Washington, DC - Washington, DC - Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes news that Secretary of State John Kerry will in the coming days present Israeli and Palestinian leaders with an outline for a peace deal. APN urges Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to seriously engage with Kerry's initiative, in order to achieve a breakthrough for peace.
On December 30th, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said, "The settlements are not part of Israel's security, they are hurting it."
APN and Peace Now in Israel need your help to continue the fight against settlements. Please support this work.
For years, Israel and the American Jewish community have been sounding the alarm over Iran's nuclear program. This alarm is wholly justified, given the Iranian regime's record in the nuclear arena, the views and behavior of many of its officials over the years, and its support of international terrorism.
This week, Alpher discusses what Kerry is doing differently from his many predecessors who have tried and failed to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, how bad the escalating Palestinian violence is, whether there is escalating Israeli opposition to a deal brokered by Kerry, the interaction between Israeli prisoner release and the new settlement construction and the third release of pre-Oslo Palestinian terrorists and whether Pollard fits in somewhere, and whether he has any predictions for the Middle East in 2014.
I recently joined APN's board as I feel strongly that this is a pivotal moment for the peace movement in Israel and for Israel's future. As we usher in 2014, we are halfway through the time allotted for this round of peace negotiations. Soon we will know if President Obama and Secretary Kerry were successful in getting Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to agree on the outlines for a future peace deal.
We at APN know a thing or two about Christmas. We know it is the holiday that celebrates peace, and as you know, "peace" is our middle name. On this Christmas day, Americans for Peace Now embraces our Christian supporters and sends them our warm wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, a year of peace and light.
This week, Alpher gives an interim assessment of ramifications for the region on the three year anniversary since the outbreak of the Arab revolutions and where this leaves the United States and Israel, discusses whether Sunday's terrorist bus-bombing in Israel is part of a new escalation, and comments on the latest Snowden revelations regarding American eavesdropping on senior Israeli leaders' cell phones and emails.
APN today issued the following statement on the introduction of new Iran sanctions legislation in the Senate on Thursday:
"We condemn in the strongest terms the introduction of new Iran sanctions legislation in the Senate (S. 1881) by Senators Menendez (D-NJ), Kirk (R-IL) and a 25 of their colleagues. We urge Senate leaders to refuse to move this ill-timed and highly problematic legislation forward. We likewise call on Senators from both parties to refuse to cosponsor it, and Senators who have already done so to recognize their error and retract their sponsorship.
Update: this action, now closed, ran from December 2013-January 2014.
We knew the fight to keep Iran-focused diplomacy alive wasn't over - and we were right. Yesterday, Senators Menendez (D-NJ), Kirk (R-IL) and a group of 25 colleagues introduced a new and highly problematic Iran sanctions bill in the Senate - S. 1881, ironically named the "Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013." This bill, introduced just before the Senate breaks for the year, will be the focal point of anti-diplomacy efforts for the coming period.