Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived
APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday, January 19, 2018
Quote of the day:
“Archaeologists have been digging in Jerusalem for 150 years and no one shrinks from saying
this is the palace of David, this is from one date or the other. But although carbon-14 dating has been around for a long time, almost no
one applied this method here.”
—Yuval Gadot, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University and one of the leaders of “Setting the Clock in the City of David,” a four-year project that will accurately radiocarbon-date the complex layers of ancient Jerusalem and answer questions about the historicity of the biblical account - including the incendiary issue of whether an ancient Israelite united monarchy under David and Solomon really did exist. Skeptics say that in some cases the dating and interpretation of ancient sites may have been twisted to fit the biblical narrative by scholars eager to prove religious texts right.
—Yuval Gadot, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University and one of the leaders of “Setting the Clock in the City of David,” a four-year project that will accurately radiocarbon-date the complex layers of ancient Jerusalem and answer questions about the historicity of the biblical account - including the incendiary issue of whether an ancient Israelite united monarchy under David and Solomon really did exist. Skeptics say that in some cases the dating and interpretation of ancient sites may have been twisted to fit the biblical narrative by scholars eager to prove religious texts right.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Quote of the day:
“Public funds are not supposed to be used for political needs. The political debate must
be conducted with equitable tools, not with one side getting public funds.”
—Hagit Ofran, Peace Now’s Settlement Watch director criticized the funneling of public funds to Regavim, a prominent right-wing organization.*
—Hagit Ofran, Peace Now’s Settlement Watch director criticized the funneling of public funds to Regavim, a prominent right-wing organization.*
Leading Palestinian pollster and scholar Khalil Shikaki, in a
conversation from his Ramallah office, reviewing key challenges facing Palestinians and their leaders, and
explaining the dwindling support among West Bank and Gaza Palestinians -- particularly the younger generation
-- for the creation of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state.
Listen to the full
episode
iTunes: apple.co/2tOwhOI
Google: bit.ly/2seYg8o
APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Quote of the day:
"Israelis have committed war crimes here and there; the Shin Bet was involved in the education
system in the Arab sector; Israel has treated its Arab citizens in a manner that doesn't dignify a
democratic state (and other civilians). If Israel commits acts that the courts in Israel or the world
would reject, it is appropriate for citizens of the state to know about this and decide whether it is
acceptable to them."
--Outgoing Chief Archivist of Israel's National Archives, Yaakov Lazovik, wrote in a scathing report that Israel is concealing embarrassing parts of its history under the guise of security.*
--Outgoing Chief Archivist of Israel's National Archives, Yaakov Lazovik, wrote in a scathing report that Israel is concealing embarrassing parts of its history under the guise of security.*
Reuters: "Israel approves hundreds of new settlement homes: NGO"
Peace Now's Hagit Ofran noted that many of the latest housing projects were slated for settlements deep inside the West Bank.
The Australian (from AFP): 'Israel approves more than 1100 new West Bank settlement homes' (subscription needed)
Peace Now said 6742 housing projects were approved in the settlements last year, the highest since 2013.
The Independent: "Israel approves more than 1,100 new settlement homes in occupied West Bank"
In a statement, the group (Peace Now) said: "The government is attempting to destroy the possibility of a two-state solution and the prospects of peace by building more and more in the settlements."
Boston Globe: "Group: Israel OKs more construction in West Bank settlements"
Ofran (of Peace Now) said the government is ‘‘trying to prevent the possibility for peace and a two-state solution.’’
Ha'aretz: "EU, U.K., Germany and France Condemn Israeli Plan to Build Hundreds of Settlement Homes"
Israeli anti-settlement Peace Now also denounced the 1,122 new settlement units which were approved this week.
Jordan Times: "Jordan, world countries reject Israeli settlement plans"
The Chairman of the PLO and its Central Council over the past couple of days nullified the Oslo Agreements, conditioned recognition of Israel on Israeli recognition of Palestinian sovereignty, shunned the Trump Administration as a peace broker, and announced they would seek further recognition in international fora.
The Palestinian Central Council (PCC) statement followed an inflammatory and unconstructive speech by Palestinian Authority President and PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to the Council in Ramallah on Sunday.
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.
This week, Alpher discusses the situation in Gaza; Abbas's aggressive speech at the Palestinian Central Council; Israel's reaction; talk about two potential American peace proposals; and the bottom line.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Quote of the Day #1:
“We are writing to you in the conviction that the time has come for a world-wide protest against
the organized inhumanity of the Government of the Union of South Africa…We have watched with great concern
the relentless pursuit of official racism (apartheid) by the South African Government. It has defied the
most elemental considerations of human decency in its treatment of African and Asian citizens, loosely
called non-whites…While there is time, we hope you will join us in this undertaking. We look forward to
your affirmative reply as indicated by your signature on the enclosed card.”
—Parts of a recently unearthed letter co-written in 1957 to Jewish philosopher Martin Buber by Martin Luther King Jr. asking him to join the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.*
Quote of the Day #2:
"When Israeli officers sanctimoniously warn that 95 percent of Gaza's water is unfit to drink, they ignore the original absurdity: Israel forces Gaza to make do with water from the aquifer located within its borders. This aquifer, which supplied water to some 300,000 people in 1950, is now supposed to supply the same amount to two million people. Its no wonder there is over-pumping and contamination by sewage and seawater."
--Haaretz journalist Amira Hass writes that the source of Gaza's economic and infrastructure problems, which Israel is warning about, is Israel.**
—Parts of a recently unearthed letter co-written in 1957 to Jewish philosopher Martin Buber by Martin Luther King Jr. asking him to join the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.*
Quote of the Day #2:
"When Israeli officers sanctimoniously warn that 95 percent of Gaza's water is unfit to drink, they ignore the original absurdity: Israel forces Gaza to make do with water from the aquifer located within its borders. This aquifer, which supplied water to some 300,000 people in 1950, is now supposed to supply the same amount to two million people. Its no wonder there is over-pumping and contamination by sewage and seawater."
--Haaretz journalist Amira Hass writes that the source of Gaza's economic and infrastructure problems, which Israel is warning about, is Israel.**
Americans for Peace Now joins its Israeli sister organization
Peace Now (Shalom Achshav), Israel’s preeminent peace movement, in bidding farewell to Avi Buskila, Peace
Now’s departing director general, who has decided to venture into politics and run for the leadership of the
progressive political party Meretz.