On Monday, April 20 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement with Blue and White party chairman Benny Gantz to form a unity government. Official talks on forming this government began just under a month before this agreement was signed, with the supposed intention that this was an emergency government to deal with COVID-19.

This then begs the question of how central COVID-19 has actually been in forming the deal and how important it would be as an agenda item for the proposed 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.

We will soon celebrate Israel's 72nd Independence Day, and along with this all of Israel's great achievements. My colleagues and I, both Americans for Peace Now and Shalom Achshav (Israel’s peace movement), are determined to add one more: A negotiated settlement that ends the occupation and provides security and democracy for Israel and statehood for the Palestinians.

(Photo: Me with Leonard Fein (z"l), a founder of APN and a mentor, during an APN Israel study tour.)

This is what being pro-Israel means to us. We realize we are in difficult times, and this is a hard issue, but I was motivated to write these Yom Ha’atzmaut words below to honor my friends at Shalom Achshav. It has also been published in the Jewish Journal and Washington Jewish Week.

I have never worked with better, more dedicated people than them. Please honor these patriots, perhaps with a $72 donation or whatever you are willing to give.

Thank you.

Mark Bilsky
Americans for Peace Now

Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly supports Dianne Lob’s nomination to become the next Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Experts have been warning for the past couple of weeks about the health situation in East Jerusalem. Healthcare in the area is the responsibility of the Israeli government. The Palestinian Authority (PA) is not allowed to operate in any capacity in East Jerusalem. It is currently estimated that 83 people in East Jerusalem have tested positive for COVID-19. This figure is likely to be very inaccurate as it is both an estimate and a metric that is only as good as the testing that facilitates it. Testing in East Jerusalem has been very sparse and for Palestinians in East Jerusalem neighborhood that are on the eastern side of the separation barrier, but even in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods on the "Israeli" side of the wall, there was no access to testing until this week.  

Americans for Peace Now (APN) is alarmed at the agreement between Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his opponent-turned-coalition-partner Benny Gantz to embark on West Bank annexation procedures as early as July 1st.

This agreement is a clause in the deal signed today between Netanyahu and Gantz to form an "emergency" unity government. The deal follows long weeks of negotiations.

Published online and in the printed edition of the Jewish Journal

by Mark Bilsky, Deputy CEO of Americans for Peace Now

This is not a season that invites calm reflection. Too much is in play. The agenda is crowded with controversy. New possibilities tantalize but have yet to come into focus. We are inundated with talk of “competing narratives” alongside the growing controversies over quarantine, democracy, annexation, land, peace, income disparities and ethnic disparities.

It’s easy to get lost in these issues and they have become so much the focus of not only the daily news but of Israel’s story itself that the disposition to celebrate has come to feel insensitive, requiring an apology. But a celebration that must be shrink-wrapped in an apology is no celebration at all.

What then to do? The moment you cast caution aside and start listing the achievements, you bump into checkpoints. Say that Israel has fulfilled its destiny as a Jewish haven, and you will be told that it has done so only at the expense of the Other. Say that Israel’s economy has developed, and you will be told it’s because of foreign subsidies and at the cost of a tremendous income gap. Say that brainpower has emerged as Israel’s most important resource, and you will be told about the decline in Israel’s education system. Say that Israel has no partner for peace and you will be told to look at yourself in the mirror.

THE MOMENT YOU CAST CAUTION ASIDE AND START LISTING THE ACHIEVEMENTS, YOU BUMP INTO CHECKPOINTS. SAY THAT ISRAEL HAS FULFILLED ITS DESTINY AS A JEWISH HAVEN, AND YOU WILL BE TOLD THAT IT HAS DONE SO ONLY AT THE EXPENSE OF THE OTHER.

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.

President Donald Trump has announced that he intends to stop US funding of the World Health Organisation (WHO). This decision has been criticized by many world leaders, who see it as a very dangerous move at such a critical time for global cooperation on health. The US provides around ten percent of the funding for the WHO. The WHO has many different roles, being seen on the ground more in developing nations. It also plays a vital role in advice and cooperation for all health systems. This advice has been more important than ever in the face of COVID-19.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not joined other world leaders in condemning this decision, presumably to keep Trump on-side, but the decision is dangerous for both Palestinians and Israelis. Over fifty percent of the funding that flows to the WHO from the United States goes to either WHO Headquarters, responsible for the coordination of COVID-19 response and advice, or the Eastern Mediterranean Office, responsible, among others, for the Palestinian Territories. Israeli health officials praised a meeting facilitated by the WHO at the end of February between 15 member states to discuss approaches to COVID-19. This is an example of how important the WHO has been to Israel from the beginning of this crisis in facilitating the exchange of expertise on the virus.

In no country is it possible to know the real number of cases of people infected with Coronavirus, which is partly how it has become such a devastating disease. There are several reasons for this, but the primary factor is testing. No country has enough resources to test every person, though some have done significantly better than others. So far, Israel has been fairly effective, testing double that of the US per capita. Even with the limitations to determine precise testing figures, Israeli testing is favorable to many other comparable states. Israel was also swift in implementing social distancing measures to slow the spread of the disease.