We invite you to join us for a webinar with author and journalist Amir Tibon on Monday, September 16, at 1:30pm Eastern Time. We’ll be talking with him about his new book, The Gates of Gaza, as well as his experience as a journalist in Israel over the last 11 months. This webinar is coordinated in partnership with our colleagues at Canadian Friends of Peace Now.

About the book: In The Gates of Gaza, Amir Tibon tells the harrowing story of his family’s survival on October 7th at Kibbutz Nahal Oz. He describes his family's ordeal—and the bravery that ultimately led to their rescue—alongside the histories of the place they call home and the systems of power that have kept them and their neighbors in Gaza in harm’s way for decades. Woven throughout is Tibon's own expertise as a longtime international correspondent, as well as more than thirty original interviews: with residents of his kibbutz, with the Israeli soldiers who helped to wrest it from the hands of Hamas, and with experts on Gaza, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the peace process. More than one family's odyssey, The Gates of Gaza is the intimate story of a tight-knit community and the broader saga of war, Occupation, and hostility between two national movements—a conflict that has not yet extinguished the enduring hope for peace.

It is clear that people around the world– and the mediators sent to the table in Doha– want an agreement to stop the violence in Gaza and to bring the Israeli hostages home. But the general understanding of how to get from point A (calling for a deal) to point B (getting the Israeli government and Hamas to agree to a deal) remains murky. To shed some light on the circumstances surrounding this round of negotiations, we sat down with Dr. Gershon Baskin, a veteran peace activist and longtime researcher of the Israel/Palestine conflict and peace process.

Our Director of Government Relations, Madeleine Cereghino, sat down with Lior Amihai, the executive director of our sister organization, Shalom Achshav. Our colleagues there recently released a report detailing what they call the Israeli government’s “Annexation Revolution.”

Following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, our President and CEO Hadar Susskind sat down with Rebecca Abou-Chedid to discuss and analyze Netanyahu’s visit. They delved into the impact on American and international politics, the American Jewish community, and the Arab American community.

Rebecca Abou-Chedid serves on the board of directors of the IMEU Policy Project, Anera, the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and SEED for Change. Rebecca also served for five years as co-chair of the board of directors of Just Vision. She is a partner in the Projects group at Norton Rose Fulbright and previously served as a law clerk in the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the US Department of Justice, as National Political Director at the Arab American Institute, and the Director of Outreach at the New America Foundation’s Middle East Task Force.

Watch the video recording HERE.

Listen to the audio on PeaceCast.

Read the transcript HERE.

Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon feel the loss and pain of October 7th and the carnage in Gaza that has followed especially keenly: both have lost family to the conflict.

Since October 7th, the two have appeared on various international forums regarding their partnership in establishing peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Most recently, they traveled together to Verona, Italy to meet Pope Francis and share their vision for the future: one where Israelis and Palestinians can move forward and live side by side.

“The media” has come to mean many different things– broadcasters, social media, a euphemistic descriptor for spreaders of misinformation, or simply the news. But in the haze of war in Gaza and protests in the U.S., the media has itself become a source of polarization and debate. To analyze why coverage seems to slant one way or another politically, how nationalism and government disinformation find their way into the newsroom, and how journalists source their reports, we spoke with one of Israel’s foremost media experts.

This webinar featured a conversation between APN's President and CEO Hadar Susskind and Senator Chris Van Hollen. They discussed the role of Congress in shaping US-Middle East policy and how conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have changed on Capitol Hill. Senator Van Hollen is a Congressional champion for peace and justice.

Yesterday (April 13), Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles in a direct assault on Israel. To discuss how tensions between Israel and Iran reached this point, what happened, and the possibilities going forward, we will speak with noted Iran expert Barbara Slavin in a special APN webinar tomorrow, April 15, at 3:00 pm Eastern Time.

Barbara Slavin is a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C. and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University. The author of Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the US and the Twisted Path to Confrontation, and Mullahs, Money and Militias: How Iran Exerts Its Influence in the Middle East, she is a regular commentator on US foreign policy and Iran on NPR, PBS, and C-Span.

This webinar will take place on April 15th at 3:00 pm Eastern Time. 

Register HERE.

Over the last few weeks, the subject of humanitarian aid has dominated conversations about the Gaza War. Headlines depict aid trucks being stopped or blocked altogether from entering Gaza and global experts warning that Gaza is on the verge of famine with Northern Gaza likely already experiencing famine. Some individuals and organizations are still managing to offer food and support, providing some measure of relief. To discuss the situation on the ground and the logistics of providing aid, we spoke with Shachar Zahavi, the founder of SmartAid: an international aid agency that leverages technologies to enhance humanitarian efforts worldwide. 

In addition to his role at SmartAid, Shachar Zahavi was the founder and Chairperson at IsraAID, where he served as Executive Director for 16 years. There, he spearheaded the organization's global strategy, overseeing its expansion and operations in over 50 countries for both disaster relief and long-term sustainable programs. Shachar is also credited with co-authoring in-depth research on Israel's foreign aid and its impact in the context of foreign government relationships.

Recently, Shalom Achshav released their 2023 settlement report. Their findings were disturbing even by the standards of the actions of Netanyahu’s far-right extremist government.  Under the cover of the Gaza war, conditions in the West Bank have quietly but dramatically shifted for the worse. We have seen a record number of plans for new construction, minimal law enforcement against illegal settler activity, substantial budgets for expanding settlements and outposts, and, most significantly, almost unconditional political support from the government for settlers, even in cases involving violence against Palestinians.

To discuss these alarming updates, we spoke with someone on the front lines of observing and analyzing settlement activity.  Hagit Ofran is the co-director of Shalom Achshav’s Settlement Watch program, and is widely recognized as Israel’s foremost expert on Israeli settlements.