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.
Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived.
1. Bills, Resolutions
& Letters
2.
Hearings & Markups
3. On the Record
Shameless plugs:
Over the past two weeks FMEP produced a number of fantastic podcasts featuring Palestinian perspectives – from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and inside the Green Line – on current events. These include:
In recent years, while Israeli government policies and Knesset legislation challenged efforts to advance a shared Jewish-Arab society in Israel, Jewish and Arab activists were successfully building genuine bridges between the two publics, based on a sense of shared citizenhood.
Did the recent eruption of inter-communal Jewish-Arab hostilities smash these bridges? Could they be rebuilt? What should be the foundation for an effective Jewish-Arab shared society in Israel? Does the recent crisis open opportunities to establish such a solid foundation?
To answer these and other questions on the state of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel, APN will host a webinar featuring two leading activists in this field, Maisam Jaljuli and Shuli Dichter.
The webinar was held on Thursday, June 3rd
Listen here.
SPEAKERS:
Shalom (Shuli) Dichter is the author of Tensions and Good Intentions, a vision for shared society between Arabs and Jews in Israel. He is the former Executive Director of Hand in Hand, the Centers for Bilingual Education, and the former co-executive director of Sikkuy, The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality, a Jewish-Arab advocacy organization.
Maisam Jaljuli is the co-chair of the board of directors of Sikkuy and a member of the secretariat of the Jewish Arab organization Standing Together, a Jewish Arab movement that mobilizes people for equality, social justice, and peace. She is active in a broad spectrum of a social, feminist, labor and political causes and a leading member of the political party Hadash
Dear Senator Risch:
We write with a great sense of urgency to respectfully request that you release your hold on tens of millions of dollars in appropriated humanitarian aid that is so desperately needed to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands civilians suffering in Gaza and the West Bank in the wake of the horrific violence that took place in the last several weeks.
Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe. Buildings lie in rubble. Access to clean water and electricity is sporadic or nonexistent. Food insecurity is spreading. COVID-19 is running rampant and thousands of people have been displaced and rendered homeless. The magnitude of the crisis is staggering.
As the ceasefire takes hold, the United States can help relieve the suffering of countless innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of Hamas terror rockets and Israeli aerial bombardment. The assistance aid notified by the State Department is to be provided in full accordance with U.S. law. It is administered and overseen by our government and by trusted and vetted partners on the ground. Secretary Antony Blinken has made clear that Hamas and other terrorist groups will not benefit from our humanitarian assistance.
Rendering humanitarian assistance to the besieged Palestinian population serves American values as well as our diplomatic and security interests. Please act with dispatch to release these funds. Thank you for your attention.
Very truly yours,
Jamie Raskin (Member of Congress)
The Honorable Antony Blinken Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Blinken:
May 27, 2021
We write to thank you and the entire Biden Administration for your commitment to fighting against the rising threat of antisemitism, both globally, and here in the United States. We applaud your prioritization of combating this ancient hatred. In carrying out this critical work, we urge you to consider multiple definitions of antisemitism, including two new definitions that have been formulated and embraced by the Jewish community.
In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), of which the United States is a member, adopted a non-legally binding definition of antisemitism. The Department of State began using this working definition at this time. In September of 2018, the Trump Administration announced that it was expanding the use of the IHRA definition to the Department of Education. This was followed by the 2019 “White House Executive Order on Combating Antisemitism” that formally directed federal agencies to consider the IHRA working definition and contemporary examples of antisemitism in enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
While the IHRA definition can be informative, in order to most effectively combat antisemitism, we should use all of the best tools at our disposal. Recently, two new definitions have been introduced that can and should be equally considered by the State Department and the entire Administration. The first is the Nexus Document, drafted by the Nexus Task Force, “which examines the issues at the nexus of antisemitism and Israel in American politics.” The Task Force is a project of the Knight Program on Media and Religion at the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at USC. The definition is designed as a guide for policymakers and community leaders as they grapple with the complexities at the intersection of Israel and antisemitism.
Another valuable resource is the recently released Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA). The JDA is a tool to identify, confront and raise awareness about antisemitism as it manifests in countries around the world today. It includes a preamble, definition, and a set of 15 guidelines that provide detailed guidance for those seeking to recognize antisemitism in order to craft responses. It was developed by a group of scholars in the fields of Holocaust history, Jewish studies, and Middle East studies to meet what has become a growing challenge: providing clear guidance to identify and fight antisemitism while protecting free expression.
