I’ll make it quick – I would rather have you read the letter below – but I do have news for
you, both bad and good.
The bad news: our beloved CEO Debra DeLee has retired from APN after 21 years.
The good news: APN will remain a vibrant important player working for you as a preeminent voice for a
two-state solution. And APN will continue speaking the truth in the New Year – as is our hallmark.
We will miss Debra dearly – she’s truly one of a kind. You can tell this by just
reading her letter below. But we must move on and persevere, and grassroots donations from supporters
like you are the foundation of our existence and efforts.
To honor Debra and APN, I am offering to double your donation of up to
$25,000 until the end of this month. It is with your help that our truths will continue to be heard.
Shanah tovah,
Jim Klutznick
Chair, APN Board of Directors
A
version of this essay also appeared in The Forward on August 29, 2018
By the time you receive this letter, I will have stepped down from my position as President and CEO of
Americans for Peace Now (APN), after serving in this capacity for 21 years. However, I’m writing this with six
weeks left in my tenure at APN, and I’m anxious to share my thoughts and feelings with you, this being
the last time I will have this forum through which to speak to you.
I was hoping to put into words the many feelings I’m experiencing at this time:
Gratitude: for having the honor to serve the dedicated and supportive APN Board, my talented APN
colleagues and you, our generous and committed supporters.
Pride: in the important work that APN does both here and in the Middle East.
Awe: at our colleagues in Shalom Achshav (Peace Now, the Israeli peace
movement) — many of them among the signers of the original officers’ letter establishing the organization in
1978 — who work tirelessly for a future that their children, grandchildren and those of their Palestinian
neighbors deserve.
Excitement: about new possibilities ahead.
But, sadly, I am also feeling rage. The targets of my rage are those who know right from wrong,
yet have chosen wrong for personal or political expedience.