***UPDATE: The Knesset passed this bill into law on March 6, 2017*** APN's statement condemning passage of the law is here.

The Israeli Knesset is poised to vote on on March 6, 2017 passed legislation that would will ban entry to Israel of foreigners who support or publicly engage in boycotts of either Israel or settlements.  APN’s backgrounder on the bill is here. Key points to understand:

• This legislation is aimed at a basic civil liberty: the freedom of expression. Boycotting and calling for boycotts are legitimate forms of peaceful, political expression protected in any democracy.
• Passage of this legislation will send a message to the Israeli public that legitimate political expression is verboten, further quashing dissent.
• Passage of this legislation will send a message to the world that the Israeli government is throwing out basic democratic norms in its effort to quash peaceful opposition and criticism of its policies.
• With this legislation, the Israeli government and Knesset are making common cause with the anti-democratic policies on the rise in the United States, including Trump Administration immigration policies vehemently opposed by the bulk of the U.S. Jewish community that are antithetical to progressive Jewish values.

 APN: "We fiercely reject and condemn this outrageous bill. Should it pass into law, it will be an ugly stain on Israel. It will add Israel to the club of nations that treat non-violent protest as a crime, and that irrationally believe that closing borders can prevent the spread of ideas. If this legislation passes into law, APN will challenge it."

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Whether or not they support boycotts of Israel (APN does not), American Jews should be appalled at the prospect of Israel adopting a policy that would be more at home in the old Soviet Union or North Korea than in a progressive democracy.

Whether or not they support boycotts of settlements (APN does), American Jews should be outraged and heartbroken at the prospect of seeing Israel becoming a nation that bars entry to people – including Jews and other supporters of Israel – for the “crime” of peacefully opposing Israeli policies.

***UPDATE: The final language of the bill has been significantly broadened, and now applies to “Any person who is not a citizen of Israel or holds a certification for permanent residency in the state of Israel shall not be given a residing certification or permit of any kind, if he, or the organization or agency for the sake of which he acts (she-hu po’el avuram), has knowingly published a public call to boycott the State of Israel, as defined in the Law to Prevent Harming the State of Israel through Boycott of 2011, or if he has committed to take part in such a boycott, as stated.”*** 

***UPDATE: The Knesset passed the "Entry Bill" into law on March 6, 2017***

APN's statement condemning passage of the law is here.

What is the “Entry Law”?

The so-called “Entry Law” currently under consideration is an amendment to Israel’s 1952 “Entry Law,” which determines who is allowed to enter into Israel and under what conditions.

The amendment stipulates that any person who is not an Israeli citizen will be denied entry into Israel if:

“if the person, or the organization or agency for the sake of which he acts, has knowingly publicized a call to boycott the state of Israel, as defined in the 2011 Law to Prevent Harming the State of Israel through Boycott, or (if that person) has pledged to participate in such a boycott.”[while granting Israel’s Interior Minister the prerogative to issue exceptional entry permits to boycotters “for special reasons.”]

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

This week, Alpher discusses issue areas where President Trump’s provocative agenda touches on Israel; the motives behind PM Netanyahu's tweet that said the wall Israel built along its border with Egypt is a good model for the wall Trump wants to build, at Mexican expense, along the US-Mexico border; Israel's decision to absorb 100 Syrian refugee children at a time when Trump’s executive order bans entry into the US of refugees and visa holders from Syria; the Iran factor; the settlements issue; and Netanyahu's chances of beating all of the accusations raised against him and remaining in power.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) is appalled at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's expression of support for President Trump's immigration policies. APN calls on Netanyahu to stay out of America's heated debate on immigration, and to take into consideration the impact that statements on issues like this have on Israel's relations with broad, key segments of the American public and with the vast majority of American Jews.

The nomination of David Friedman to be the next ambassador of the United States to Israel has stirred a fierce debate, focused primarily on Friedman’s well-documented bombastic rhetoric and his views on settlements, the occupation, and the Palestinians — views that are at odds with decades of bipartisan U.S. policy.

As the Senate gets ready to consider Friedman’s nomination, what has been largely overlooked is the fact that, based on his own very clear and public record, Friedman is by any objective standard disqualified from serving as America’s diplomatic envoy to any country, and especially to Israel.

News from Peace Now:

Americans for Peace Now (APN) is alarmed by a series of West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements-related measures that the Government of Israel is taking, or has indicated it intends to take, in the wake of the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

APN warns President Trump that acquiescing to such measures would send a dangerous message of weakness to the region and the world, right at the outset of his tenure in the White House. It would signal to America's allies and adversaries alike that this new president lacks the ability or the interest to recognize and defend core U.S. national security interests in the Middle East. It would announce to the world that on a critical issues like this – on which U.S. policies reverberate across the globe – the Trump Administration cannot or will not stand up to pressure from a narrow constituency of zealots and ideologues who prioritize an ideological, messianic Middle East agenda over national security and best interests of both the American people and Israel.

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

This week, Alpher discusses what we can say at such an early stage regarding Trump and Israel; the inauguration speech; Trump's pledge that his son-in-law will tackle the peace process and that his administration will move the US embassy to Jerusalem; and where “alternative facts” enter the US-Israel picture.

Israel is innovating new products that will help the developing world and isolated areas gain access to fresh produce and water, sustainable energy, and inexpensive traditional housing.

Israel is innovating new ways to deny millions of people basic civil rights; subjecting them to regular violence and intimidation, undermining their ability to be economically self sufficient, and preventing them from building housing, schools, and other necessities.

Over Christmas break I spent two weeks in Israel with my wife and our kids, aged 13 and 9. It was my eighth visit and their first. We saw both of these Israels, up close and personal.

It is not shocking to learn that a country contains multitudes. The good and the bad often exist side by side, each an authentic representation of a nation’s values. It is true in the United States. It is true in France. It is true in Israel.

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This statement will be sent out to the media on Friday morning, shortly before inauguration:

Under normal circumstances, Americans for Peace Now (APN) would today be welcoming the inauguration of the new U.S. president, wishing him success and urging him to take action toward peace between Israel and her neighbors. Today’s circumstances are not normal.

Donald Trump, both as a candidate and as President-elect, has said that he would like to broker the “ultimate deal” between Israelis and Palestinians. But this potentially encouraging sentiment has been overshadowed – trumped, as it were – by a series of alarming actions and statements that send a very different message.