1. Bills & Resolutions
2. Media (general)
3. Media & Members (The Next Congress)
4. Members on the Record (Israel & Palestine)
5. Members on the Record (Iran)
6. Members on the Record (Saudi Arabia)
7. Members on the Record (other countries)

1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters

None.

Letters

(END IRAN DIPLOMACY) Scott letter to Biden: On 11/22/22, Sen. Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to President Biden urging him to “immediately announce that the negotiations will not move forward at any time during your administration.” The letter frames this demand in terms of standing with Iranian protesters, but its core argument is: “We must acknowledge the evil and murderous Iranian regime wants to produce nuclear weapons. The United States must protect ourselves, and all our allies and partners, including Israel, by working to ensure that threat never actualizes.”

Also see:

• Scott press release
• Scott Twitter thread, “The brave words and actions of the Iranian people are an inspiration to all freedom-loving people. (1/2) It’s time for @JoeBiden to stand with them in word and deed and announce that his administration will never resume nuclear deal negotiations with the evil Iranian regime. (2/2)”

(UN OVERSIGHT ON YEMEN) Omar-Castro et al letter to Blinken: On 11/18/22, Reps. Omar (D-MD) and Castro (D-TX) led a letter, co-signed by 11 Democratic House colleagues, to SecState Blinken, urging the Biden Administration to “use its influence at the United Nations Human Rights Council to work towards the establishment of an independent, international investigative mechanism on Yemen at the earliest opportunity…”

Also see:

• House Members Push for U.N. Oversight of Yemen Atrocities (the Intercept)
• Omar (D-MN-5) 11/21/2022: Tweet – “Our foreign policy should not be based on a dependence on oil or the geopolitical whims of foreign despots. It should be based on the rule of law and human rights. We’re proud to lead the call for UN oversight of atrocities committed in Yemen.” Retweeted by Castro (D-TX-20)

Americans for Peace Now strongly condemns the two bombings in Jerusalem today.

Americans for Peace Now (APN), together with three other American progressive pro-Israel pro-peace organizations, submitted an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a constitutional challenge to a law penalizing boycotts of Israel.

Submitted jointly by APN, J Street, T’ruah, and Partners for Progressive Israel and prepared by the Georgetown Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, the brief demonstrates how throughout history, Americans -- and particularly American Jews -- have engaged in boycotts as an expression of their ideological commitments. The brief argues that eliminating constitutional protection for boycott participation threatens Americans’ First Amendment rights.

None of the groups that submitted the brief support boycotting Israel, but they do support Americans’ constitutional right to boycott. APN does support boycotting products made in Israeli West Bank settlements, outside the lines of sovereign Israel.

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.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes news that the Biden administration has decided to launch an independent investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Al Jazeera reporter who was shot to death during an IDF operation in the Jenin refugee camp in May. Abu Akleh was an American citizen, and her family, like those of all US citizens killed abroad, has the right to a US investigation into the circumstances of her death.

APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: “We have called for an independent US investigation into Abu Akleh’s death since she was killed because we believe that her family deserves it and because the US government should know the clear and unequivocal truth about exactly what happened on that day. For a US investigation to succeed, full cooperation by Israeli and Palestinian authorities will be vital. We urge the government of Israel and the IDF to be forthcoming and aid the US investigation. We thank members of Congress who joined us in demanding that the Biden administration open an independent investigation and we thank APN’s activists who supported congressional actions in this regard.”

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.

On November 7^th, Israel’s outgoing Knesset held a commemorative session to mark the anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, 27 years ago.

Among the speakers was MK Bezalel Smotrich, who chairs the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism Party, the third largest party in the Knesset and Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief partner in his prospective coalition. In his speech, Smotrich voiced an absurd conspiracy theory that is prevalent among hard-right Israelis. According to this theory, Israel’s Shin Bet secret service “used irresponsible manipulations (…)  to encourage the murderer to carry out his plan,” as Smotrich put it. He added that the criticism of Rabin coming from the national religious community was justified, thus minimizing, indeed ignoring, the documented role that extreme right-wing incitement played in pushing the assassin, Yigal Amir, to pull the trigger.