by MN State Rep. Frank Hornstein

Forty years ago today, in February 1983, I participated in a Jerusalem march and rally organized by Israel's Peace Now movement. The  purpose of the event was to call attention to an Israeli Commission of Inquiry’s findings that Palestinian civilians in Beirut's Sabra neighborhood and nearby Shatila refugee camp had been massacred by the Lebanese Phalangist militia on September 18, 1982. The area was under Israel's military control at the time.

The Commission concluded Israel's then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was not directly involved, but complicit in the killings. Peace Now was demanding the government implement the report's conclusion to remove Sharon from his cabinet position.

I joined the Peace Now contingent at dusk in Jerusalem's Zion Square, and we walked toward Israel's parliament building some two miles away. The event started peacefully, but as the march ascended the Ben Yehuda Street Pedestrian Mall, right wing counter protesters appeared. They punched, kicked, and tore placards from the marchers. Some chanted and sang "Sharon melech yisrael." A few feet from me was Meir Kahane, the racist leader of the virulently anti-Arab Kach movement. He was perched on the shoulders of one of his minions-fists in the air--and yelling epithets at the protesters.

To see photos from our protest at the Israeli Embassy on January 2, 2023: click HERE.

To see photos from our protest at the Israeli Embassy (cosponsored with the rest of the Progressive Israel Network) on February 3, 2023: click HERE.

To see photos from our protest with the rest of the Progressive Israel Network as well as UnXeptable on March 12, 2023, click HERE.

Photos from our February 3rd protest outside of the Israeli Embassy

Photos by Ori Nir.

Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived.

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.

Americans for Peace Now condemns the House vote to remove Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Speaker McCarthy’s claim that he did so on the basis that Representative Omar is “antisemitic” is both inaccurate and offensive. Criticizing Israeli policies and actions is not antisemitic. Antisemitism is a real and dangerous threat, and misrepresenting Congresswoman Omar’s statements does not advance the fight against antisemitism. Instead, this transparent attempt to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism to score cheap political points damages efforts to isolate and eradicate antisemitic speech. Targeting Omar has wide-ranging repercussions that go beyond congressional committee assignments. Representative Omar has been the target of disturbing and hateful Islamophobic attacks and threats, which could be further fueled by today’s House action against her.

Virginia has become ground zero in the state by state effort to penalize those who wish to exercise their constitutionally-protected freedom of speech by boycotting, or even just maintaining their right to boycott, the state of Israel. Any day now, the State House is expected to consider two more dangerous bills that would infringe on the right to free speech and academic freedom: HB1606 and HB1898. 

HB1606 – “IHRA Anti-Semitism; definition when term used in reference to discrimination”, is the latest in a series of cynical attempts across the country to co-opt the fight against antisemitism and use it instead as a weapon against free speech and to quash legitimate criticism of policies and actions of the Israeli government. Adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism is a prime example of how well-meaning attempts to fight antisemitism can be misappropriated. IHRA and its examples, while on the surface seemingly benign, have been used time and again to codify language that would allow for such weaponization.

Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived.

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.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) is horrified and outraged by today's terrorist attack on worshippers at a Jerusalem synagogue, which left at least seven people dead and several others injured.

APN strongly condemns this attack. We stand with the people of Israel. Our hearts are with the families that have been broken by today's attack. We wish full and rapid recovery to those who were injured.