Early in the summer, we wrote to you about the new map that APN is creating in partnership with our friends at Shalom Achshav. We’re taking this step because  maps are important. They tell us a story. And we believe that the story they tell should be true and reflect the reality on the ground.  Unfortunately, the official maps used in Israeli schools – as well as distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to synagogues, day schools, summer camps, and other Jewish institutions in the US – tell a false story and ignore the reality of territory, history, and the Occupation today.

Luckily, we are not alone in this effort. The city of Tel Aviv has decided to create a new map, one which places the Green Line squarely on the page and tells the true story of Israel and Palestine today. They are distributing the map to schools throughout their city and working to getting it to informal educators as well.

You can watch Chen Arieli, the Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv, talk about the passion that led her to develop this new map on an APN webinar here. And Be sure to read this important Haaretz article  about the maps.

That’s great news for Israel, but we need to make it happen here in the US as well. We are developing a similar project, a new map that shows the Green Line dividing sovereign Israel from the Occupied Territories and the settlements and their ever-growing encroachment into Palestinian lives and land they represent. But these maps aren’t just for us. We will deliver them to every member of Congress, send them to synagogues, Hillels, summer camps and Jewish Day Schools and anyone and everyone else who wants an honest picture of what is happening on the ground.

Too many organizations (and maps) would rather avoid difficult truths and are content to teach a one-sided history that they believe favors them. But at APN we tell the truth – about what’s really happening over the Green Line, around the Occupation, and how it affects the lives of all Israelis and all Palestinians.

Please support our work today, and help us tell the truth.

B' Shalom,

Hadar Susskind
President and CEO, Americans for Peace Now