APN / Peace Now In the News - February 20, 2020

The Times of Israel (Live Now): "Peace Now: New East Jerusalem building plans a ‘serious blow’ to two-state solution" (February 20, 2020)

The Peace Now settlement watchdog group calls Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement of the construction of new housing units in East Jerusalem a “serious blow” to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“This is the last point that can allow territorial contiguity between Bethlehem and East Jerusalem — the most significant Palestinian metropolitan area — and if the neighborhood is built, it will not be possible to connect the two cities,” the group says in a statement.

The group calls the move “another cynical election exercise” by Netanyahu and questions whether his transitional government has the legal authority to move forward with the new construction.

It also says despite Netanyahu’s backing of the recently unveiled Trump peace plan, “he is doing everything possible to preclude the chances for peace and prevent a resolution of the conflict.”

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Al-Monitor: "Despite divisions in wake of Trump’s plan, Israelis & Palestinians labor for peace" (February 20, 2020)

Peace Now's Shaqued Morag: "Having ties with Peace Now is not normalization, because we support change to the existing situation, rather than preservation." She also said that when Peace Now representatives paid a visit to Ramallah after the release of the Trump plan, they did not encounter any opposition or threats. "I have never encountered a Palestinian who refused to meet with me about this. I believe that we must continue working together toward our common objective,” Morag added.

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New York Times: "Netanyahu Announces New Homes in East Jerusalem, Days Before Election" (February 20, 2020)

Peace Now, another Israeli anti-settlement group, said the plans amounted to “state suicide” by preventing any viable two-state option for the future. "If nobody stops it, then in a year or two they will begin to build" in Givat Hamatos, said Hagit Ofran of Peace Now’s Settlement Watch department.

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The Jerusalem Post: "Netanyahu announces 2,200 new housing units in Jerusalem's Har Homa" (February 20, 2020)

“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is asking to land another fatal blow to the chances of a two-state solution for two peoples,” said Peace Now. “The planned neighborhood places a wedge in the heart of the Palestinian urban sprawl that exists between Ramallah and east Jerusalem, and as such prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem. Netanyahu is leading Israel to the reality of a binational apartheid state and is putting the Zionist enterprise in jeopardy.”

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AFP: "Israel plans to build 9,000 more homes" (February 20, 2020 - published in The Daily Star and other news outlets)

Israel has developed plans to build 9,000 settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, the first such project in the city in more than 20 years, watchdog Peace Now said Tuesday... the Atarot plan "also includes the demolition of dozens of Palestinian residential units that were built in the area without permits throughout the years."

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Jewish Press: "Report: Israel Plans to Build 9,000 Housing Units in Northeastern Jerusalem" (February 20, 2020)

Peace Now noted that if the plan is approved and the project is built, it will be the first time Jerusalem receives a new neighborhood since the Netanyahu government established Har Homa in 1997. “Netanyahu is dragging Israel into a reality of a bi-national apartheid state and is putting the Zionist enterprise in jeopardy,” Peace Now charged.

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This episode features a talk by Arye (Arik) Carmon, founder and former director of the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI).

Dr. Arye Carmon is the Founding President of IDI and one of Israel’s foremost experts on political reform. In 1991, he founded the Israel Democracy Institute to strengthen the structural and normative foundations of Israeli democracy. Under his leadership, IDI has become a leading think tank with a reputation among policy makers for non-partisanship, professionalism, and actionable policy recommendations. Carmon has promoted democracy and political education in the classroom and as a member of the board of numerous national institutions and government committees. He has published and lectured extensively on education, Israel-Diaspora relations, and the Holocaust.

