New Jersey Jewish News - May 20, 2015
APN's Ori Nir op-ed: Progressive American Jews: Fight for the Israel you believe in
http://njjewishnews.com/article/27277/progressive-american-jews-fight-for-the-israel-you-believe-in#.VVz01k9Vikp

SFgate.com - May 15, 2015
APN's Lara Friedman criticizes legislation that fails to distinguish between Israel and WB settlements
http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2015/05/15/trade-measures-could-shift-u-s-policy-on-israeli-settlements/

i24.com (AFP story) - May 14, 2015
Peace Now: Israeli government issues tenders for 85 new homes in WB settlement
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/71177-150514-israel-re-invites-bids-for-85-w-bank-settler-homes-ngo

Ynet (AFP story) - May 15, 2015
Peace Now: Israeli government issues tenders for more homes in WB settlement
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4657673,00.html

Ynet.com (AFP story) - May 20, 2015
Peace Now welcomes Israeli government decision to suspend segregated public transportation pilot in West Bank
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4659396,00.html

AFP - May 21, 2015
Peace Now: Settlements are leading Israel into an apartheid regime and to moral bankruptcy
http://news.yahoo.com/netanyahu-suspends-w-bank-palestinian-bus-ban-085303579.html

This week, Alpher discusses what was the new Netanyahu government thinking, trying to introduce segregated buses in the West Bank; President Obama’s critical remarks to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg and at a DC synagogue regarding Netanyahu’s attitude toward Israeli Arabs and his signaling that there would be no peace process initiative in the near future, as well as the US taking Israel’s side at a UN nuclear treaty review conference; whether we should categorize the Pope’s Middle East diplomacy as a form of Europe-based pressures; and US and UK proposals to deploy western ground forces to augment weak and fragmented Iraqi forces against IS - are there alternatives?

Americans for Peace Now (APN) commends President Obama for eloquently articulating the strong bond between core American values and progressive Jewish values, and for expressing his frustration with the growing gap between these values and those that are increasingly manifesting themselves in Israeli public life.

In an interview, the U.S. president ties his legacy to a pact with Tehran, argues ISIS is not winning, warns Saudi Arabia not to pursue a nuclear-weapons program, and anguishes about Israel.

Israel’s new government should be seen as a call to action for anyone who cares about Israel’s future, about its character and about its wellbeing. This call applies not only to citizens of the state of Israel, but also – maybe even mainly – to those who are looking at Israel from outside, and, as outsiders, are best positioned to put a mirror before the Israeli public, to serve as a reality check.

The reality is that this government distinctly represents and expresses what the enlightened world, including progressive Americans who care deeply about Israel, have in recent years grown to resent about Israel’s conservative political elite.

The reality is that this political elite, characterized by a combination of jingoistic nationalism and religious conservatism, ethnocentrism and xenophobia, intolerance of dissent and disrespect for basic democratic principles, represents a set of values that is diametrically opposed to the values that most Americans, particularly young Americans, hold dear. More to the point, the reality is that this combination of reactionary beliefs, often zealously proclaimed in the name of Judaism, is the very antithesis of what most American Jews define as “Jewish values.”

On Shavuot, we celebrate the giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments.

In the spirit of this holiday, let us all remember that the two-state solution we seek is anchored in a two-slate imperative…

Americans for Peace Now wishes you a Hag Sameah, happy Shavuot.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to APN on this holiday, to help us work even harder to advance the two-state solution – the only way to achieve long-lasting peace, security, stability and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Thank you from all of us at APN.