These two efforts are the work of hundreds of scholars and experts in the fields of antisemitism, Israel and Middle East Policy, and Jewish communal affairs, and have been helpful to us as we grapple with these complex issues. While each of the available definitions have their own strengths and weaknesses, and hence the signatories below do not endorse every part of each one, we believe the Administration should consider all three important documents as resources to help guide its thinking and actions when addressing issues of combating antisemitism.
Once again, we thank you and President Biden for prioritizing this important matter and urge you to use all tools at your disposal to combat the threat of antisemitism.
Sincerely,
Jan Schakowsky, Andy Levin, Mark Pocan,
Pramila Jayapal, and Jamie Raskin
Members of Congress
Co-signers:
Earl Blumenauer, André Carson, Sean Casten, Joaquin Castro, David N. Cicilline, Steve Cohen, Jim Cooper, Mark DeSaulnier, Veronica Escobar, Dwight Evans, Raúl M. Grijalva, Bill Johnson, Mondaire Jones, Kaiali’i Kahele, Ro Khanna, Alan Lowenthal, Betty McCollum, James P. McGovern, Jerrold Nadler, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, David E. Price, Adam Schiff, Jackie Speier, Eric Swalwell, Mark Takano, Dana Titus, Nydia Velázquez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Peter Welch, John Yarmuth
These past few weeks have been full of sorrow over the deaths and injuries of innocent people in Israel and in Gaza. They have been full of fear for friends, family and colleagues who have huddled in bomb shelters and stairwells, as well as for those who lacked even that level of protection. But sorrow and fear does not mean inaction.
We have been at the center of the political debate over this latest round of violence, and have worked to ensure that, as we pushed for a ceasefire, we also made sure that elected officials understood why the missiles and bombs started flying. We hosted briefings, bringing Israeli and Palestinian voices directly to members of Congress and their key staff. We worked with members of Congress as they sought to navigate this difficult moment, helping to draft and gather support for many of the Congressional letters and resolutions that called for ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and for addressing the root causes of the conflict.
When the ceasefire was announced we were relieved to see the attacks end. However, we know that it is but a pause, at best a return to a status-quo that is neither sustainable nor acceptable.
In conversations with Administration officials and members of Congress I have repeated this message:
Without efforts to address the root causes of the conflict and the ills that perpetuate it, cross-border violence and inter-communal violence such as we witnessed in the past few weeks will become routine.
We cannot allow this to become routine. That is why we need you to help APN do the work we do best.
Americans for Peace Now opposes Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s (R-PA) resolution, which absurdly characterizes comments critical of Israeli policies by a fellow member of the House of Representative’s as “antisemitic.”
Reschenthaler is introducing a congressional resolution to condemn Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) for saying that because Israel is more powerful than its Palestinian adversaries in the Gaza Strip, it bears more responsibility for maintaining peace in the region. Jayapal, who spoke in an interview with CNN, also said that as a tool to induce a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Biden administration should hold a US arms sale to 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.
Peace Now’s executive director, Shaqued Morag, was among the speakers at a peace rally in Tel Aviv Today.
Shaqued said: “We are the proof that things can be different here. There is a generation raised here, which cannot
even imagi
ne peace and coexistence. As much as it concerns the prime
minister of the past 12 years, this generation will, too, live by the sword. From the Gaza border to Tel Aviv,
from Lydda to Um el-Fahm, children are paying the price for this lack of leadership.
We must not accept this!
May of 2021 will be remembered as a traumatic landmark in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What are its short-term and long-term repercussions? Where do Israelis and Palestinians find themselves after the recent hostilities? What’s next? How deep is the rift caused by Jewish-Arab inter-communal violence? What are the takeaways for Israel’s peace movement?
To answer these and other questions relating to the crisis, please join us for a webinar on Monday, May 24th at 11:00 am (ET) featuring Israeli strategic expert Yossi Alpher and Peace Now’s Executive Director Shaqued Morag.
The conversation will be moderated by APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind.
SPEAKERS:
Yossi Alpher, the author of APN’s weekly analysis Hard Questions Tough Answers, 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 Israel’s Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer.
Shaqued Morag is the executive director of Israel’s peace movement Shalom Achshav (Peace Now). A seasoned political and social activist, Shaqued served in senior positions at Israel’s Meretz party, including the party’s secretary-general.