Trump the peacemaker? Peace Now activist ponders the possibility

After seventeen years at Americans for Peace Now, our longtime director of policy and government relations, Lara Friedman, is moving on to become the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), an important member in the community of Washington-based groups striving for peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.

Over the past two decades, Lara – perhaps more than anyone else – has defined APN, its footprint in DC and beyond, its mission and its role. Today, she is one of the leading US experts on all things relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is recognized as such worldwide.

Thankfully, we are not losing Lara. As she likes to point out, she is moving only several city blocks away. She will still post her invaluable weekly Legislative Roundups on our web site and keep sending them to her long list of subscribers. We are confident that Lara will further tighten the already robust cooperation between APN and FMEP.

This week, Lara sent out a heartfelt message to our Board of Directors, saying: "(…) it has been an honor, a privilege, and a joy to be part of APN these many years. I am immeasurably proud of this organization and its work. And while leave-taking is bittersweet, I take comfort in knowing that APN will continue to be the most principled, powerful American Jewish voice working for peace and security for a democratic, progressive Israel."

We are very proud of Lara. We’re deeply grateful for all she has done for APN and for our cause.

In recognition of Lara’s immense accomplishments, with APN and for APN, please make a tax-deductible donation for Americans for Peace Now.

One of the things I like the most about “The Moth,” the radio/podcast storytelling program, is how successful it is at cutting through the cynicism and snark that characterize our discourse, particularly here in DC, and touching one’s heart.

In pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace, too, we could use less scorn, less debate and vitriol, and more listening, more empathy, more heart-to-heart interaction.

This is the impetus behind "The Dove: Stories Amidst Conflict." Presented by Americans for Peace Now, The Dove is a storytelling event about Israeli-Palestinian peace, in which storytellers focus on hope and prospects for reconciliation. On Thursday, April 6th in Washington, DC, The Dove will feature myself and others, who as journalists have experienced and covered this relationship on the ground – both the good and the bad – and who will accentuate hope for peace through their stories.

We have no illusions. We know that stories told live in DC have little impact on actions taken – or not taken – on the eastern side of the Mediterranean. But we also know that relations between Jews and Arabs can be different, and that empathetic interaction between people can contribute to change.

I hope you will join us for an insightful, inspiring evening. And who knows, maybe sooner rather than later, a Middle Eastern dove may flap its wings in Jerusalem, where Israelis and Palestinians could sit down together to tell stories that bring them closer to mutual understanding, reconciliation, and peace.

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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 Hamas' accusation that the Mossad assassinated a senior militant Friday in the heart of Gaza City; whether the killing could lead to escalation and possibly a new conflict with Hamas in Gaza; if Israeli involvement in the killing would reflect a more aggressive deterrent policy; the application of this deterrent policy on Israel's northern fronts; and the dangers of this more aggressive Israeli policy.

The U.S. Senate today confirmed, by a very narrow margin, the nomination of David Friedman to be America’s ambassador to Israel. 

Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly opposed Friedman’s confirmation and worked hard to thwart it.

Today (March 22, 2017) the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) published its data on construction starts for 2016. According to the ICBS, during 2016 2,630 housing construction starts took place in West Bank settlements. This is a 40% (39.6%) increase compared to 2015 (1,901).

Former Mossad Chief Tamir Pardo today joined a slew of Israeli Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs who lambaste the Israeli government for not taking he initiative to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Pardo spoke today at the Netanya Academic College. Here are some quotes from is speech, translated from the Hebrew original: 

"The Jewish State has one existential threat. It's a time bomb that is ticking all the time and has been ticking for some time. We have chosen to bury our heads in the sand. Deep in the sand. To feed ourselves with alternative facts and escape reality while creating various external threats.

When government officials visit Israel and seek the truth about West Bank settlements, they go to one source: Peace Now’s Settlement Watch.

Last week, UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson did just that. While on an official visit to Israel and the Occupied Territories, Johnson met with Peace Now for a briefing on settlements. Lior Amihai, head of Settlement Watch, explained the extent to which settlements damage prospects for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel’s new Entry Law is actually much worse than we originally thought.

It turns out that its final language is even more draconian than the text published in the media when the law was adopted. The new language uses a much broader definition of who would be subject to denial of entry into Israel. It seems that right before it was brought to a final vote someone changed the language of the bill to include anyone who acts “for the sake of” an organization that calls for boycotts (rather than people who “represent” such organizations).  

Peace Now reports:

Last night, Channel 2 News reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu intends to argue to American officials that the new settlement for the Amona outpost evacuees should not be considered as such. Yet based on its proposed location, the new settlement, often referred to as “Geulat Zion,” cannot be considered as anything but a new settlement. Geulat Zion is located approximately 2.5 kilometers east of Shilo, on an empty hilltop, and beyond the settlement’s jurisdiction.