Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin is a public opinion expert, international political and strategic consultant, scholar and writer. In this episode, she talks about Israeli public opinion regarding West Bank annexation and about a new study she authored which offers a set of recommendations for a practical solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, known as the Palestinian right of return.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday June 1, 2020
Quotes of the day:“He didn’t even know there was such a thing as Jews and Arabs
in this country.”
--Dr. Hatem Awiwi, the cousin of Eyad
Al-Hallaq, the autistic Palestinian young man who was shot dead in cold blood by Israeli Border Police.*
“Today it comes down to this: what are you going to do about it? When actions are taken that threaten the
viability of two states living side by side in peace and security, what do you say? What do you
do?"
--In an Op-Ed in Haaretz, President of Americans for Peace Now, Hadar Susskind, examines why the “mainstream"
Jewish organizations, who all tout their support of a two-state solution, are silent about Israel’s
intention to annex Palestinian Territories on July 1st.**
Ha'aretz Link
Israel's leaders are sacrificing democracy and human rights on the altar of ethno-nationalism. And all those U.S. Jewish groups claiming to back a two state solution have suddenly lost their voice?
by Hadar Susskind, APN President and CEO
There was a time in our history when standing up in support of a
two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a bold stance for a Jewish community leader or
organization to take. Those who did so were often criticized and even ostracized.
Following that there was a period of time in which our community’s center and center/right organizations came around, and they too declared their support for two states as the only effective way to end the conflict. Today "mainstream" Jewish organizations all tout their support of a two-state solution.
But whether or not you support two-states is the 1990’s question. Today it comes down to this: what are you going to do about it? When actions are taken that threaten the viability of two states living side by side in peace and security, what do you say? What do you do?
APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday May 31, 2020
Quote of the day:
Quote of the day:
"Border Police officers claimed they believed he was holding a gun – there was none – and when they
called out for him to stop, he started running. The penalty was death. The Border Police, the most brutal of
all units, knows no other way to overpower a fleeing autistic Palestinian except to execute
him."
--Haaretz's Gideon Levy writes about the killing by two Israeli Border Policemen of Eyad Hallaq, a 32-year-old autistic man, who was on his way to the Elwyn Center for disabled people.*
--Haaretz's Gideon Levy writes about the killing by two Israeli Border Policemen of Eyad Hallaq, a 32-year-old autistic man, who was on his way to the Elwyn Center for disabled people.*
You Must Be Kidding:
"The shooting in Jerusalem, as horrible as it was, did not take place on racial background, but in the context of a nationalist conflict, which unfortunately creates terror. Just this week there were those who told us an intifada was the natural and desired result of all the talk about extending sovereignty. That is the reason for police presence in Jerusalem, and that is the background for the tension."
--'Israel Hayom' commentator Eithan Orkibi writes a whole Op-Ed saying declaring is no parallel of racism between the killing by police of George Floyd in Minneapolis and of Eyad Hallaq in Jerusalem, yet the only actual refute is the paragraph above, which fails to explain why there cannot be racism toward an occupied people.**
1. Bills, Resolutions, & Letters
2.
Hearings
3. On the Record
Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
It is illegal
By unilaterally annexing the West Bank, Israel would be violating international law, and might suffer punitive consequences.
International law experts, including prominent Israeli experts, are all but unanimous in considering the West Bank to be occupied territory, and in endorsing the view that international law prohibits the acquisition of territory by force, and extending the sovereignty of the occupying state onto that territory (which is the definition of annexation). This principle has been adopted and reiterated in the United Nations charter and in numerous UN resolutions, and affirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Other countries have violated this principle and suffered severe international consequences, whether military action, diplomatic pressure, or economic sanctions. Indonesia, Morocco, Iraq and Russia are examples. Israel is already facing legal proceedings in the ICJ for violating these laws by establishing settlements in the West Bank. If Israel officially annexes these settlements, it will make the case against it at the ICJ much stronger.
In addition to violating international law, Israel would be violating a binding U.S.-brokered agreement that it has signed with the PLO in 1995, the “Oslo II” agreement, which states (Article 31-7) that “neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations.”
APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday May 27, 2020
NOTE: News Nosh will be off tomorrow, Thursday, May 31st, and back Sunday, May 31st.
You Must Be Kidding:
NOTE: News Nosh will be off tomorrow, Thursday, May 31st, and back Sunday, May 31st.
You Must Be Kidding:
"Let's see what will happen in a year and a half. We'll see whether he'll learn from the best and come prepared for the role."
— Transportation Minister Miri Regev said that Defense Minister Benny Gantz is not ready to be prime minister and that he should learn from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is standing trial on suspicions of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.**
United Nations (UN) officials have recently called for the release of all children in detention in Israel, including all Palestinian children. The UN estimates that there were 194 Palestinian children detained by Israeli authorities at the end of March. Most of these children are yet to be charged and are being held while waiting for trial, which may be delayed greatly due to the effects of COVID-19.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which both Israel and Palestine are members, states in Article 37 that detention should only be used as a ‘last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time’. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has recently released guidelines for states during the COVID-19 pandemic. Article 8 of this document recommends that children be released from all forms of detention, and if that is not possible, then allowed to maintain regular contact with family. Palestinian children in Israel cannot maintain regular contact with their parents as crossing the Green Line into Israel has become even more difficult due to Coronavirus restrictions.
APN's daily news review from Israel - Tuesday May 26, 2020
Quote of the day:
"If you discount the disgraceful events of Sunday outside the courtroom at Jerusalem District Court, where
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stood trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, it was not entirely a bad
day. After all, Sunday's events proved that we do live in a law-abiding country, where we can find a modicum of
equality before the law for the rich as much as for the poor, the weak as much as the strong."
-- Former politician and journalist, Shelly Yachimovich, wrote in an interesting
Op-Ed in Yedioth.*
APN's daily news review from Israel - Monday May 25, 2020
Quote of the day:
"It seems to me that even those who expected drama yesterday did not think that was what would
happen."
--Senior Yedioth political commentator Sima Kadmon writes in a sharp Op-Ed about the
opening of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's trial in which he accused the police and attorney general of
fabricating the cases against him.*