Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes news that the Biden administration has warned the newly- elected government of Israel against transferring civilian authorities in the occupied West Bank to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, clarifying that it would regard such a move as a step toward annexation.

Americans for Peace Now condemns the House vote to remove Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Speaker McCarthy’s claim that he did so on the basis that Representative Omar is “antisemitic” is both inaccurate and offensive. Criticizing Israeli policies and actions is not antisemitic. Antisemitism is a real and dangerous threat, and misrepresenting Congresswoman Omar’s statements does not advance the fight against antisemitism. Instead, this transparent attempt to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism to score cheap political points damages efforts to isolate and eradicate antisemitic speech. Targeting Omar has wide-ranging repercussions that go beyond congressional committee assignments. Representative Omar has been the target of disturbing and hateful Islamophobic attacks and threats, which could be further fueled by today’s House action against her.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) is horrified and outraged by today's terrorist attack on worshippers at a Jerusalem synagogue, which left at least seven people dead and several others injured.

APN strongly condemns this attack. We stand with the people of Israel. Our hearts are with the families that have been broken by today's attack. We wish full and rapid recovery to those who were injured.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) is alarmed by the radical judicial overhaul announced yesterday by Israel’s new Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a set of legislative initiatives aimed at limiting the power of the Israeli Supreme Court and the government’s legal advisors.

The plan’s objective is to dramatically diminish the judicial and legal checks and balances on Israel’s executive and legislative branches, dealing a severe blow to Israel’s democracy.

We urge the Biden administration to make clear that anti-democratic steps such as this are a severe breach the value-based foundation of the US-Israel alliance.   

As Benjamin Netanyahu presents his new coalition today to Israel’s President Herzog, Americans for Peace Now (APN) is deeply concerned about the impact of the incoming government on Israel’s future as a democracy and on its relations with its Palestinian neighbors.

Americans for Peace Now, together with Ameinu, Bend the Arc, Habonim Dror North America, J Street, New Israel Fund, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and T’ruah today released the following statement:

As Jewish American organizations, we oppose House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s pledge to strip Representative Ilhan Omar of her House Foreign Affairs Committee seat based on false accusations that she is antisemitic or anti-Israel. We may not agree with some of Congresswoman Omar’s opinions, but we categorically reject the suggestion that any of her policy positions or statements merit disqualification from her role on the committee. 

Americans for Peace Now strongly condemns the two bombings in Jerusalem today.

Americans for Peace Now (APN), together with three other American progressive pro-Israel pro-peace organizations, submitted an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a constitutional challenge to a law penalizing boycotts of Israel.

Submitted jointly by APN, J Street, T’ruah, and Partners for Progressive Israel and prepared by the Georgetown Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, the brief demonstrates how throughout history, Americans -- and particularly American Jews -- have engaged in boycotts as an expression of their ideological commitments. The brief argues that eliminating constitutional protection for boycott participation threatens Americans’ First Amendment rights.

None of the groups that submitted the brief support boycotting Israel, but they do support Americans’ constitutional right to boycott. APN does support boycotting products made in Israeli West Bank settlements, outside the lines of sovereign Israel.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes news that the Biden administration has decided to launch an independent investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Al Jazeera reporter who was shot to death during an IDF operation in the Jenin refugee camp in May. Abu Akleh was an American citizen, and her family, like those of all US citizens killed abroad, has the right to a US investigation into the circumstances of her death.

APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: “We have called for an independent US investigation into Abu Akleh’s death since she was killed because we believe that her family deserves it and because the US government should know the clear and unequivocal truth about exactly what happened on that day. For a US investigation to succeed, full cooperation by Israeli and Palestinian authorities will be vital. We urge the government of Israel and the IDF to be forthcoming and aid the US investigation. We thank members of Congress who joined us in demanding that the Biden administration open an independent investigation and we thank APN’s activists who supported congressional actions in this regard.”

In light of yesterday’s American elections, and with Israel’s elections of last week still fresh in our minds, Americans for Peace Now (APN) will urge the Biden Administration and the incoming Congress to take measures that advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and provide security, wellbeing, and human and civil rights to both peoples. Given the results of last week’s elections in Israel, we will also urge Congress to pay special attention to the state of democracy and the rule of law in Israel, as well as the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements and oppression in the Occupied Territories.