Written before the elections, our Passover letter noted how wealthy extremists like Sheldon Adelson support programs based on their right-wing values. We ask in our letter how those of us who support peace can do the same. It's time to step up.

In case you missed it, I include our passover message below, as well as a link to Israeli security expert Yossi Alpher's warning against complacency. You do not need to be a billionaire to make a difference; you only need to act!

Mark Rosenblum
Founder, APN

For pro-peace American Jews and Israelis, billionaire Sheldon Adelson is the object of both fear and scorn.

He’s certainly an easy target. Crass and richer than Croesus, he seems to get a blank check for irresponsible remarks, such as calling the Palestinians “an invented people” and advocating a preemptive nuclear strike against Iran. He has made it his mission to thwart a peace deal that would bring a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Update: this action, now closed, ran in April 2015. 

• On April 2, the Obama Administration and its P5+1 partners announced an historic framework agreement with Iran, aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
• Since then, opponents of Iran diplomacy and a deal – both in the United States and Israel – have doubled down on efforts to use Congress to scuttle diplomacy and undermine the possibility of getting to, and implementing, a final agreement with Iran.
• Senators are being pressured to support S. 615 – and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to pass this bill on April 14.  In its current form, the bill includes a number of poison pill provisions that will undermine diplomacy and likely kill a deal.  These include provisions to delay implementation of a deal, legislate a congressional veto of a deal, strip the president of existing waiver authorities, and impose conditions for U.S. adherence to a deal that are unrelated to Iran’s nuclear program.
• Senators are also being urged to support S. 269, which seeks to legislate new Iran sanctions that would be triggered if no deal with Iran is reached.
• Both bills are entirely unnecessary.  Passage of either bill risks undermining the ongoing diplomacy with the P5+1 and killing a deal – leaving the U.S. isolated and bringing the U.S. closer to the point where it will be forced to choose between a nuclear-armed Iran and another Middle East war.

Tell your Senators: Give diplomacy every possible chance to work – Reject S. 269 & S. 615

For his entire career – including three previous terms in office as Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently acted to subvert Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and undermine the two-state solution. He has done so through the promotion of settlements, the laundering of illegal outposts, and various other policies that have expanded and deepened the occupation across the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Many hoped that Netanyahu’s verbal embrace of the two-state solution in his 2009 Bar-Ilan speech marked a turning point, and that his rhetorical nods to the Arab Peace Initiative signaled an openness to a broader agreement with the Arab world. Netanyahu’s actions and policies, however, have consistently belied his words, demonstrating unequivocally that he remains committed not to achieving peace, but to implementing an expansionist, “Greater Israel” agenda.

LA Jewish Journal - March 25, 2015
APN Board Member Dick Gunther: Why I continue to support peace
http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/why_i_continue_to_support_peace

Los Angeles Times - March 22, 2015
Peace Now's Hagit Ofran: Pressure will be imperative to curtail next government's settlement construction intentions
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-israeli-settlements-election-20150322-story.html#page=1

This week, Alpher discusses the positive aspects of the agreement announced in Lausanne last week from Israel’s standpoint; Netanyahu's response; what the agreement’s drawbacks are where Israel can make a case for a tougher approach; if the Iran agreement could affect Netanyahu’s coalition calculations; and is Netanyahu more likely now to be pressured by Obama and Kerry on the Palestinian issue.

Statement from APN President and CEO Debra DeLee:

“We welcome the framework agreement reached yesterday between the P5 +1 countries and Iran to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  We congratulate President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, and their team of experts and negotiators on this achievement. The initial success of this intense and prolonged diplomatic effort demonstrates that when there is sufficient political will, negotiations can work, and can walk the world back from the brink of war.

“Anyone who is concerned about the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran should view this agreement as a source of encouragement.  The understanding reached between the parties sets out in high resolution the parameters of a final agreement to be reached in the coming months, the implementation of which will make Israel, the region and the world more secure by verifiably rolling back Iran’s nuclear program and strictly limiting this program in the future.

In ongoing conflict zones, art has been used as a mechanism to bridge societal gaps and facilitate communication between separated communities and amongst a broken society. This collection of writings and art intends to show the reader that there are innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict, experiencing similar war traumas and desires for peace. It is easy to take one side and hold steady and unwavering, while it is much harder to put yourselves in the shoes of the “other”. This publication intends to put the reader in the shoes of every writer; of Palestinians, of Israelis, of all those who have experienced trauma as a result of this ongoing and long-standing conflict. How have you been affected by the conflict in Israel & the Palestinian territories? Would you like your voice to be heard? You are invited to submit your entry of a poem, short story, and/or visual art  (150 -500 words) to be considered for publication in Art for Peace in the Middle East, a collection of short stories, poems, and visual art that side by side will show the human side of the conflict.

This is the first edition of Art for Peace and is being organized by Taylor Rockoff, a graduate student of International Development at American University in Washington DC. Her concentration is education and conflict resolution. As an American Jew, her studies of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has motivated her to create this project, which she hopes will allow the voices of Palestinians and Israelis to be heard and understood as neighbors rather than enemies. This will be published online and subsequently published in print, used in events focusing on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and peace-building in DC and abroad. It will be used as an educational mechanism for those involved and vested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from abroad, whether by religious affiliation or political motivation, to understand the conflict from a human rather than political perspective.