The next in a series of ads from APN. This week's message is from General James Mattis, a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 11th Commander of United States Central Command, the Unified Combatant Command responsible for American military operations in the Middle East, Northeast Africa and Central Asia, from 2010 to 2013.

Before President Obama appointed Mattis to replace General Petraeus in 2010, he commanded the United States Joint Forces Command and served concurrently as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. Prior to that, he commanded I Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Forces Central Command, and 1st Marine Division during the Iraq War.

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What a week!  Less than one week ago, we cheered President Obama's bold action on the pro-peace resolution in the United Nations Security Council.  And earlier this week, Secretary of State Kerry delivered a stunning, comprehensive and courageous speech on settlements, and laid out the Obama administration's vision of a two-state solution and the imperative to achieve it.  Not only do both of these remarks and actions represent positions long-advocated by APN, but both events contain and/or reflect the significant research of Lara Friedman  (APN Policy and Legislative Director),  which documents how an Obama administration abstention would be in line with U.S. policy in the UN and which was published in the New York Times.  Both events reflect as well Lara's testimony on settlements delivered on behalf of APN to the United Nations Security Council in October.  APN worked relentlessly and effectively to make these important events happen. Help us keep the momentum going!  

I encourage you to read Lara's powerful and empowering thoughts (below) on what it means to continue to fight for peace after January 20, 2017.  We can only continue our critical and singular work with your support.  Before the year is out, please make a tax-deductible donation to support our fight for peace, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians.  

“No one thinking seriously about peace can ignore the reality of the threat settlements pose.”

Those words were spoken yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, outlining the reasons that the U.S. chose to abstain on a U.N. Security Council vote condemning West Bank settlements. The threat to peace posed by settlements was recently made clear by settler leaders, who loudly and proudly proclaimed that “the era of a two-state solution is over.” And that was before President-elect Donald Trump nominated David Friedman, an enthusiastic supporter of settlements, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel.

At APN, we’re preparing to take them on.

Six years ago, APN launched a groundbreaking new feature: the “Facts on the Ground” map app. As both an iPhone app and website, Facts on the Ground has allowed anyone with an internet connection to learn about Israeli settlements in the West Bank – what and where they are, who and how many live in them, and how they relate to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and prospects for peace. The app has been a success, with glowing coverage and reviews from NPR, CNN, Wired, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, and more.

Following is the full text of remarks by Secretary of State John Kerry, delivered at the State Department in Washington, DC on December 28, as posted on the Department of State’s web site

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. (Coughs.) Excuse me. Thank you for your patience, all of you. For those of you who celebrated Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Happy Chanukah. And to everybody here, I know it’s the middle of a holiday week. I understand. (Laughter.) But I wish you all a very, very productive and Happy New Year.

Today, I want to share candid thoughts about an issue which for decades has animated the foreign policy dialogue here and around the world – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Secretary of State John Kerry today articulated, in the clearest possible terms, what is at stake for both Israel and the US: Israel's security and its viability as a democracy and a Jewish state. He also offered a pragmatic vision of the only way forward for Israel that ensures both.