Last year I wrote a Peace Parsha for Tu B'Shevat in which I asked: When did we go from being a people who plant trees to a people who cut them down?

I didn't mean ordinary every-day Jews who go about their business without thinking much about trees. Or ordinary Jewish Israelis who have a long tradition of planting and caring for trees. The Torah commands us to refrain from picking fruit from trees until they are three years old. When we go to war against another people, we are commanded to leave fruit-bearing trees intact to ensure a source of food.

No, I'm talking about Israeli Jewish settlers in the West Bank -- the occupied territories -- who have weaponized Palestinian trees. Ironically, the trees they burn and cut down are olive trees -- the very symbol of peace. But these Jews aren't making peace. They're waging an undeclared war against the Palestinians by destroying their livelihood, their labor, their identity, and their humanity. It's the purposeful destruction of their hopes, and the message is clear: "Palestinians not wanted here."

Go HERE to view and download Peace Now's map of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Go HERE for an interactive map of the settlements

Thirty seven years ago, on February 10^th 1983, Peace Now activist Emil Grunzweig was murdered by an extreme right Jewish terrorist at a Peace Now demonstration in Jerusalem.

Not far from the Prime Minister’s Office, the terrorist, Yona Avrushmi,  lobbed a hand grenade at the front row of the Peace Now marchers. It killed Emil and injured nine of his friends.

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 alarmed at the sharp increase in Palestinian-Israeli violence since the Trump administration released its “vision” for Israeli-Palestinian relations last week.

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.

Peace Now and its allies, with just a few days to organize, held a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Febuary 1st to expose this annexation plan for the trap that it is, appealing to the sanity of fellow Israelis to see how those peddling this scheme are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public.

APN, through you, helped our Israeli Peace Now partners's  by raising funds to put on this emergency rally. 

Donations are still be accepted to APN's special fund to help cover the remaining costs. Thank you for your support!

Democracy. Equality. Two States. Peace. Israel stands on the verge of self-destruction for a fringe ideology which threatens to snuff out these values and herald a permanent apartheid reality.

Thank you for your support.

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.

Washington, DC – The vision submitted today by Donald Trump's White House for an alleged final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict deals a severe blow to efforts to achieve real peace between Israel and the Palestinians. 

This vision is not a "peace plan" but rather a scheme, co-authored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, to allow for an immediate annexation of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the entire Jordan Valley. Hours ago, shortly after the Trump "vision" was unveiled, Benjamin Netanyahu's government announced that it will submit to the Knesset an annexation bill this coming Sunday.

This plan is a recipe for disaster, for annexation, for the perpetuation of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, for the perpetuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for misery and bloodshed. 

Last Friday, Palestinian community organizer and activist Ali Abu Awwad gave a stirring speech at an APN cosponsored event held at the Middle East Institute.  In particular, Abu Awwad described his own life story, including being raised by an activist mother who was beaten and brutalized by Israeli security forces, and participating in the First Intifada, as a desperate and angry boy picking up stones to confront an overwhelming military force.