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.
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
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.
Americans for Peace Now welcomes the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas and thanks the third parties who helped broker it. APN urges both sides to adhere to the ceasefire and – in the coming days and weeks – to do their utmost to stabilize the situation.
After a week of deadly hostilities, with a horrific toll in Israel, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Americans for Peace Now (APN) reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire.
APN and its many supporters and activists throughout the United States – as well as our friends at Israel's peace movement – are heartbroken as Israelis and Palestinians, Arabs and Jews, bury their loved ones. We send our condolences to the bereaved families on both sides, and wish recovery and health to the many hundreds who have been injured and displaced.
Clarity
By Ori Nir, APN's Vice President for Public Affairs
Responding to a somber Eid al-Fitr holiday greeting last week, a friend from East Jerusalem responded with a line from the Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish. It says: “We have on this land what makes life worth living.” It’s a love song, a song of love for life as well as a song of love for Darwish’s homeland.