Creeping Annexation: Changes in the Interpretation of the Laws Regarding Occupation
Settlements Watch Peace Now,
December 2017

Report's Main Points:

In recent years, the Attorney General and the State Prosecutor's Office have made dramatic changes in their positions on a number of issues regarding Israel's control over the occupied territories (OT). These changes are part of the g overnment's effort to apply the standards of Israel's democracy to settlements located in territory that is subject to belligerent Israeli occupation, where the Palestinian population lives without democracy and equal rights. These changes are contrary to previous positions of the legal echelon and the Supreme Court, and they magnify the legal question surrounding Israel's control of the OT in terms of international law.

Among other things, the Attorney General stated that:

    • It is permissible to expropriate Palestinian land in cases where the Israeli takeover was carried out "in good faith."
    • It is permissible to confiscate land for the purpose of access to a settlement.
    • Abandoned property may be used for settlement purposes.
    • It is permitted to "liquidate" the abandoned property without judicial process.
    • It is permissible to expropriate protected tenancy of the Hebron Municipality on public land, even without a judicial process.
    • Legislative changes were made to facilitate the demolition and deportation of Palestinian communities in Area C.

These changes mark another step in the policy of de facto annexation of the OT to Israel, and they are intended to "normalize" the settlements and make them part of Israel, even without declaring so.

Read more

Continue reading

News Nosh 12.29.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday December 29, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
“The ‘temporary’ situation has dragged on for 50 years, and we will not go on lending a hand.”
—From a letter written by a group of 63 Jewish Israeli 12th-graders, who publicly declared they will refuse to be drafted into the Israel army.

You Must Be Kidding: 
Israeli public grants were funneled to an organization that builds illegal West Bank outposts, Haaretz+ reported.
Continue reading

"The hope thing"

DeLee

At this time of the year, I typically write to you reflecting on the progress made toward Israeli-Palestinian peace in the year that passed, and highlight the reasons for hope for further progress in the coming year.

As 2017 comes to a close, "the hope thing" becomes more difficult. With Donald Trump in the White House, Benjamin Netanyahu in his ninth consecutive year as Israel’s prime minister, and no sign of diplomacy from any of the players, it's hard to find reasons for hope. At least not in the short run. Holding one's breath in anticipation of Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian “ultimate deal” would not be a healthy way to start the new year.

Continue reading

Rob Eshman and the Rabbi

My husband Rob Eshman will be receiving the Press for Peace Award at the Americans for Peace Now “Vision of Peace Celebration” on January 29, 2018, which I am honored to Co-Chair. You may not know him, but allow me to say a few words - objectively, of course - as to why he is so deserving of this honor, and why I encourage you to support the event and the organization that is sponsoring it, even if you are unable to attend.

In addition to my personal affection for Rob, I have immense respect for his vision and courage. He was the long-time editor of The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, and the accompanying website jewishjournal.com, which under his leadership became the most visited Jewish news website outside of Israel. Beyond the numbers, however, he has provided the local and international Jewish community and other interested readers, with what too often is lacking -- thoughtful, honest, comprehensive, and varied opinions and perspectives on Israel and Jewish affairs. He has not shied away from taking public stands himself, most often expressed via his weekly columns, which while controversial for some, have always been motivated by his love and deep connection to the Jewish people and to Israel. I believe that through his writing, leadership, and courage, he has significantly impacted the discourse on these important issues.

I am proud that Americans for Peace Now has chosen to honor Rob with its Press for Peace Award in recognition of his unique contributions. It is also very exciting for me, and humbling to him, that he will be honored alongside David Broza, the Israeli music icon and peace activist.

For the vast majority of you who will not be able to attend the Vision of Peace Celebration in Los Angeles, I encourage you to participate with us by donating to Americans for Peace Now. You will be supporting the work of the organization here in the US, and of Shalom Achshav (Peace Now), its partner in Israel. Your donation will provide an opportunity to include a Vision of Peace Tribute Message – whether specifically to David Broza, Rob, or the cause of peace for Israel – and I am flattered to say that Americans for Peace Now is also offering my newest book “Einstein and the Rabbi: Searching for the Soul” for a donation of $100 or more (indicate "Einstein" in the comments box).

Go HERE for the invitation to the event and a link to the response card and online donation page.

In Peace,

Rabbi Naomi Levy


Rabbi Naomi Levy, a member of the first class of women to attend The Jewish Theological Seminary’s Rabbinical School in New York City, is the founder and spiritual leader of Nashuva, a groundbreaking Jewish outreach organization based in Los Angeles. She is also a best-selling author and nationally noted speaker on revitalizing faith, spirituality, healing and prayer, and has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, Oprah, and been featured in Parade, Redbook, Self, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and Los Angeles magazine. In recognition of the impact she has made, the Jewish Forward identified Rabbi Levy as one of the nation’s 50 most influential Jewish leaders and Newsweek included Rabbi Levy in its list of "Top 50 Rabbis in America."


Friedman Lights Menorah at the Western Wall and Whitewashes the Occupation

One week after Donald Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem – which triggered unrest in Israel, the Occupied Territories, and the broader Middle East – Ambassador David Friedman was stoking the flames. At a menorah lighting at the Western Wall, Friedman kvelled in Hebrew, “It is a huge honor for me and I am extremely excited to be standing here at this holy site and to light the second Chanukah candle in Jerusalem, the holy city and the capital of the State of Israel.”

