On August 1 2017, APN hosted Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann for a briefing call on the impact of the recent crisis surrounding Jerusalem’s Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Quote of the Day #1:
"Once a year, on a prescribed date, they suddenly weep over “baseless hatred.” They recite
poetry, they philosophize and write columns. For the rest of the time the pillar of fire that goes
before the camp is back, to sow hatred – against Arabs, the left, human rights groups, the media, the
High Court of Justice, and recently even the heads of the security services – and the rest toe the line
or remain silent.”
—Haaretz journalist Uri Misgav laments the religious-nationalist right-wing's annual 'crying game' on Tisha B'Av.*
Quote of the Day #2:
“It's easy for policy makers to look at [the study’s results] and say, we can coast because the public isn’t demanding that we move ahead on this. But if they were to show political leadership, if they had vision, they could get the public to support them.”
--Pollster and analyst, Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, explained that a drop in support for a two-state solution can be changed.*
—Haaretz journalist Uri Misgav laments the religious-nationalist right-wing's annual 'crying game' on Tisha B'Av.*
Quote of the Day #2:
“It's easy for policy makers to look at [the study’s results] and say, we can coast because the public isn’t demanding that we move ahead on this. But if they were to show political leadership, if they had vision, they could get the public to support them.”
--Pollster and analyst, Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, explained that a drop in support for a two-state solution can be changed.*
APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
You Must Be Kidding #1:
The directors of a Jewish overnight camp in the Pacific Northwest thought it might be nice to welcome their Palestinian guests by flying the Palestinian flag. Little were they prepared for the backlash to their gesture of goodwill.**
You Must Be Kidding #2:
Yesterday, the average number of racist remarks by Israelis on Internet social networks was was 563 per hour. The Hatred Report was just released.***
The directors of a Jewish overnight camp in the Pacific Northwest thought it might be nice to welcome their Palestinian guests by flying the Palestinian flag. Little were they prepared for the backlash to their gesture of goodwill.**
You Must Be Kidding #2:
Yesterday, the average number of racist remarks by Israelis on Internet social networks was was 563 per hour. The Hatred Report was just released.***
Americans for Peace Now is pleased to announce the hiring of Dr. Debra Shushan as its Director of Policy and Government Relations, effective August 1, 2017.
Dr. Shushan will be responsible for developing and formulating APN’s policy positions. She will also direct and run APN’s relations with the US government’s executive branch, as well as with Congress.
Barbara Green has been a volunteer for Americans for Peace Now for many years. She lives in
Washington, DC.
Commemorating as it does the destruction of both the first and second temples in Jerusalem, Tisha b'Av is problematic for secular American Jews. The destruction of the central institution of pre-rabbinic Judaism, first by the Babylonians in 587 BCE, and then by the Romans in 70 CE, both followed by exile from the land, were indeed terrible events in our history. Among observant Jews, Tisha B’Av has also been, and remains, a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for a number of other historic tragedies which happened to fall during the late summer.
But it does make me wonder, what does the recitation of this litany do to our sense of self? Does it tell us we're victims and must always stay strong? We must behave toward our enemies the way they treated us?
News from Peace Now:
The Shamasne family, who resides in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, recently received an
eviction order from the Execution Office of Israel's Enforcement and Collection Authority. The order states
that the family must evict its home by August 9th 2017, or else it will be forcibly evicted.
This order follows a
High Court verdict from August 2013, in which the court rejected the Shamasne family appeal, and ruled that
family members are not considered protected tenants and that therefore, their landlords are allowed to evict them.
The landlords are settlers who had managed to gain ownership over the property on the basis of the right of return
to Jews only (see more information below).
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 aftermath of the Temple Mount and Jordanian crises, the resulting tension, and Netanyahu's territorial exchange proposal.
APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday, July 31, 2017
Quote of the day:
"..The feeling that beats among most Israelis is that a terrorist's sentence is death, period. It
does not matter when, it does not matter how, it does not matter why. An Arab who stabbed a soldier should
die, even if that is not exactly according to the rules, morals, or orders of the IDF...In this world,
which is not perfect, a decent defense minister who raises a black flag over this deed on the moral level
is erased from the political map. In this world, a prime minister who is supposed to chart the way, aligns
himself with the masses and abandons the IDF, its commanders and fighters alone in the public
arena."
--From the incisive Op-Ed by senior Maariv political commentator, Ben Caspit, following the rejection of the appeal of the soldier Elor Azaria, 21, who executed an incapacitated Palestinian assailant, Abed al-Fatah al-Sharif, 21.*
--From the incisive Op-Ed by senior Maariv political commentator, Ben Caspit, following the rejection of the appeal of the soldier Elor Azaria, 21, who executed an incapacitated Palestinian assailant, Abed al-Fatah al-Sharif, 21.*
APN/Peace Now in the News: July 22-29, 2017
Huffington Post: July 26, 2017
"Read The Small Print. How Nearly 200 Congressmen Could’ve Signed On A Bill
Criminalizing Free Speech And Legitimizing Israel’s Occupation Of Palestine," in her op-ed, Marilyn Katz
cites APN among organizations opposing a bill criminalizing free speech.
Jerusalem Post: July 26, 2017
"Netanyahu bars IDF from evacuating settlers from Hebron home," Peace Now says
settlers' takeover of Hebron home is illegal and provocative.
i24: July 26, 2017
"Netanyahu says settlers should not be removed from disputed Hebron house," Peace
Now says to the Israeli government: remove settlers from Hebron building.
Times of Israel: July 25, 2017
"In protest move, 100 settlers occupy contested Hebron home," Peace Now urges
evacuation of Hebron settlers from disputed home.
Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived