Danny Seidemann: Jerusalem more divided than ever

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Jerusalem expert Danny Seidemann spoke with APN on August 11, 2014, to describe the impact of the Gaza war on Jewish-Arab relations in Jerusalem. "Hatred has been personalized and intensified to an unprecedented level," he said. "Today, Jerusalem is more divided than ever. The virtual borders are impenetrable." 

 

 

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APN Urges Israel, US: Peace Talks Now with Legitimate Palestinian Interlocutors

With official representatives of Israel and Hamas indirectly negotiating a ceasefire agreement in Cairo today, Americans for Peace Now (APN) is strongly urging the government of Israel, the Obama administration, and all stakeholders in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts to bring the PLO and the Palestinian Authority – the sole legitimate representatives of the Palestinians – back into a final-status peace negotiations process.

APN's President and CEO Debra DeLee said: "It's time to pivot from war to real, credible peacemaking. Everyone knows what such peacemaking requires, including U.S. leadership that is prepared to hold both parties accountable for their actions. The only one viable way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a two-state solution – Israel and Palestine, each living in recognized borders in peace and security. The only legitimate interlocutor for negotiating such a settlement on behalf of the Palestinians is the PLO, headed by Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority. Furthermore, having signed a reconciliation agreement with Hamas earlier this year, the PLO is well-positioned to negotiate on behalf of all the Palestinians, to make hard decisions around the negotiating table, and to deliver when time comes to implement a peace agreement."

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Tisha B'Av: "In all moments, seek peace."

Rabbi Bradley Artson

Tisha B'Av (the 9th of Av), which is observed beginning the evening of August 4th this year, is a fast day commemorating the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. It is considered the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.

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NY Times: "Start with Gaza" by Roger Cohen

Roger_Cohen_ThumbnailThe Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a ritualistic obscenity. It offends the conscience of humankind.

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Tom Friedman's NY Times Column: "How This War Ends"

August 2, 2014

RAMALLAH, West Bank — I HAD held off coming to Israel, hoping the situation in Gaza would clarify — not in terms of what’s happening, but how it might end in a stable way.

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Amos Oz: Gaza war is Lose-lose Situation for Israel

The following interview with Amos Oz, a co-founder of Israel's Peace Now movement and an icon of Israel's peace movement, was published in the English edition of the German Deutsche Welle

Oz: 'Lose-lose situation for Israel'

30 July, 2014

Israel's ground offensive against Gaza is excessive, Israeli writer Amos Oz tells DW. But he also criticizes Hamas' strategy, in which both Israeli and Palestinian victims boost the organization's standing in Gaza.

Amoz Oz: I would like to begin the interview in a very unusual way: by presenting one or two questions to your readers and listeners. May I do that?

Deutsche Welle: Go ahead!

Question 1: What would you do if your neighbor across the street sits down on the balcony, puts his little boy on his lap and starts shooting machine gun fire into your nursery?

Question 2: What would you do if your neighbor across the street digs a tunnel from his nursery to your nursery in order to blow up your home or in order to kidnap your family?

With these two questions I pass the interview to you.

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walzerListen to APN briefing call from Monday, August 4.  

Walzer, a longtime member of APN's Board of Directors, is America's leading expert on ethics in wartime, and one of America's foremost political philosophers. He is the author of the iconic Just and Unjust Wars, a practical analysis of the Just War doctrine, professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey, the co-editor of Dissent, and contributing editor to the New Republic, where he published a new analysis of the ethical dilemmas of the Israel-Hamas war

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APN helped me find my voice

Hannah Ehlers

Last semester, Ori Nir, APN’s Director of Communications and Public Engagement, came to American University to speak, and it was a jam-packed event. Some students came for the free pizza, but everyone stayed for Ori’s intelligent, open, and engaging conversation on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. That was when I knew I had to intern for APN.

Donate Today

Interning this summer with APN has given me invaluable tools to continue being a leader on campus and in general, and has taught me how to effectively do my part to work for peace. It is imperative that APN is able to continue their powerful campus outreach and internship programs. Please support APN’s efforts to empower the next leaders of the Jewish community and the country. I hope to raise $5,000 to help APN do this. At this time of chaos and violence, it is especially important that APN has the resources it needs to continue reaching out to young students and leaders who envision a brighter future. With APN’s help, we will work to make that future a reality.

Sincerely,
Hannah Ehlers
Summer Intern, 2014
Americans for Peace Now

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PAST ACTION - Tell Secretary Kerry: Yes to a Gaza-Israel ceasefire

kerry320x265Update: this action, now closed, ran from July-August 2014. 

The current devastating round of Gaza-Israel fighting shows no signs of ending, with both Israel and Hamas apparently viewing the conflict in increasingly zero-sum terms. While there have been fitful attempts at short-term humanitarian “pauses” in the fighting, it is clear that now, more than ever, Israelis and Palestinians alike urgently need outside help to find an off-ramp from the destruction, fear, and anger that has taken over their lives. Secretary of State Kerry and President Obama understand this, which is why they have been working to achieve a ceasefire. In doing so, they are acting as true friends of Israel and its citizens.

Tell Secretary Kerry: I Stand With You in Seeking a Gaza-Israel Ceasefire.

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APN: Ceasefire, Pivot to Diplomacy -- Now!

Americans for Peace Now (APN) today repeated its call for an immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.  APN condemned the criticism coming from senior Israeli officials and Knesset members targeting Secretary of State Kerry and President Obama for their efforts to find a way to end the fighting.  Israelis and Palestinians alike urgently need an off-ramp from the destruction, fear, and anger that has taken over their lives. 
 
Secretary Kerry and President Obama deserve credit, not scorn, for acting as true friends of Israel by trying to find such an off-ramp. A mutually-agreed ceasefire will, by definition, have to deliver something to both sides.  Even if some concerns about a ceasefire proposal have merit, publicly suggesting that the Obama Administration has “betrayed” Israel by seeking to craft a ceasefire proposal that takes this fact into account are contemptible, dishonest, and do not serve Israel’s best interests. 
 

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