10Ori Nir
Vice President for Public Affairs

Ori Nir (he/him) joined Americans for Peace Now following a 24-year career in journalism, which was mainly focused on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Ori covered Palestinian affairs for Ha'aretz Daily, Israel's leading newspaper (1986-1990; 1994-1996) during the early years of the first intifada and through the implementation of the first phases of the Oslo Accords. Later, he covered Israel's Arab minority for Ha'aretz, (2000 to July 2002). Ori also covered the diplomatic efforts to advance Arab-Israeli peace. As the Washington correspondent of Ha'aretz (1990-1994) and of The Forward, America's largest and most influential independent national Jewish weekly newspaper, he focused on US Mideast policy. Ori earned a Master's degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where he also taught journalism (1997-2000). His Bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern history and Arabic literature is from Jerusalem's Hebrew University. Ori is fluent in Hebrew and Arabic. 

Hadar Susskind
President and CEO

Hadar Susskind is widely acknowledged as one of the Jewish community’s leading progressive advocacy voices and brings more than twenty years of experience working in Washington DC on both foreign and domestic policy. In that role he has built strong relationships with members of Congress, administration officials, and progressive partners and allies from across the spectrum of American political life.

Hadar most recently served as Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the Council on Foundations, and prior to that as the Director of Bend the Arc Jewish Action and Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC. Before joining Bend the Arc, Hadar was Vice President of the Tides Foundation. Hadar also served as Vice President for Policy and Strategy at J Street and Vice President and Washington Director for the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA). Previously, Hadar held positions at a number of other Jewish organizations including the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and the Israel Policy Forum.

Hadar currently serves on the boards of Ameinu and the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center. He has also served on the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Initiatives Task Force on the Environment, as well as the Board of Directors of the Coalition on Human Needs, the Public Policy Committee of Independent Sector and the Leadership Council of Nonprofit VOTE.

Hadar is a graduate of the University of Maryland and holds the rank of Sergeant First Class in the Israel Defense Forces. 

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.

 Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived.

1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2. Hearings & Markups
3. On the Record

Shameless plugs:

Over the past two weeks FMEP produced a number of fantastic podcasts featuring Palestinian perspectives – from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and inside the Green Line – on current events. These include:

• 5/23: “Palestinians Rising: From Jerusalem to Umm al-Fahm“, ft. Fayrouz Sharqawi of Grassroots Al-Quds
• 5/20: “More than History: 1917, 1936, & 2021,“ ft. Sherene Seikaly,  Assoc. Prof. of History at the UCSB
• 5/20: “Palestinians Strike,“ ft. Salem Barahmeh, ED of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD)
• 5/18: “Decolonizing the Narrative,” ft. Nooran Alhamdan (MEI)
• 5/18: “One people, one pain,” ft. Widad Assaf, Human Rights Defenders Fund (HRDF)
• 5/16: “On the Organized Violence against Palestinian Citizens of Israel,“ ft. Sawsan Zaher, Adalah
• 5/13: “The Nakba & the Current Crisis”, ft. Dr. Carol Daniel Kasbari (MEI)

Dear Senator Risch:

 We write with a great sense of urgency to respectfully request that you release your hold on tens of millions of dollars in appropriated humanitarian aid that is so desperately needed to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands civilians suffering in Gaza and the West Bank in the wake of  the horrific violence that took place in the last several weeks. 

Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe.  Buildings lie in rubble. Access to clean water and electricity is sporadic or nonexistent. Food insecurity is spreading. COVID-19 is running rampant and thousands of people have been displaced and rendered homeless. The magnitude of the crisis is staggering.

As the ceasefire takes hold, the United States can help relieve the suffering of countless innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of Hamas terror rockets and Israeli aerial bombardment. The assistance aid notified by the State Department is to be provided in full accordance with U.S. law. It is administered and overseen by our government and by trusted and vetted partners on the ground. Secretary Antony Blinken has made clear that Hamas and other terrorist groups will not benefit from our humanitarian assistance.

Rendering humanitarian assistance to the besieged Palestinian population serves American values as well as our diplomatic and security interests. Please act with dispatch to release these funds. Thank you for your attention.

Very truly yours,

Jamie Raskin (Member of Congress)

These past few weeks have been full of sorrow over the deaths and injuries of innocent people in Israel and in Gaza. They have been full of fear for friends, family and colleagues who have huddled in bomb shelters and stairwells, as well as for those who lacked even that level of protection. But sorrow and fear does not mean inaction.

We have been at the center of the political debate over this latest round of violence, and have worked to ensure that, as we pushed for a ceasefire, we also made sure that elected officials understood why the missiles and bombs started flying. We hosted briefings, bringing Israeli and Palestinian voices directly to members of Congress and their key staff. We worked with members of Congress as they sought to navigate this difficult moment, helping to draft and gather support for many of the Congressional letters and resolutions that called for ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and for addressing the root causes of the conflict.

When the ceasefire was announced we were relieved to see the attacks end. However, we know that it is but a pause, at best a return to a status-quo that is neither sustainable nor acceptable.

In conversations with Administration officials and members of Congress I have repeated this message:

Without efforts to address the root causes of the conflict and the ills that perpetuate it, cross-border violence and inter-communal violence such as we witnessed in the past few weeks will become routine.

We cannot allow this to become routine. That is why we need you to help APN do the work we do best.

Americans for Peace Now opposes Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s (R-PA) resolution, which absurdly characterizes comments critical of Israeli policies by a fellow member of the House of Representative’s as “antisemitic.”  

Reschenthaler is introducing a congressional resolution to condemn Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) for saying that because Israel is more powerful than its Palestinian adversaries in the Gaza Strip, it bears more responsibility for maintaining peace in the region. Jayapal, who spoke in an interview with CNN, also said that as a tool to induce a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Biden administration should hold a US arms sale to Israel.  

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.