Everyone likes ice cream. And everyone believes that they support peace. It’s just a question of what that peace looks like. And in the case of the American Jewish community, and American political leaders, the vast majority of people will tell you that the peace that they support is a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side as independent nations. Sounds good, right?

But alas, while many of our national organizations and political leaders espouse their belief in peace and two states, when it moves from the realm of the theoretical into the practical, when someone has the nerve to point out that in the two-state solution, one of those states is Palestine, then things get “complicated.” And, of course, “complicated” is a polite code-word for “I have no good answer for why I suspend my erstwhile values and support endless illegal occupation, but I would still like to call myself progressive.”

A two-state solution isn’t the only possible option for Israeli-Palestinian peace, but it is the one with the broadest support. But let’s be clear. If you (honestly) support two states, that means supporting the creation of a viable, independent Palestine. And where do you think that is going to be? Hint, it isn’t Uganda. In order for that thing that you theoretically support (a 2SS) to happen, the Occupation has to end. In order for that to happen, we must be clear that the Occupied Territories are not Israel.

You know who did just that? Ben & Jerry’s. That’s right, an ice cream company has, at considerable cost, used its  voice and its business to remind people that the Occupied Territories are not Israel. They were clear and honest about what they believe. They support Israel, and they oppose the Occupation.

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.

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

Last fall, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared that six prominent Palestinian rights groups were “terrorist organizations.” These civil society groups, Al Haq; Addameer; Defense For Children International-Palestine; Bisan; the Union of Agricultural Work Committees; and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, work directly with Palestinian women and girls, children, low-income families, prisoners, and civil society activists, providing direct services and monitoring human rights abuses by both Israeli and Palestinian authorities.

Today, Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) led 29 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling on the administration to use every diplomatic tool at its disposal to ensure that Israel does not further advance plans to build settlements in E-1. These plans have been called “doomsday settlements” because implementing them would pose an irreconcilable challenge to a lasting peaceful solution between Israel and the Palestinians by threatening the territorial contiguity necessary for a viable Palestinian state.

As Yair Lapid becomes Israel's prime minster today, APN congratulates him and urges him to take this opportunity to show the world what an Israel under his leadership looks like.

Israel’s outgoing “change government” featured a creative makeup and some new domestic policies, but little change with regard to Israel’s relations with the Palestinians.

What was the Bennett government’s policy on West Bank settlement construction? What can we expect from Yair Lapid, the incoming prime minister? What has the outgoing government done in addressing other aspects of the conflict? What role will this issue play in the upcoming elections campaign? What does yet another election campaign mean for Israel's anti-occupation movement?

To answer these and other questions, APN hosted a webinar Peace Now’s acting executive director, Dr. Dana Mills, on Wednesday, July 6th at 11:00 Eastern Time. Mills elaborated on Peace Now’s new report, which documents and analyzes the West Bank settlements policy of the outgoing government.

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.

Last fall we wrote to you warning of Israel’s plans to build in the area known as E-1. These plans have been called “doomsday settlements” because they  pose an irreconcilable challenge to a lasting peaceful solution between Israel and the Palestinians by threatening the territorial contiguity necessary for a viable Palestinian state. We asked you to contact your member of Congress to urge them to push the Biden administration to weigh in and use diplomatic pressure to halt Israel’s approval process of E-1 settlements. With your help, we bolstered congressional support for United States opposition to E-1 settlement construction and the Biden administration successfully pressured the Israeli government. In a rare move, the Israeli government publicly acknowledged the United States’ message and indefinitely postponed these plans.

Unfortunately, Israel has recently announced plans to move ahead with E-1 settlements once again, scheduling the final hearing on the objections to the project for July 18th, just days after the President’s planned visit.

We need your help again, and we’re running out of time. Congress must reiterate its opposition to settlement construction in E-1. The Biden administration must use every diplomatic tool at its disposal to prevent these devastating plans and ensure that this time, the message sticks.

Click here to ask your member of Congress to join Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) in urging the State Department to say no to settlement construction in E-1:

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