Listen to the full episode

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News Nosh 2.20.20

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday February 20, 2020
 

You Must Be Kidding: 
“We are missing 3 more (mandates) for victory. I will be very happy if I actually get them from the Arab citizens -- do you know why? Because I really believe in that, because we are working for all…”
—Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on Israeli Arabs to vote for him - despite all the slurs against the Joint List, whose members were elected by and represent Arab Israelis.*

Quotes of the day:
 “Only a true racist like Netanyahu can think the Arab citizens are foolish enough to forget that only two months ago he wrote that we want to annihilate children and women.”
—Joint List Chairman MK Ayman Odeh said in response to the prime minister's comments.*

"Unlike those who aspire to replace Netanyahu today, Yitzhak Rabin had the moral courage to call a thing by its name. Just a few days before the assassination in Tel Aviv, he said that the demand for a 'Jewish majority' was racist."
—Arab-Israeli commentator Salman Masalha writes in an Op-Ed in today’s Haaretz+.**


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News Nosh 2.19.20

APN's daily news review from Israel
Wednesday February 19 2020

 
Quote of the day #1:
"Anyone who doesn't see importance in this meeting, just three weeks after the release of the Trump plan, is wrong...In my opinion, it is always preferable and even recommended to walk around in our region with open eyes."
--Maariv's new diplomatic affairs correspondent, Anna Barsky, writes about her trip to the West Bank at the invitation of the Palestinian Authority.*

Quote of the day #2:
"We talk to Hamas all the time. It's a stupid lie that we ignore them because they are terrorists. They are terrorists, but it's better to talk to them rather than fight them."
--Former deputy IDF chief Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yair Golan, currently a lawmaker with the Labor-Gesher-Meretz alliance, urged Israel on Tuesday to talk directly with Hamas and strike a security agreement.**

You Must Be Kidding: 
Israel's Housing Ministry is promoting the construction of 9,000 Israeli homes in E. Jerusalem, in an area which even the Trump plan designated as Palestinian.***


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News Nosh 2.18.20

APN's daily news review from Israel
Tuesday February 18, 2020

 
Numbers of the day:
36:33.
--Kahol-Lavan seats in Knesset vs. Likud seats in Knesset, were elections held in Israel on Monday.**

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News Nosh 2.17.20

APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday February 17, 2020

 
Quote of the day:
"People said that their dream is to come to Israel as tourists."
--Alex Lipshin, a Russian-Israeli, who according to Yedioth is the first Israeli to travel to Saudi Arabia following the Saudi announcement that Israelis were permitted to visit, quoted Saudi Arabians he met.*

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Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher (February 17, 2020) - On Security and Hypocrisy

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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.

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News Nosh 2.16.20

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday February 16, 2020

 
Quote of the day:
"I do not intervene with signs in the public space, but this time the rules have been broken. The humiliation of others is not our way."
--Tel-Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai orders removal of billboard signs, which showed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh blindfolded and kneeling, saying they were reminiscent of ISIS and the Nazis.*

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You can play Canasta or GET QUESTIONED at Ben Gurion Airport

Peace Now has produced a unique deck of cards that serves as both a standard deck and an opportunity to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Each card provides a brief description of a significant moment in history, a core issue, or a law.

The deck has been extremely well-received. It also caused an incident that attracted media attention and went viral on Twitter, when a European Peace activist, John Lyndon of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, was thoroughly questioned by Israeli security at Ben Gurion Airport when a deck of these cards was found in his luggage.

We are certain you will enjoy the cards and learn from them, and are pleased to send you a deck as a gift with a donation to Americans for Peace Now of $25 or more (be sure to write "Cards" in the comments box; all but $5 is tax-deductible).

John Lyndon’s story is featured in the current episode of PeaceCast, APN’s podcast.


PeaceCast Episode #108: "Reading the Cards from Europe"

This episode features John Lyndon, Executive Director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), who was detained at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport and faced "prolonged hostile questioning" because he possessed Peace Now's deck of cards.

His tweet about this (pictured) spread on social media, and then reached a larger audience when Israeli news outlet YNET wrote an article about it.

In the episode, John talked about issues directly related to ALLMEP and its activity, and explored the ways in which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict plays out in Europe, particularly in the wake of President Trump's vision for Israeli-Palestinian relations.

The Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) is an umbrella that brings together over 100 organizations in Israel and the West Bank to assist them with funding, capacity building, visibility, and impact.

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Legislative Round-up: February 14, 2020

Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived

 

  1. Bills, Resolutions, & Letters 
  2. Hearings
  3. On the Record
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