New York Times - March 2, 2014
APN's Lara Friedman debates Daniel Gordis on settlements boycott (Room for Debate)
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/03/02/is-a-settlement-boycott-best-for-israel

Haaretz - March 7, 2014
APN's Ori Nir op-ed: Time for US Jewish establishment to open the conversation on peace for Israel
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.578456

Business Insider (Global Post item) - March 4, 2014
Yossi Alpher's Q&A liberally quoted on impact of Ukraine crisis on the Middle East
http://www.businessinsider.com/noga-tarnopolsky-ukraine-complicating-middle-east-issues-2014-3

Arutz 7 - March 3, 2014
Peace Now dismayed at 2013 settlement construction surge
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/178067#.UxVLKhRdWN0

Salem News.com - March 3, 2014
APN press release on 2013 settlement construction data reprinted
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/march032014/apn-neti.php

In Washington this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel sounded two different notes about peace negotiations with the Palestinians, which are nearing a critical juncture. In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby, he enthusiastically advocated a peace agreement as a means to improve Israel’s ties with its Arab neighbors and “catapult the region forward” on issues like health, energy and education.

But at other moments, a more familiar skepticism was apparent. He demanded that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state with “no excuses, no delays.” In response, a senior Palestinian official, Nabil Shaath, accused Mr. Netanyahu of putting an end to peace talks because Palestinians have already rejected that designation. (Palestinians recognize Israel as a state, but not as a Jewish state because they believe that that would undercut the rights of Palestinian refugees.) And, on Monday, at the White House, Mr. Netanyahu asserted that while Israel has worked hard to advance peace, the Palestinians have not.

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How will the U.S. Jewish establishment, such as AIPAC, confront the prospect of peace for Israel when it is mired in an echo chamber of self-righteous axioms and simplistic thinking?

At the entrance to the enormous hall at the Washington Convention Center, where some 14,000 chairs were lined up for AIPAC’s conference participants, stood a television reporter holding a microphone, seeking interviewees.

"How’s it going?" I asked. “Not so good,” he replied. “I was sent to do a story on what AIPAC members have to say about prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace and nobody is willing to talk about it. All they want to talk about is Iran.”

He was right. Hard-line statements on Iran elicited long standing ovations, time after time, while hopeful comments on the possibility of peace were all but ignored. It got so bad that two prominent Israelis – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and legendary Israeli high-tech entrepreneur Yossi Vardi – had to urge the armada of pro-Israel lobbyists to applaud comments they made about peace. And when Howard Kohr, AIPAC’s executive director of eighteen years, addressed the crowd with a speech that typically sets the policy agenda for the conference, all he spoke about was Iran.

Secretary of State John Kerry, in one of his strongest statements for Israeli-Palestinian peace so far, tonight addressed the conservative American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and said that the United States’ most advanced technology and the Pentagon’s know-how can guarantee the security that Israel needs to make peace with the Palestinians.

Prospects for the success of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were downplayed by Prime Minister Netanyahu at his photo-op with President Obama following their meeting today. Here is what Netanyahu had to say about efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians:

• “Twenty years of peace process were marked by many Israeli steps for peace but we got suicide bombers and rockets in return.”
• “It’s about time the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state – we have only been there for 4,000 years.”
• “The people of Israel expect me to stand strong against pressure and for the security of Israel.”

New poll shows that if the two-state solution collapses, U.S. public favors democracy over Jewishness.

By Shibley Telhami

Middle East leaders are beating a path to the White House's door. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Barack Obama on March 3, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will arrive on March 17 to discuss the U.S. administration's diplomatic effort to reach a two-state solution.

Although Secretary of State John Kerry has said that "failure is not an option" in these talks, the reality is that both Israelis and Palestinians assume that there is only a slim chance of finding a conflict-ending solution. The president himself put the odds at less than 50 percent. With the Obama administration's goal to reach a negotiated settlement set for the end of April, we could be witnessing the death of the two-state solution. A key, but often unasked, question is whether the American public even cares.

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