Americans for Peace Now

Urge your Senators to Stand Up to Islamophobia

by APN 12/15/21

We at Americans for Peace Now know that fighting against intolerance is an intersectional issue: the struggles against antisemitism and Islamophobia must be fought in unison. Just as other communities show up for us, it is our duty to stand as allies alongside our Muslim friends and neighbors.

We are seeing a rise in Islamophobia in nearly every corner of the globe. Anti-Muslim rhetoric, bigotry and acts of violence have increased as white supremacist and Islamophobic hate group networks have grown in strength and inspired acts of anti-Muslim violence and terrorism, including the murder of a Muslim family in London, Ontario over the summer and the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand mosque shootings.

This anti-Muslim bigotry must end.

That's why Americans for Peace Now is proud to support the Combating International Islamophobia Act, which will require the State Department to create a Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Muslim Bigotry. Sponsored by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and modeled on the already existing position of Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism, this vital legislation passed the House of Representatives this week. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Senate companion to the bill on Tuesday.

Sadly yet unsurprisingly, the debate around this bill has been vitriolic. Opponents of the bill have lobbed horrific and false accusations of terrorism and have tried to use unrelated claims about Israel’s security and the threat of antisemitism to push back against this legislation.

We will not let detractors divide or distract us from the real issue at hand.

To see the full text of the legislation, click here.

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APN Welcomes House Passage of Combatting Islamophobia Act: Urges Senate to Follow Suit

by APN 12/15/21

Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes last night's passage of the Combating International Islamophobia Act in the House of Representatives. Introduced by Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), this bill would establish a Special Envoy to combat Islamophobia.

Hard Questions, Tough Answers: Mr. Bennett goes to Abu Dhabi: strategic update on the Abraham Accords (December 13, 2021)

by APN 12/13/21

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.

Recording: The connection between illegal outposts and settler violence: Peace Now's new report

by APN 12/09/21

In recent years, the phenomenon of settler violence against Palestinians throughout the West Bank has accelerated.

In their new Settler Violence Report, Peace Now’s Settlement Watch Team reviews the documentation of 1200 violent incidents from 2012 until July 2021, collected by Yesh Din, and examines the location of the incidents and their proximity to the various settlements. The conclusions are unequivocal: most of the documented violent attacks on Palestinians (63%) occurred near outposts considered illegal by the state of Israel, where less than 5% of Israeli settlers reside.

Our colleagues at Peace Now joined us on Thursday, December 16 for an exclusive webinar on the findings of this new report.

Listen to the recording of that webinar here.

Watch the video recording here.

Hard Questions, Tough Answers: The Vienna talks and Bennett’s aggressive stance (December 6, 2021)

by APN 12/06/21

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.

APN Presents: Upside-Down Love with Sari Bashi

by APN 12/02/21

Sari Bashi, an Israeli human rights lawyer and the co-founder of Gisha, recently published a Hebrew-language book, “Maqluba: Upside-Down Love,” about her relationship with her partner, a Palestinian professor from Gaza. The book is a personal and political memoir: a romance, a historical record, a political critique, and an adventure story of navigating Israeli checkpoints.

Unilever and State Anti-Boycott Laws

by APN 12/02/21

This summer, Ben & Jerry’s announced its intention to cease sales of its products in the occupied territories. Despite repeatedly stating that the company’s policy is limited to territory that is under Israeli military occupation, and it would not impact sales of Ben & Jerry’s products within the state of Israel, the decision triggered enormous backlash from conservative voices within the American Jewish community and from politicians at both the state and federal level.

APN strongly supports Ben & Jerry’s and has repeatedly pushed back against efforts to paint their decision as anything other than a targeted and principled response to the continued Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

Press Release: New York Jewish Leaders to Gov. Hochul: Don't Conflate Israel with the Occupied West Bank

by APN 12/01/21

Americans for Peace Now sent a letter on Monday signed by leading New York Jewish activists to Governor Kathy Hochul, protesting New York's conflation of the sovereign state of Israel and West Bank settlements.

The letter, signed by 150 leading pro-Israel pro-peace New York-based Jewish activists objects to a recent determination by the Commissioner of the Office of General Services of New York State that Ben & Jerry's boycott of West Bank settlements constitutes BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) against the state of Israel.

Hard Questions, Tough Answers: Gravitating toward a one-state ‘solution’ (November 29, 2021)

by APN 11/29/21

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.