By Tim Mathew

Introduction

For many individuals, the practice of and faith in a religion gives meaning to life. The majority of people worldwide do identify with a religion, evidenced by a 2010 study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, which found that approximately 84% of the world identifies with a religious group. 1 Religion helps its followers interpret events that occur in their daily lives, and is the lens through which they see the world. Yet, this very essential factor of religious belief that leads to an individual’s perspective is sometimes overlooked and can be seen as something that should be kept private – something that is untouchable, unspeakable, controversial – the third rail.

Introducing our first editorial cartoon!  

Starting this week, APN will be running these cartoons about every other week.

Cartoons have been a hot topic recently because of their power to incite and provoke. We will never be gratuitous with this form of expression—but we do plan to use this medium to incite action and to provoke thought. As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words. This is our aim: to make people think and to act for peace.

We hope you like them and we hope you like the first one, aptly named: “Messiah complex.”   

On February 17, 2015, APN hosted Amir Tibon, the diplomatic correspondent of Israel's news site Walla for a briefing call on Israel's upcoming elections. A month before the elections, Tibon gave an eye-opening review of Israel's electoral arena, spoke about the way in which Prime Minister Netanyahu's push to speak to Congress about Iran is playing in Israel, and about the way in which various issues are playing in the campaign. He also reviewed various post-election scenarios, and predicted that Benjamin Netanyahu, if he's called on to form the next government, would strive to form a national unity government with the Zionist Camp's Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni.

Translation by Elise Shazar.

I would like to talk this morning about dreams that Israel should forget about as quickly as possible. I will start with the most important thing, that which is, in my opinion, a matter of life and death for Israel: if two states don't come into existence now and fast, there will be one state. If one state comes into existence, it will be an Arab one from the sea to the Jordan River. If an Arab state is established, I do not envy our children and grandchildren.

I said an Arab state from the sea to the Jordan River, I did not say a bi-national state.

With one month to go, Netanyahu’s election manipulations

This week, Alpher discusses Netanyahu's real reasons for speaking to Congress next month; the damage the Congress speech initiative has done to US-Israel relations; whether Israel has any serious objective criticism of US policy regarding Iran, or whether it is all election hype and politics; and what message was PM Netanyahu sending the electorate last week, when he attempted to manipulate the Israel Prize for literature and weaken “leftist” trends?

APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday February 15, 2015
 

Number of the day:

1/3.
Portion of children under age 16 who were killed in a review of 247 Israeli airstrikes on homes in the Gaza Strip during Operation Protective Edge.**