Friedman’s emotional visit to the Western Wall, in his official capacity as US ambassador, added a religious dimension to Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. It also provided reason to think that the United States government was for the first time accepting Israeli sovereignty in part of East Jerusalem, which Israel conquered in 1967 and Palestinians desire as their capital in a negotiated peace deal with Israel.

Continue reading

News Nosh 12.26.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"Years of uninterrupted right-wing rule have emblazoned on many Israelis’ minds the slogan of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal and undivided capital, such that they accept it reflexively as truth. Many Israelis are happy to pocket Trump’s gift of recognition without giving anything in return. American Jews are in a position to remind Jewish Israelis of the damage caused by eschewing compromise over Jerusalem."
--Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, Debra Shushan, calls on Jewish Americans not to pander to so-called left-wing Israelis who have moved right.*

Continue reading

I'm writing this as an American and a Christian

wintercandle

The festivals of light, in the various traditions, fall during the darkest time of the year - or so it seems to this Christian on Christmas Eve. The darkness, of course, is what makes the light shine brightest. In a similar way, hope has its truest power when things appear to be hopeless. Hope is a choice.

My train of thought, I admit, is running along the track of contemporary desolation. I am writing this letter on behalf of Americans for Peace Now. Peace Now is the heroic - and deeply patriotic - Israeli organization that has steadfastly stood for peace between Israelis and Palestinians for a generation. Recent turns in the old story, taken in Washington and Jerusalem both, have made the struggle for such peace seem more difficult than ever, but that only makes it more precious.

The end is as clear as ever, and so are the means: a two-state solution arrived at through agreed negotiations, enshrined in a secure Israel living side by side with a fully recognized Palestine, formed in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Good will, self-interested mutuality, respect by each side for the absolutes of the other, arrived at through compromise - these remain the elements of peace, and they are still possible.

As if the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians were not searing enough, the recent intervention from abroad - the U.S. administration’s feckless short-circuiting of final status negotiations by its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital - has complicated the peace process immeasurably. That defines the darkness of this moment. But that also defines the fresh importance of Peace Now, whose commitment has never depended on a shallow optimism that cannot survive when intolerant religious fanatics of whatever stripe seem ascendant. As a Christian, I am especially aware of the negative influence of Jesus-proclaiming American zealots whose End Time fantasies and Biblical literalism pre-empt both Israeli democracy and Palestinian nationhood. That such voices are heard in the White House only makes their rebuttal the more urgent.

That is why this is the time, more than ever, to support both Peace Now, and its U.S.-based sister organization Americans for Peace Now. Peace Now most emphatically affirms the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel. That means, with equal emphasis, that Peace Now opposes the Occupation of the Palestinians. Peace Now continues its crucial work of tracking and opposing the ongoing settlement project in the West Bank, especially when settlers seize land owned by Palestinians and illegally build on it. And Peace Now brings its power to the streets, as it did last summer, convening a throng inTel Aviv’s Rabin Square to reject the Netanyahu government’s disastrous anti-peace policies.

Peace Now receives nearly half of its funding from Americans for Peace Now. APN’s informative website (www.peacenow.org) offers a wealth of information and analysis for Americans to think more clearly - and pragmatically - about Israel’s challenges and about the role that our nation should - and still can - play as a peacemaker.

I am writing this letter as an American and as a Christian - at a time when detached uninvolvement, whether at home or abroad, amounts to a gross failure of civic and moral responsibility. Our religious and political texts; our doctrines and policies; our triumphalist dreams; our assumption of national innocence; our habits of racial and religious contempt; even our naive wishes for an easy peace - these are threads in the Holy Land’s still untied knot. Historically part of the Israeli-Palestinian problem, we are obliged now to be part of its solution. We must choose hope.

That is the invitation we have from Israel’s Peace Now and its U.S. sister organization. Please join me in supporting both Shalom Achshav and APN. Please make a generous tax-deductible contribution to Americans for Peace Now. Even in the present darkness, this is what the light of the possible peace looks like. Please commend Peace Now to everyone you know - now more than ever.

Thank you.
James Carroll

Continue reading

News Nosh 12.22.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday, December 22, 2017
 
Quote of the day:
"Hundreds of thousands of civilians will take to the streets to physically block it from happening, and the free media will consider it a disgrace and never allow it pass."
--Former prime minister Ehud Barak said that the 'backward' nationalist Netanyahu government is passing laws that will bring about a binational state.*
Continue reading

APN's Statement Regarding Today's UN Vote on Trump's Jerusalem Move

Today's vote by the United Nations General Assembly, rebuking President Trump's irresponsible move to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, underscores Trump's flawed understanding of diplomacy and the heavy price the US pays when it subjugates a calculated foreign policy and national security interests to domestic politics.

The UNGA vote – 128 countries voting against Trump's move, with only 9 in favor and 35 abstaining – is a slap in the face of the US, a reality check for Israel, but also a welcome endorsement of the two-state solution and of diplomacy as a tool for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is a rebuke of Trump's unilateralism and a bitter blow our country's global leadership role. "This is the price we pay for President Trump acting on a whim and reversing a fifty-year-old policy carefully implemented by past presidents, Democrats and Republicans alike," said Debra DeLee, APN's President and CEO.

Continue reading

News Nosh 12.21.17

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday December 21, 2017

You Must Be Kidding: 
--Verbal violence against the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, has grown 220% within two years.
A new report found that in the last year, over 5 million racist expressions, curses, calls for violence and offensive words were written in social media in Israel - a rate of one every 6 seconds.**
Continue reading
1 2 3 ...245 246 247 248249 250 ...543 544 545