Interview with Settlement Watch Director Shabtay Bendet in Times of Israel: January 12, 2018

"A former settler is bent on dismantling outposts he once toiled to establish"

Ex-radical Lubavitcher Shabtay Bendet has left old ideologies behind, but the new Peace Now staffer is still grappling with the life he created on the other side of the fence.

Shabtay Bendet was on hand at the Civil Administration’s Beit El headquarters in October when the Defense Ministry body authorized the West Bank settlement of Rehelim’s first-ever building plan. Had it happened two decades earlier, it would likely have been a momentous occasion for the 45-year-old, who, as one of the founders of Rehelim — the West Bank’s first illegal outpost — facilitated the covert transport of trailers to the hilltop community south of Nablus in the dead of night. Read More >

Algemeiner (JNS story): January 14, 2018
"Major Jewish Organizations Back Israel’s BDS Entry Ban, Barred Groups Call It ‘Bullying’," APN opposes list of organizations banned from entering Israel due to their support of BDS.

Times of Israel: January 14, 2018
"Settlement watchdog head resigns to run for Meretz leadership,"

Ynet News: January 14, 2018
"Outgoing Peace Now director announces bid for Meretz leadership," Avi Buskila, the former Director General of Peace Now, leaves to run in the Meretz leadership race.

Arutz 7: January 14, 2018
"Peace Now CEO resigns in bid for Meretz director position"

Jerusalem Post: January 14, 2018
"Peace Now head running for Meretz leadership" 

Jordan Times: January 13, 2018
"Jordan, world countries reject Israeli settlement plans," Peace Now data quoted in story on settlement construction.

Haaretz: January 12, 2018
"EU, U.K., Germany, and France Condemn Israeli Plan to Build Hundreds of Settlement Homes"

Boston Globe (AP story): January 12, 2018
"Group: Israel OKs more construction in West Bank settlements," Peace Now: Israel's government OKs more construction in West Bank settlements.

The Independent: January 12, 2018
"Israel approves more than 1,100 new settlement homes in occupied West Bank," Peace Now: Israel approves more than 1,100 new settlement homes in occupied West.

The Australian (AFP story): January 12, 2018
"Israel approves more than 1100 new West Bank settlement homes"

Reuters: January 11, 2018
"Israel approves hundreds of new settlement homes: NGO"

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 – Israel/Palestine
2. Bills, Resolutions & Letters – Iran
3. Bills, Resolutions & Letters – Other Mideast Issues
4. Hearings
5. On the Record re: Trump’s Jerusalem Move & Aftermath
6. On the Record re: Iran – protests & more
7. On the Record re: Palestinians
8. On the Record re: Everything Else Mideast-related

On Thursday January 11, 2018, APN hosted leading Palestinian political scholar and pollster Khalil Shikaki for a briefing call on current challenges facing the Palestinians and on trends in Palestinian public opinion.

Dr. Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah and a professor of political science, discussed the state of Palestinian affairs following President Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem.

Dr. Shikaki has also been a senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University since 2005. His research focuses on the peace process, Palestinian state building, public opinion, transition to democracy, and the impact of domestic Palestinian politics on the peace process.

Listen here

Washington, DC -- In the strongest possible terms, Americans for Peace Now condemns the murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, which occurred yesterday in the West Bank outside Nablus. According to news reports in Israeli media, Shevach was shot by an unidentified attacker who fired on his vehicle from a passing car. We note that Hamas’s military wing, while not taking responsibility for the shooting, praised the killing as “heroic” and a sign of future attacks to come. Islamic Jihad also welcomed the attack.

With great concern, we are following developments in the wake of Shevach’s killing. Israel’s right-wing politicians are shamelessly exploiting this deplorable act with calls for settlement construction, making clear that they intend to use settlement building in the Occupied Territories as a means to punish Palestinians. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has also ordered his agency to examine the possibility of legalizing Havat Gilad – the illegal outpost near Nablus where Shevach lived, parts of which are built on private Palestinian land.

APN's Debra Shushan in Haaretz: December 24, 2017

"The Israeli 'Left' Is Gaslighting U.S. Jews Into Support for Trump on Jerusalem"

If President Donald Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem had a silver lining, for me it is this: many progressive, pro-Israel American Jews saw Trump’s gambit as the narrowly self-serving, reckless move it was, and rejected it.

For this reason, I read with great interest the recent Haaretz op-ed by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, a former president of the Union for Reform Judaism (U.S. Liberal Jews Read It Wrong. Trump’s Call on Jerusalem Was Good for the Peace Camp). Read More >

i24 News: January 10, 2018
"300 US Jewish clergy oppose razing West Bank village in letter to Netanyahu," APN co-sponsors rabbis' letter to Netanyahu opposing razing of West Bank village.

Al-Monitor: January 4, 2018
"Trump Jerusalem decision opens Israeli expansionism floodgates," APN press release quoted in a story on repercussions of Trump's Jerusalem statement.

New York Times: December 6, 2017
"Praise and Alarm from American Jews Over Trump's Jerusalem Move," APN's Debra DeLee quoted in a story about US Jewish reactions to Trump's move on Jerusalem. 

ABC (Australia): December 7, 2017
"'The worst thing he could have done': Middle East peace advocate," APN's Debra Shushan interviewed on Australian radio and TV regarding Trump's Jerusalem decisions. Listen to the radio interview here.

Cleveland Jewish News (JTA story): December 4, 2017
"Jared Kushner talks about his peace plan, and leaves everyone guessing," APN criticizes the administration for not offering a conflict-ending horizon to Israelis and Palestinians.