News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
--Insightful Op-Ed by Yonatan Yavin in today's Yedioth. Well-worth reading.*
-- David Sarna Galdi writes in Haaretz+ that comparing Israel today with Germany of the '30's is not about precise factual parallels, but about the expression of fear from seeing one's country creeping toward belligerent nationalism.**
You Must Be Kidding:
TV SKETCH: The Ugandan soldier who killed Yoni Netanyahu at Entebbe becomes a hero in his country, much like Yoni Netanyahu became a hero in Israel, and his brother is elected to serve as prime minister of Uganda thanks, in part, to his brother's popularity.
--Last night on his Channel 10 show, 'Good Night,' audacious TV host Assaf Harel dared to point his satire at Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. [Israel Hayom said Harel “mocked” Yoni’s death, but more correctly he mocked Binyamin’s rise. – OH] ***
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APN's Lara Friedman at NetRoots Nation: What Does it Mean to be Progressive on Israel and Palestine?
APN's Lara Friedman, director of policy and government relations for Americans for Peace Now, joined a panel with Joseph Berman, Heather Hurlburt, and Yousef Munayyer, and moderated by Mitchell Plitnick on Saturday July 16th, at 9am, to have a constructive conversation on what it means to be progressive on Israel and Palestine
In the Spring of 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed himself as a partisan Republican in a way that he hadn’t publicly before. This created the space for “mainstream” progressivism regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Put another way, it became more comfortable to identify as an American whose progressive values apply to United States politics as well as the situation in the Middle East. But what does that mean? From Israeli settlement expansion to the BDS movement to the peace process to human rights, the progressive space has paved several paths toward the common goal of peace.
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
Today, (Wednesday, 6th of July) the Israeli Ministry of Housing issued a tender for the construction
of 42 housing units in Kiryat Arba. The tender was issued today but bids can only be submitted at the 31st of
July. This means that the Government wanted to publish the tender quickly, before the paperwork is completed, in
order to make the connection between the deadly attacks against Israelis last week and the promotion of the
construction in Kiryat Arba.
Peace Now: "Construction in settlements is not an answer to terrorism; it is not going to
save the life of any Israeli but rather strengthen the extremists on both sides. The real answer to terrorism is
ending the occupation and reaching a negotiated peace agreement. Unfortunately, Israeli citizens continue to pay
the price of the extreme right wing government's policies."
"I must say that Bibi's falling asleep during the ceremony is one of the most human things I've seen him do since he's been in power."
--Israelis reacted on social media networks to video of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu snoozing in historic Entebbe memorial ceremony in Uganda.**
You Must Be Kidding:
Hotel Representative: I see you are coming to our hotel on Thursday.
Jewish Customer: Yes.
Hotel Representative: Now on Thursday, I don’t know if you know, but that's the end of Ramadan.
Jewish Customer: Okay.
Hotel Representative: And the population that will be at the hotel will be mostly from the sector [i.e. Arab – OH].
Jewish Customer: Ah...
Hotel Representative: Israeli citizens, but from the sector.
Jewish Customer: Okay.
Hotel Representative: Now we are giving you the option, if you want to change the date, you may do so...at no charge.
--Conversation between Fattal Hotel Chain representatives and the Jewish customers with reservations this weekend at the Magic Sunrise Hotel in Eilat.**
For tthe third in a series of ads from APN, this week's message is from Rabbi Michael Melchior, an internationally renowned Jewish leader, thinker and activist. Rabbi Melchior is a former Minister of Social and Diaspora Affairs, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and a former member of Knesset for Meimad. For his outstanding leadership in The Knesset, Rabbi Melchior was awarded with the prestigious Knight of Quality Governance Award and the Green Globe Award of Israel's National Coalition of Environmental NGOs.
The Rabbi of a vibrant community in Talpiyot, Jerusalem,and the Chief Rabbi of Norway, he is a recipient of The Norwegian Award For Tolerance & Bridge Building in the Nobel Institute, The Church Of England’s Coventry International Prize For Peace & Reconciliation, the Liebhaber Prize For The Promotion Of Religious Tolerance And Cultural Pluralism, and the 2015 Annual Peace Prize for the FRRME (Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East).
You can support additional ads by donating here.
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 Israel and Turkey's formula for reconciliation and normalizing of their relations and what this entails; if it is a somewhat one-sided deal: Israel seems to have achieved much more than Turkey; what are the Turkish weaknesses that Netanyahu leveraged; the Israel-Egypt-Turkey triangle; if there is a broad Israeli regional strategy at work here signaled by last week's deal with Turkey and this week's expansion of Israel’s ties with the countries of East Africa; and if Ankara’s quest to become the effective regional patron of Hamas in Gaza isn't potentially a problem for Israel.
--Education Minister Naftali Bennett slams the extraordinary approval by the Prime Minister to build homes for Arabs in the strategic location of 'Givat Hamatos,' which would allow Arab contiguity from Bethlehem to southern Arab neighborhoods that are over the Green Line.**
From Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
Following the deadly attacks against Israelis last week, it has been reported that the government is advancing plans for 800 housing units in Maale Adumim and in East Jerusalem. It is not clear at this point exactly which plans are being promoted and the promotion of 560 housing units in Ma'ale Adumim, for instance, seems to be made up of several smaller plans. In addition, it has been reported that the government will open a tender for 42 housing units in Kiryat Arba. For more information on this tender and the Kiryat Arba population see below.
Peace Now: Settlement construction is endangering both the possibility for peace and two states and the security of Israeli citizens. New housing units in the settlements will not prevent the next victims but rather strengthen the extremists on both sides. The real answer to terror is ending the occupation and reaching a negotiated agreement. Meanwhile, Israeli citizens will continue to pay the price of the extreme right wing government's policies.