Hear the recording of APN's May 22nd briefing call with Dr. Saeb Erekat:

West Bank Annexation: The Palestinian Leadership’s Perspective

Dr. Erekat is Secretary General of the PLO’s Executive Committee and served for many years as the Palestinian chief negotiator with Israel.

Hear him address the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations as a result of the Israeli government decision to annex large parts of the West Bank. Included was discussion on Tuesday's declaration by the Palestinian Authority that agreements with Israel and the US, including those that are security-related, would cease.

APN's daily news review from IsraelSunday May 17, 2020

Quote of the day:"I really don't get the your disregard for Jordan. Look at the Israeli citizen, right or left, he does not care about this peace. It is a strange indifference, as if the Israeli public takes us for granted, while Netanyahu acts disdainfully toward the Royal House."
--Jordanian Dr. Dureid Mahasana talked about the Israel-Jordan relationship through Jordanian eyes and about the Israeli plan for annexation of West Bank lands in an interview with Yedioth's Arab Affairs correspondent, Smadar Perry.*

The announcement comes as liberal pro-Israel groups mount a pressure campaign to influence Washington politicians to speak out against plans in Israel to annex parts of the West Bank. 

By RON KAMPEAS/JTA MAY 14, 2020

Americans for Peace Now, an influential group on the Jewish Left that was among the first to advocate for the two-state solution, is naming as its president Hadar Susskind, a veteran senior official of an array of Jewish groups. 

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.

APN's daily news review from Israel  - Thursday May 14, 2020

NOTE:  Americans for Peace Now (APN) is thrilled to announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Hadar Susskind as APN’s new President and CEO, effective tomorrow, Friday May 15th. Born in Israel and raised in the US, Hadar comes to APN after a rich, diverse career in Washington DC, advocating for peace, fighting for democracy, and championing social justice. Hadar joins APN during the most challenging threat posed to date to the two-state solution: annexation. Hadar will be responsible for leading the organization and charting new paths for it at a time of great challenges for APN’s mission.

Quote of the day:

"And finally, this is not murder. If Sgt. 1st Class Ben-Yigal was murdered, then 15-year-old Zeid Fadl Qasiya, who was shot to death by soldiers in the Al-Fawar refugee camp, was definitely murdered. If a rock-throwing terrorist is a murderer, then the fighter who shoots teenagers is also a murderer."
--Commentator Gideon Levy writes a sharp Op-Ed about the cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) has conducted its monthly ‘Israeli Voice Index.’ This index tells us a lot about Israeli opinion on COVID-19. There were 830 respondents to the survey and the questions were conducted in a mixture of Arabic and Hebrew. The respondents are a representative cross-section of Israeli society in terms of age, gender and ethnicity.

One interesting result from this investigation is that when asked how they would rank the government’s performance in handling the pandemic medically on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 10 (excellent), 29% of respondents rated it 10/10:

Washington, DC -- Americans for Peace Now (APN) is thrilled to announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Hadar Susskind as APN’s new President and CEO, effective May 15th.

Hadar will be responsible for leading the organization, charting new paths for it at a time of dire challenges for APN’s mission.

==============
Contact: Ori Nir |  onir@peacenow.org | 202-908-1317
==============

APN’s mission is to educate and persuade the American public and its leadership to support and adopt policies that will lead to comprehensive, durable, Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab peace, based on a two-state solution. Americans for Peace Now is the U.S. sister-organization of Israel’s peace movement Peace Now (Shalom Achshav).

APN’s Chair of the Board of Directors James Klutznick said:

“After a thorough and rigorous search process, APN’s Board of Directors is delighted that Hadar has agreed to join Americans for Peace Now as its President and CEO. Hadar has the experience, expertise and commitment to APN’s mission to further expand our organization’s reach and influence. He joins us as we face the most challenging threat posed to date to the two-state solution: annexation. The resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict on the basis of two sovereign and independent states, for two peoples, living side by side in peace and security, is in grave jeopardy. We feel fortunate to have attracted someone of Hadar’s caliber, track record and leadership abilities at this crucial time, and I look forward to working with him.”

Hadar comes to APN after a rich, diverse career in Washington DC, advocating for peace, fighting for democracy, and championing social justice. Among other positions he has held, Hadar was Senior Vice President of Government Relations at the Council on Foundations, Director of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Vice President of Policy and Strategy at J Street, and Vice President and Washington Director at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. He serves on the Board of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center and on the Board of the Labor Zionist organization Ameinu.

Born in Israel, Hadar grew up in the United States and volunteered to serve as a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Force. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two children.

Hadar Susskind said:

"I am honored to be taking up the mantle of leadership of Americans for Peace Now, an organization I have always closely followed and deeply valued. But it is not an easy time to do so. This is a moment when the entire world is at a crossroads. Governments, organizations and individuals must decide what sort of future we envision and what choices we will make to get us there. Like APN, I will always choose peace and I will always choose justice."

APN’s Board extends its deep gratitude to Aviva Meyer, the organization’s Vice Chair, for volunteering to serve as its acting CEO for these past two years. Aviva’s commitment and leadership, combined with her executive experience and skills, were invaluable in managing APN following the retirement of its former CEO, Debra DeLee.

The Israeli supreme court has been the focus of much media attention recently, most notably for giving the go-ahead to the new coalition government between Netanyahu and Gantz. This decision was undoubtedly a great disappointment and a blow to Israeli democracy, allowing a man with three charges of corruption to serve at the highest level of government. However, there have been some smaller human rights victories in the courts recently surrounding the coronavirus.