles area, possessed a great intellect and spirit, and was a fighter for social justice and a champion of progressive causes. Elaine made a significant imprint on this world and will be missed and remembered. (LA Times Obituary)

The Times of Israel: AG green-lights legalization of 2,000 settler homes built on Palestinian land (12/13/18) Peace Now settlement watchdog blasted the prime minister in a fiery statement."After a painful day that consisted of a number of attacks, instead of showing responsibility and trying to calm the situation, the prime minister, as usual, is working to fan the flames. The series of steps he has proposed are dangerous. Not only will they not prevent the next murder, but they will only distance us from the solution that could one day stop the cycle of bloodshed...". Read >

Ha'aretz: "One-state Solution Gains Ground in America - and pro-Israel Groups Are Worried" by Amir Tibon (12/13/18) Dr. Debra Shushan, director of policy and government relations at Americans for Peace Now, tells Haaretz that what is driving up support for a one-state solution among left-wingers in America is the aggressive, annexationist policies of the current Israeli government and its failure to pursue a two-state solution. Read >

Times of Israel: "Jewish Home calls for legalizing Ofra settlement homes after terror attack" (12/10/18) In 2007, the Peace Now settlement watchdog published official state documents proving that the government had allowed for the construction of hundreds of homes on land expropriated from Palestinians from the nearby village of Ein Yabroud. Read >

Philadelphia Inquirer: "What Marc Lamont Hill and the Israeli government have in common" by Trudy Rubin (12/5/18) ...The Israeli government is pursuing "leaping not creeping annexation" of the West Bank, in the words of the Americans for Peace Now organization. That refers to Israeli settlement expansion that has virtually ruled out any contiguous Palestinian entity on the West Bank. Read >

The Jewish Chronicle: "American Jewish progressives defend Airbnb's decision to remove Israeli West Bank properties" (12/7/18) A group of American progressive Jewish groups has written an open letter in support of Airbnb's decision to remove Israeli listings in the West Bank, describing illegal settlements as "illegitimate, and immoral". Read >

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Foreign Policy: "Americans Are Increasingly Critical of Israel by Shibley Telhami (12/11/18) New polling shows that the U.S. public's views on Israel's policies are shifting. Read »

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

A Message from Letty Cottin Pogrebin - Author, Activist, and APN Board Member:

I am happy to see Shaqued Morag at the helm of Shalom Achschav, Israel’s Peace Now movement, not only because of her proven management skills (and not only because I am always happy to see talented women in positions of leadership and power), but because she is the face and spirit of the peace movement’s new generation.

Shaqued is one of hundreds of thousands young Israelis who are determined to resist their right wing nationalist government and its erosions of democracy. 

Shaqued and her cohort are forcefully demanding that Israel maintain the rule of law, end its occupation of the West Bank, and allow both peoples — Israelis and Palestinians — to bequeath to their children two states living side by side in peace and security.

As Peace Now's partners in the U.S., Americans for Peace Now and its leaders are not naive about the frustrations and challenges of a stalled Israeli- Palestinian peace process. Nevertheless, however grim its prospects at the moment, we know that as long as people of conscience are willing to continue the struggle for peace, our cause is far from lost. Moreover, we believe we owe it to our activists here and in Peace Now in Israel to redouble our efforts to keep hope alive in these dark times. We owe it to Shaqued and her friends. We owe it to every reasonable, justice-minded Israeli. We owe it to every American who believes in human dignity and disavows hatred of The Other. And we owe it to the memory of the eleven Jews slaughtered this fall in Pittsburgh simply for being Jews, a people that continue to be seen as The Other in the eyes of those who trade in demonization and hate.

Rather than surrender to the toxicity and hopelessness permeating today's world, we at APN have recommitted to peace by stepping up our education and advocacy efforts, whether in person, in writing, on our remarkable website (check out its riches), or in concert with Shalom Achschav, our Israeli counterpart. But we need your help to do our work: to provide quality materials, settlement maps, and resources so that legislators, the media, thought leaders, and every American is well informed on all the issues — and fired up enough to effectively resist Netanyahu, Trump, and the extremists who would lead the region into an abyss of perennial conflict and shameful subjugation of another people.

I'm counting on you to stay with us, stand with us, and be inspired by Shaqued’s letter (below) to support us!

Thank you so much.

Eight out of the 22 players on the current Israeli soccer national team are non-Jews, of them 7 are Arabs and one, Bibras Natkho, is an Israeli Circassian Muslim. He is also the national team captain. That is unprecedented. Never before have so many non-Jewish players played for the national team.

The soccer field in Israel serves young Arab men as a tool for upward mobility while it also serves as a platform for anti-Arab bigotry and racism. Tomer Fadlon, an expert on the politics and diplomacy of soccer at Tel Aviv University, explains the apparent contradiction and much more.

Americans for Peace Now and fellow progressive Jewish organizations delivered a message yesterday to Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan on his actions relating to Airbnb's decision to delist homes in West Bank Jewish settlements. The letter conveys dismay at Erdan's attempt to enlist US governors to apply pro-settlements laws which are likely unconstitutional.