The annual day commemorating the victims of the Holocaust and of heroism, begins this evening,
Wednesday, May 4.
By Ori Nir
Israel has always suffered a water shortage. Seven years ago, the shortage turned into a crisis. The Sea of the Galilee receded to an unprecedented low, as did the mountain aquifers. Under the slogan “Israel is drying up,” the government ran terrifying television ads, featuring Israeli celebrities whose photoshopped skin was cracking like arid earth and peeling off. My mother used to cover her eyes when these ads ran. “I can’t see it,” she would say. Concerned citizens took shorter showers and stopped using garden hoses to water their plants or wash their cars. Consumption dropped but not enough. The country’s dwindling reserves couldn’t meet demand.
Today, the state of Israel has solved its water problems. Four large water desalination and purification plants were built (two more are under construction), including one that until recently was the largest in the world. Today, more than half of Israel’s drinking water is desalinated Mediterranean water. There is a surplus of water, even as consumption grows.
For the first in a series of ads from APN, Gen. Meir Dagan speaks about why the security
community concur on reaching a political settlement with the Palestinians. This one appears in the Washington
Jewish Week and the Baltimore Jewish Times.
You can support additional ads by donating here.
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 why the very first Palestinian intifada erupted 80 years ago; if last month's arrival of Yemeni Jews fleeing the fighting in Yemen to Israel means the end of exile in Arab lands; and whether last week's announcement of the deployment of 250 additional US combat troops to Syria is a sign of mission creep.
I am proud to introduce Tough Questions, Expert Answers, a new APN publication series which tackles seminal issues pertaining to the conflict. In a world where soundbites dominate, it is critical to take the time to understand the issues that can change the world- for better or for worse.
The first edition in the series is a Q&A on the Temple Mount. With tensions growing by the day over the world’s most contested religious site, this timely explainer by Jerusalem expert Danny Seidemann is a must read. As Danny correctly states, "the battle over the Status Quo at the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif has increasingly become a proxy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict writ large."
The pro-Netanyahu newspaper Israel Hayom, a political daily distributed free of charge and funded
by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson, is the main reason for Israel’s dropping to the unflattering “partly
free” category in Freedom House’s 2016
Global Freedom of the Press report. Vanessa Tucker, Freedom House’s vice president for analysis, explains in
the following interview why her organization is concerned about the impact of the Adelson-funded daily on
Israel’s public arena.
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 the Israeli calculations regarding the means and benefits of responding with force to new Hamas tunnel-digging; if Israel’s deterrence has failed and Hamas continues to attack by diverse means, if there are additional reasons for the Netanyahu government to avoid retaliation; if there are people in Israel advocating re-conquering and reoccupying the Strip; and if recent sporadic rocket fire from Gaza was not attributed to Hamas, who’s in charge there?
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
Earlier this week the Palestinian Media reported on a new expropriation order in the lands of the village of
Al-Zawiya. This order was published based on the State's most recent publication procedure of the Blue Line Team's
work.
While the original declaration in this area included 1,264 dumans, the current order, following the work of the Blue Line Team, adds another 115 dunams that are now declared as state lands. The order also deducts 213 dumans that are no longer considered as state lands, and yet 30 of the 213 dunams have already been expropriated for the purpose of the "Cross Samariah" highway.
While the original declaration in this area included 1,264 dumans, the current order, following the work of the Blue Line Team, adds another 115 dunams that are now declared as state lands. The order also deducts 213 dumans that are no longer considered as state lands, and yet 30 of the 213 dunams have already been expropriated for the purpose of the "Cross Samariah" highway.
Despite Monday’s bus bombing, terror incidents have waned. Is the $100 million a year the U.S. spends on the Palestinian Authority Security Forces paying off?
GUSH ETZION, West Bank — On a recent cold foggy day at the entrance to Bethlehem, Israel Defense Forces Lt. Col. Yoel Pinto pulled his military jeep to the side of the road to point out an overpass where, on occasion, young Palestinians rain down rocks on Israeli cars below.
Pinto, a battalion commander whose infantry unit was responsible for this north-west sector of Gush Etzion, a restive part of the southern West Bank, seemed preternaturally calm despite being at the doorstep of a major Palestinian city—which was likely the point.
Each year at the Seder, Jews read this line in the Passover Haggadah, "In every generation, a person is obligated to see themselves as if they had left Egypt." I love this concept, because it evokes both empathy for what our forefathers and mothers have suffered, and – more importantly – a lesson for us, for our present and future. The lesson is that change is possible, that we are masters of our fate, and that with determination and courage we can accomplish liberation. In our generation, liberating Israelis and Palestinians from the yoke of the occupation, which is subjugating both societies, is imperative. And it is within our reach.
This year, you can add flavor to your seder by sharing this thoughtful reflection by Rabbi Michael Feshbach. Rabbi Feshbach has graciously contributed our 16th haggadah insert. In it, he asks us to reflect upon what Elijah's cup - the symbol of full redemption - means.
Since 2001, Americans for Peace Now has asked rabbis from the extended APN family to contribute reflections on the haggada: that story which has for centuries been understood as the archetype of liberation. Many of us have made these reflections a permanent part of our seder - we hope you will, too.You can find them here.
May we all enjoy a sweet and liberating Passover,
Debra DeLee
President and CEO,
Americans for Peace Now
Submitted by Rabbi Michael L. Feshbach (2016)
To be recited as we prepare to open the door for Elijah.