In the lead-up to this year’s Passover holiday, Americans for Peace Now launched a Facebook meme campaign inspired by the words of Peace Now co-founder Galia Golan. We asked that Jews who care about Israel spill some wine in acknowledgement of Israel’s “modern-day plagues”, as is traditionally done during the Seder when reading the ten plagues of Egypt.

The first modern-day plague, “continued settlement building,” was chosen because of the degree to which Israeli settlement expansion damages prospects for peace. The growth of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem threatens to eliminate the possibility of a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians – the only solution that can secure Israel’s future as a democracy and a Jewish state.

This week, Alpher discusses how religious and tribal wars in Iraq, Syria, Egyptian Sinai, Yemen and Libya, and Obama and Netanyahu being at loggerheads over the Iran nuclear deal affects the Palestinian issue; how these events serve as a legitimate distraction, including the current fighting in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus; how they serve as an excuse for Israel to do nothing on the Palestinian issue; what is Qatar doing that should command our interest, including the Gaza aspect; why, despite these tensions, the IDF is facilitating the expansion of PA security forces’ area of responsibility; and April genocide memorials of the HOlocaust and the Armenian genocide, and the exploitation of Israeli fears.

APN's daily news review from Israel

Wednesday April 8, 2015 
 

Quote of the day:

"...but for some the running event will mean a grind to a halt."

--Haaretz describes how the first 'Bible Marathon,' an Israeli sporting event meant to recreate a Biblical run from modern-day Rosh Ha'ayin to ancient Shiloh, will shut down a major West Bank highway Thursday.**

Written before the elections, our Passover letter noted how wealthy extremists like Sheldon Adelson support programs based on their right-wing values. We ask in our letter how those of us who support peace can do the same. It's time to step up.

In case you missed it, I include our passover message below, as well as a link to Israeli security expert Yossi Alpher's warning against complacency. You do not need to be a billionaire to make a difference; you only need to act!

Mark Rosenblum
Founder, APN

For pro-peace American Jews and Israelis, billionaire Sheldon Adelson is the object of both fear and scorn.

He’s certainly an easy target. Crass and richer than Croesus, he seems to get a blank check for irresponsible remarks, such as calling the Palestinians “an invented people” and advocating a preemptive nuclear strike against Iran. He has made it his mission to thwart a peace deal that would bring a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Update: this action, now closed, ran in April 2015. 

• On April 2, the Obama Administration and its P5+1 partners announced an historic framework agreement with Iran, aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
• Since then, opponents of Iran diplomacy and a deal – both in the United States and Israel – have doubled down on efforts to use Congress to scuttle diplomacy and undermine the possibility of getting to, and implementing, a final agreement with Iran.
• Senators are being pressured to support S. 615 – and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to pass this bill on April 14.  In its current form, the bill includes a number of poison pill provisions that will undermine diplomacy and likely kill a deal.  These include provisions to delay implementation of a deal, legislate a congressional veto of a deal, strip the president of existing waiver authorities, and impose conditions for U.S. adherence to a deal that are unrelated to Iran’s nuclear program.
• Senators are also being urged to support S. 269, which seeks to legislate new Iran sanctions that would be triggered if no deal with Iran is reached.
• Both bills are entirely unnecessary.  Passage of either bill risks undermining the ongoing diplomacy with the P5+1 and killing a deal – leaving the U.S. isolated and bringing the U.S. closer to the point where it will be forced to choose between a nuclear-armed Iran and another Middle East war.

Tell your Senators: Give diplomacy every possible chance to work – Reject S. 269 & S. 615

For his entire career – including three previous terms in office as Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently acted to subvert Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and undermine the two-state solution. He has done so through the promotion of settlements, the laundering of illegal outposts, and various other policies that have expanded and deepened the occupation across the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Many hoped that Netanyahu’s verbal embrace of the two-state solution in his 2009 Bar-Ilan speech marked a turning point, and that his rhetorical nods to the Arab Peace Initiative signaled an openness to a broader agreement with the Arab world. Netanyahu’s actions and policies, however, have consistently belied his words, demonstrating unequivocally that he remains committed not to achieving peace, but to implementing an expansionist, “Greater Israel” agenda.