Washington, DC – Israel’s general election results are
a disappointment for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans. They will undoubtedly make our objective even harder to
attain.
Pre-election polls and the overall atmosphere in Israel preceding the
elections provided us with hope for a government that would embrace the policies and values that we support.
It now seems like Israel’s next government will provide us with more of the same, if
not worse.
Moments like this are not new to us. Yes, they disappoint us, but we do not succumb to the disappointment. We know
that our fight to secure peace for Israel and its neighbors is a long-term fight. We care too deeply about
Israel’s future as a democracy and a Jewish state to cede the struggle over Israel’s future character to the
bullies and the bigots, the racists and the ultra-nationalists. We know that the only way for Israel to be loyal to
the vision of its founders, to be both a secure, morally sound Jewish state and a democracy, is to end the
occupation and reach a peace settlement with the Palestinians and the Arab world. Together with our Israeli sister
organization, Peace Now, we will therefore redouble our efforts to advance this objective, serving as a bulwark
against the rejectionists and the zealots, true to our core values.
This week, Alpher discusses what happened in these elections*; what the next government is likely to look like; how Netanyahu engineered such a dramatic come-from-behind victory, despite the polls giving Labor (Zionist Camp) an advantage almost until election day; whether there are winners here, besides Netanyahu; how Herzog and Lapid are likely to respond to their setbacks, and what “losers” on the right who are nevertheless likely to join the coalition are going to do; how to explain the phenomenon of Israel's seeming to be set on a right-wing course, with no end in sight; and assuming Netanyahu now forms a fairly cohesive right-wing coalition, what are the main challenges it will face.
--Haaretz's Gideon Levy examines what is in the mind of the Israeli voters who elected Binyamin Netanyahu.**
--Former Israesli prime minister Ehud Barak says on a panel the day before elections.**
On March 13, 2015, APN's Ori Nir was interviewed on Warren Olney's NPR nationally syndicated show,
To the Point, to discuss Israel's upcoming elections.
--Hamas activist in Gaza, Rawhi Mushtaha answers a Twitter Q&A question from Aaron Shiloh, a doctor from Philadelphia, about whether falafel and hummus were served in the Gaza tunnels.**
New York Times - March 12, 2015
Major NYT expose on Netanyahu's settlement policy uses Peace Now as chief source and quotes Peace Now's Hagit
Ofran
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/12/world/middleeast/netanyahu-west-bank-settlements-israel-election.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=3
Washington Post - March 6, 2015
Magazine piece profile and interview with APN Board Member Sara Ehman (and others)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/three-audacious-women-before-audacious-was-in/2015/02/26/9dd26308-9c1f-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.html
Washington Jewish Week - March 11, 2015
Interview with Yossi Alpher, analyst for APN
http://washingtonjewishweek.com/20345/strategic-analysts-hard-look-at-israels-periphery/
Washington Jewish Week - March 13, 2015
APN urges Hillel's president to reconsider canceling his J Street appearance
http://washingtonjewishweek.com/20268/hillels-fingerhut-cancels-j-street-appearance/
Israeli Elections: Initial
Analysis
Briefing call Wednesday, March
18th, 12 noon, Eastern Time
With Israeli Security Expert Yossi Alpher
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.
Listen to the analysis HERE.