Jewish Journal: September 12
“Governor Brown should veto flawed BDS law”
By Steve Kaplan and Sandy Weiner, APN Board of Directors

J Weekly: September 15
“American Jewish progressives must act to defend their values in Israel”
By Ori Nir, APN’s Director of Communications and Public Engagement

Times of Israel: September 12
“Bibi, Settlements, and the ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ Canard”
By Lara Friedman, APN’s Director of Policy and Government Relations

United Press International (UPI): September 16
“Israeli settlements in West Bank up 41 percent,” Peace Now criticizes increased construction in West Bank settlements.

Newsweek: September 15
“Israel increases settlement starts by 40% in first half of 2016,” Peace Now cites official figures that show the largest increase in settlement construction since January 2014.

Jerusalem Post: September 15
“West Bank settler housing starts up 17% in 2016,” Peace Now says Netanyahu’s government’s investment in settlements is leading Israel toward a one-state reality.

Middle East Monitor: September 14
“Peace Now: Israeli settlement construction up 40%,” highlights Peace Now’s statements regarding the recent data released by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS).

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.

This week, Alpher discusses books! The best book on the Arab revolutionary wave, books on additional causes for the current chaos in the Arab world, books on the Arab revolutions that add a more human dimension, on the US role in the Middle East before the Arab revolutions, and on Israel and the Palestinians.

Rabbi Susan P. Fendrick is an editor, writer, teacher, and spiritual director. A graduate of Brown University, she received rabbinic ordination in 1995 from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship program. Her writing appears in numerous books and publications.

There is very little language of personal prayer recorded in the Torah, and even less prescribed liturgy for future Jews to recite. But one rare example of a liturgical text appears in this week’s Torah reading—a prayer that supports the pursuit of conflict resolution and peace-seeking.

The entire book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ swan song, his last chance to convey everything he must to the Israelite nation before they enter the land of Israel without him. In Parshat Ki Tavo, he offers a formula that each Israelite should recite when bringing the “first fruits” offering on the holiday of Shavuot.  That recitation was discussed in the APN Peace Parsha last June, and I want to offer a further reading of its opening words, which speaks to all that we have to bear in mind as we work for a peaceful and secure future for the state of Israel.

On a trip to Israel last month, I visited a friend who runs a small store in downtown Jerusalem, my hometown. Outside, on the street, there were dozens of young American Birthright tourists. “Business must be hopping, with all these Birthrighters,” I said. “Not quite,” my friend replied. “Their parents send them here with pocket money, but stay home in the U.S., with their credit cards.”

To my dismay, he said that as he saw it, American Jews don’t care enough about Israel’s future. They see Israel as a Jewish Disneyland of sorts, a place where they go for its history, but they don’t do enough to secure Israel’s future as a liberal democracy. This is not an unusual view among Israelis.

Albeit blunt, over-generalizing and overstated, my Israeli storeowner friend has a point. Sure, American Jews don’t vote in Israel. They don’t serve in the IDF and don’t pay taxes. They don’t have as much of a stake and as much of a say in Israel’s future as Israeli citizens do. But they definitely could do more to advance peace, reconciliation and tolerance in Israel, particularly when upsetting things are being done in Israel in their name.

Read the full letter by clicking here

Click on the center of the image to expand to full screen.
Move the slider at the top of the expanded screen to the right
to enlarge it further.

Donate here