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.

At its 40th anniversary gala on October 7, Americans for Peace Now’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind welcomed six new members to the organization’s Board of Directors. The six are:  Larry Gellman, Debra Katz, Marilyn Katz, Joshua Malina, Abby Rapoport, and Randi Weingarten. 

Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes this Wednesday’s Senate confirmation hearing of Thomas Nides as US Ambassador to Israel and urges the Senate – both in committee and on the floor - to confirm his nomination. 

Americans for Peace Now (APN) opposes today’s decision by the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth Le-Israel) to register properties in the West Bank and the city of Jerusalem, a process that is likely to lead to the eviction of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. APN calls on fellow American Jewish organizations, particularly those who serve on the board of the JNF-KKL, to exercise their influence to ensure that this procedural endeavor does not lead to the eviction of Palestinian families, a process that is certain to have dire humanitarian, political and security repercussions. 

Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes the Israeli government's public re-engagement with the Palestinian Authority – the first of its kind in over a decade – and strongly supports the confidence building measures that the two sides agreed upon.

Press reports are touting the success of today’s meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and President Joe Biden. President Biden has demonstrated his “pro-Israel bona fides”. Bennett has shown that he can sit at the grownups table. That’s all well and good, but did they address the one issue that will determine Israel’s future? 

While a good meeting between the leaders of Israel and the United States is welcome and constructive, if the two leaders did not seriously address the issue of the occupation and Israel’s relations with the Palestinians, then they are not living up to their leadership responsibilities.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s upcoming visit to the White House – his first since taking office – and urges President Biden to use this visit to bolster the administration’s role in advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Americans for Peace Now welcomes the appointment of Michael (Mike) Herzog as Israel's new ambassador to the United States, wishes him success, and looks forward to working with him.

Americans for Peace Now welcomes the nomination of Deborah Lipstadt to be the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism and urges the Senate to confirm her nomination. 

A newly published survey of American Jewish voters reveals views on Israel that many will find alarming. A quarter (25%) of those polled agreed with the statement that Israel is an apartheid state, and almost a quarter (22%) agreed with the statement that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. 

The American Jewish community is facing a critical decision. It can ignore the real issues that lead people to take these positions and continue to call those who hold them antisemites. Or it can start to meaningfully address the core issue, 54 years of occupation.