Following claims by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran is violating the terms of the multilateral deal designed to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons, Americans for Peace Now insists that diplomacy, inspections, and verification are more vital now than ever. If anything, Netanyahu’s revelations regarding the history of Iran’s nuclear program highlight how essential the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is, providing the international community with a tool to curb Iran’s ambitions to build nuclear weapons.

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 the dynamics between Israel and the Eritrean/Sudanese asylum seekers, and between Israel and the Gazan refugees; the legal and moral issues in the African asylum seeker crisis; Tom Friedman's quote in the NYT:"How can Israel turn them away? But how can Israel take them all, which will only invite more, and the supply is now endless?"; how Israel is responding differently than Europe to issues with African migrants and refugees; why the confrontation with Gaza is escalating even though the numbers of dead and wounded Palestinians are decreasing from week to week; other mid-May events; and the Iranian threat from Syria.

Lag B’omer is coming – the 33rd day between Pesach and Shavuot, a day traditionally for throwing off mourning and instead celebrating with music, weddings and bonfires. Lag B’omer is a minor holiday that not many American Jews are aware of. Paradoxically, Palestinians in the West Bank town of Hebron have it circled on their calendars.

It has become a Lag B'omer custom of some Jewish settlers in Hebron to vandalize and loot Palestinian property for wood with which to build bonfires. And unlike the Israeli military authority, which regularly shuts down the West Bank during Jewish holidays to minimize the possibility of a terrorist attack, the Palestinians don’t have the means to protect their communities come Lag B'omer.

Support APN and help fight back against extremist "price tag" attacks.

As Jews and friends of Israel, we recognize the dread of an approaching holiday. Those closures during Passover and other holidays are Israel’s response to horrific terrorist attacks like the suicide bombing by Hamas of a seder at a Netanya hotel in 2002. The attack killed 30 Jews and wounded 140. A similar attack was perpetrated in 2006, killing 11 and wounding 60 at another Passover seder. A number of years have passed since an attack like this has occurred, but the threat remains.

Still, we can’t leave unremarked this twisted Lag B'omer practice of terrorizing Palestinians on a day dedicated to joy and relief. Preying on Palestinians has become so routine that it is no longer newsworthy. But this can’t be the way of Jewish “celebration”: breaking into Palestinian shops and homes, damaging and looting them. And these can’t be the actions of God-fearing Jews – terrorizing Palestinian and Israel Arab towns by torching cars, slashing tires, and spray painting Stars of David and racist slogans, as was done as recently as a week ago.

Washington, DC – Americans for Peace Now is deeply disappointed in the decision of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to recommend favorably Mike Pompeo to become Secretary of State in a narrow party-line vote.

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 the main challenges Israel faces on its seventieth birthday: war, Gaza, peace, and the nature of the state.

In April 2018, the six living former directors of the Mossad -- Israel's spy agency -- were interviewed by Yedioth Achronoth.  A key theme was their belief in the imperative of the two-state solution for Israel, and their call for diplomacy with the Palestinians. 

Debra DeLee, Debra Shushan, MK Merav Michaeli, Nidal Fuqaha, and Lara Friedman discuss the formalization of annexation.  Americans for Peace Now's panel discussion at J Street's National Conference April 15, 2018.

Israeli author David Grossman was the keynote speaker at the April 17th 2018  joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial service sponsored by the Parents Circle-Families Forum and Combatants for Peace. Following is a translation of his speech: 

Dear friends, good evening.

There has been a lot of noise and commotion surrounding our ceremony, but we do not forget that more than anything, this is a ceremony of memory and communing. The noise, even if it is present, is outside us now, because at the heart of this evening there is a profound quiet, the quiet of the void created by loss.

My family and I lost Uri in the war, a sweet, smart and funny young man. Even now, nearly twelve years later, it is difficult for me to speak about him publicly.

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 the US-led attack against chemical warfare targets in Syria.

As organizations within the Jewish community, we stand together to reject Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s baseless and ugly attack on the New Israel Fund (NIF).