By Rabbi Lev Meirowitz Nelson

As we begin the Torah anew, we are reminded once again of the power of names. God calls the light “Day” and the darkness “Night” (Gen. 1:5); God then hands over this divine prerogative to Adam, having him name all the animals and, ultimately, Eve (2:19-23). Two parshiyot later, an angel instructs Hagar what to name her son, she responds by naming God (16:11,13), and God changes Abram and Sarai’s names (17:5,15). Names, clearly, have power.

Have you ever seen a film and thought, "If only everyone could see that! People would start to think differently..."

Recently, you may have received a letter from Dror Moreh, the award-winning Israeli filmmaker of such a film, called The Gatekeepers. Moreh wrote this letter for Americans for Peace Now, the U.S. sister organization of Israel's peace movement, Shalom Achshav. This documentary film features all six living former leaders of Israel's Shin Bet security service, each of whom advocates a position they share with Shalom Achshav: that Israel must reach a negotiated peace agreement with a Palestinian partner. The letter was very successful - we were flooded with messages from people who wanted to see this incredibly important film and support the work of APN and Shalom Achshav.

Peace Now Director General Yariv Oppenheimer briefed APN on October 13 on the recent confrontation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, on settlement activity in East Jerusalem, and on Peace Now's role as Israel's gatekeeper of the two-state solution vision. Note: Due to technical difficulties, the first few minutes of the briefing have been cut off.

For a holiday change of pace, Alpher discusses some recent books about the Israel-Arab dispute, starting with the two best sellers by Shavit and Klein Halevy.

APN's daily news review from Israel

Friday October 10, 2014
 

Quote of the day:

"The Israeli government is living a contradiction. In public, when it faces public opinion and rightist voters, it curses the Palestinian reconciliation government. But under the counter, quietly, it cooperates with it."
--Haaretz reporter Barak Ravid on yesterday's Palestinian unity government cabinet meeting - the first held in Gaza since Hamas got power in the Strip in 2007.**

Please join us for a briefing call with Yariv Oppenheimer, the Director of Israel’s Peace Now movement, on Monday, October 13, at 11:00 AM Eastern Time.