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.
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.
Traditionally, during the Seder, Jews spill some of the wine from our cups while
reading the ten plagues, symbolizing reduced joy at the suffering of others. This week, in honor of the upcoming
holiday, APN is offering suggestions of modern plagues to add to the traditional list: plagues that affect
Israel today.
From the very first plague posted Monday, regarding the expansion of settlements, there
has been an outcry from extremists who claim that APN is comparing other Jews or settlers to a plague. It is not
surprising that these extremists would want to misdirect attention from the very real obstacle that settlement
expansion poses to establishing peace for Israel, and to the very real suffering that settlement growth will
cause to both Israelis and Palestinians who long for a peaceful future and an end to occupation. However,
contrary to the right's assertions, APN does not refer to settlers as a "plague" and has never done so. Our
problem is not with the settlers as a collective but with the Israeli government's policy of expanding
settlements. We believe that it is severely threatening Israel's future as a democracy and a Jewish
state.
Each year at Passover, Jews read this line in the haggadah, "In every generation a person is obligated to see
themselves as if they had left Egypt." Why? Because each of us should understand that in our generation, just
as in our ancestors' generation, the status quo is not inevitable. Societies founded on inequality, on
domination of others, on ruling those who do not wish to be ruled cannot, in the arc of history, last. In every
generation there is a wrong to be righted. Today, it is in our hands to right it.
This year, you can add flavor to your seder by sharing this thoughtful reflection by Rabbi Toba Spitzer.
Rabbi Spitzer, who is the recipient of Americans for Peace Now’s 2015 Elizabeth Wyner Mark Peace Award, has
graciously contributed our 14th haggadah insert. In it, she reminds us of the costs for freedom, and asks
us to make an honest reckoning, an acknowledgment, and perhaps a commitment to make some kind of repair to
those who are affected by the privileges we enjoy.
Since 2001, Americans for Peace Now has asked rabbis from the extended APN family to contribute reflections
on the haggadah: that story which has for centuries been understood as the archetype of liberation. Many of
us have made these reflections a permanent part of our seder - we hope you will, too. You can find them
here.
May we all enjoy a sweet and liberating Passover,
Debra DeLee
President and CEO,
Americans for Peace Now
Submitted by Rabbi Toba Spitzer (2015)
Rabbi Spitzer is recipient of Americans for Peace Now’s 2015 Elizabeth Wyner Mark Peace Award
To be read just before the recitation of the ten plagues.
The essence of Passover is a promise for a better future through the transformation of an entire people from
slavery to freedom. This idea has sustained us, the Jewish people, for centuries.
In the wake of Israel’s recent elections we must find a way to cope with the policies of Israel’s re-elected prime
minister which offer us little promise and hope.
This week, Alpher discusses how significant is it that Saudi Arabia has put together a ten-nation Sunni coalition
to fight Iran-backed Zaidi-Shiite forces in Yemen; how does one explain Saudi and Egyptian alarm, given that Yemen
is a poor, dysfunctional backwater parts of which are virtually unconquerable due to geography; what is unusual
about the participation of Turkey, Qatar and Sudan in the Saudi-led coalition; if a joint Arab army is a serious
proposition; what the Saudi-led war effort has accomplished thus far and what strategic challenges remain; if a
Saudi-Iranian proxy war could spread elsewhere in the Middle East; if there is really solid evidence of Iranian
participation on the side of the Houthis in Yemen; the Israeli angle to the Yemen struggle; and if there is a
Palestinian angle.
Rabbi Alana Suskin spoke about the prospects for peace following Israel's elections, the work of Peace Now in
Israel and what the challenges are at this time, and what, as American Jews, our role can be in helping Israel
achieve peace and security with her neighbors
There were only a handful of Israeli settlers beyond the Green Line in 1968, when Lyndon Johnson
became the first American president to express opposition to settlements in the West Bank. Now, despite protest
from every subsequent administration, there are more than 350,000 Israelis living in the West Bank and 200,000
in East Jerusalem. President Johnson’s prediction that settlements would “prejudice a peace settlement” has come
true, as the dramatic rise of the settler movement—in both numbers and political power—has complicated repeated
efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
In this panel at J Street's 2015 conference, APN's Lara Friedman, together with other experts on American and
European policy explored what steps can be taken to halt further settlement growth and entrenchment, and discuss
the political and policy implications of American and European initiatives—from discouragement of Israeli
settlement subsidies to the labeling or boycott of settlement goods.
Watch to see Lara Friedman, together with Michael Cohen of the Boston Globe and Alon Sachar of the US State
Department, with Steve Krubiner, J Street's Chief of staff, moderating. Aviva Meyer, Deputy Chair of
APN, introduces the participants. Session begins at 10:35.