|
"We strongly oppose settlement activity, which is corrosive to
the cause of peace. These steps by Israeli authorities are the latest examples
of what appears to be a steady acceleration of settlement activity that is
systematically undermining the prospects for a two-state solution."
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation during the holidays, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
Quote of the day:
For the sixth in a series of ads from APN, this week's message is from Tzipi Livni.
From her origins in a prominent right-wing Zionist family, Livni has become one of the most prominent political
figures advocating for a two-state solution.
She is widely considered one of the most the most powerful women in Israeli politics, and has served in eight
different cabinet positions throughout her career, setting the record for most government roles ever held by an
Israeli woman. In 2011, she was named one of "150 Women Who Shake the World" by Newsweek and The Daily
Beast, and for three years, Forbes magazine placed her on its "List of 100 Most Powerful Women."
You can support additional ads by donating here.
On Thursday, August 4th, from 10-11:30am, APN is hosting a roundtable briefing with
Israeli journalist Orly Halpern, editor of APN’s News Nosh
In a presentation titled "Is Netanyahu following in the footsteps of Erdogan and Putin?," Orly will address how the expanding hegemony of Israel’s right-wing is silencing dissent and seizing the public space.
Please join us from 10 to 11:30am at the Americans for Peace Now office at 2100 M Street NW, Suite 619. We look forward to seeing you.
As space is limited, please let us know as soon as you can whether you would like to attend by emailing asuskin@peacenow.org.
ORLY HALPERN is an independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem who writes News Nosh, a daily summary of the news from Israel. News Nosh is a free service offered by Americans for Peace Now. To receive it daily in your inbox, click here.
They Say/We Say: "The only way to fight BDS is to attack its proponents and supporters – to name and shame them."
We know that pro-Israel does not mean blindly
supporting policies that are irrational, reckless, and counter-productive. Pro-Israel means supporting policies
that are consistent with Israel's interests and promote its survival as a Jewish, democratic state.
You've heard the arguments of the religious and political right-wing, and so have we. They've had their say. Now, we'll have ours.
Go HERE for all installments of APN's "They Say, We Say"
They Say, We Say: BDS & Criticism of Israel
“Legislation that bars BDS activity by private groups, whether corporations or universities, strikes at the heart of First Amendment-protected free speech, will be challenged in the courts and is likely to be struck down. A decision by a private body to boycott Israel, as despicable as it may be, is protected by our Constitution.”
They are likewise misguided, ineffective, and counterproductive. They play into the stereotype promoted by some BDS supporters of Israel and its supporters as aggressive violators of civil and human rights. Indeed, as Foxman also noted,
“in light of such legislation, BDS campaigners would undoubtedly portray themselves as victims of efforts to stifle their free expression which would likely win them more sympathy and support from students — even those who are not inclined to be hostile to Israel.”
There is a smarter approach to the challenge of BDS against Israel. This is one that does not conflict with constitutionally-protected rights, will not fuel a pro-BDS narrative, has a real chance of convincing a lot of people –those who are frustrated with Israeli policies but are neither anti-Israel nor anti-Semitic – to adopt a better kind of activism. APN supports such an approach, which includes:
- Recognizing and rejecting pro-settlement, anti-peace policies that feed the growing support for BDS today, and working publicly and concretely to oppose and change them.
- Rejecting efforts to conflate Israel and the settlements and instead recognizing the legitimacy and potential value of activism and boycotts that squarely target settlements and the occupation.
- Ceasing efforts to limit free speech. BDS supporters, regardless of their motivations, are entitled to their views and to their legal, non-violent forms of protest, just as opponents of BDS are entitled to challenge and criticize them in ways that do not trample on the First Amendment rights of any party.
- Engaging the public and challenging BDS on its merits – through statements and other public messaging – in order to demonstrate why BDS against Israel is a misguided, counterproductive tactic in the fight to end the occupation, and to illustrate how activism focused on settlements and the occupied territories is a better way to achieve that goal.
We know that pro-Israel does not mean blindly
supporting policies that are irrational, reckless, and counter-productive. Pro-Israel means supporting policies
that are consistent with Israel's interests and promote its survival as a Jewish, democratic state.
You've heard the arguments of the religious and political right-wing, and so have we. They've had their say. Now, we'll have ours.
Go HERE for all installments of APN's "They Say, We Say"
They Say, We Say: BDS & Criticism of Israel
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation during the holidays, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
Quote of the day:
an Arab Muslim working as an IDF career officer
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
on Amona: a Crossing of a Red Line
This morning the Army Radio reported that the committee established by the government to find a
solution of the illegal outposts issue recently submitted a legal opinion to the Attorney General according to
which it is possible to use the absentees’ property in the case of the illegal outpost of Amona. The committee’s
idea is to take private Palestinian lands in the nearby plot to where Amona is today, whose owners do not live
in the West Bank, and lease them to the settlers of Amona through a lease that will be renewed every three
years. This way, the settlers of the illegal outpost, which must be evacuated by the end of December due to a
High Court ruling, will be able to live close by to where the outpost is located today. AG Avichai Mendelblit
will soon announce whether he intends to accept or reject the legal opinion.
Peace Now: "Accepting the legal opinion of the committee and thereby violating private
property rights in the Occupied Territories will constitute the crossing of a red line. The acceptance of the legal
opinion would have dire consequences on a future peace agreement as it could lead to the establishment of dozens of
new settlements and to the multiplying of the land taken up by settlements in the West Bank. The Israeli government
cannot justify the stealing of private lands of absentees only to please the demands of settlers who themselves
stole private lands against the law."
While News Nosh's Israel editor is on vacation during the holidays, we are publishing an abbreviated version produced in Washington and therefore it may be sent later in the day.
to the United Nations in Geneva (retiring)
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.
This week, Alpher discusses whether the Palestinian leadership's request to the Arab League to support its initiative to sue the British government is serious; whether minister for social equality Gila Gamliel's declaration that she is promoting a project to demand the restitution of property left behind in Arab countries by Jews who fled in the 1950s is an equally fruitless attempt to reverse the course of history; and why Netanyahu last week “apologized” to the Israeli Arab community and called upon it to “participate in Israeli society, en masse.”