Sunday, May 16, 2021

OMNI: ISRAEL-PALESTINE NEWSLETTER #14, MAY 16, 2021

 

OMNI

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS NEWSLETTER #14, MAY 16, 2021.

Compiled by Dick Bennett FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE AND JUSTICE.

#1 Feb. 22, 2011; #2 Feb. 16, 2012; #3 March 1, 2012; #4 May 18, 2012; #5 August 13, 2012; #6 October 29, 2012; #7 Dec. 17, 2012; #8 March 29, 2013; #9 Oct. 21, 2013; #10 April 28, 2014; #11, July 1, 2015; #12, June 21, 2016; #13, August 13, 2016)).

http://omnicenter.org/donate/

What’s at stake:   On Sunday mornings I watch the pro-Israel Christian Broadcasting Network on ARPBS, think of the support of Israel by the majority of both Democats and Republicans, cannot think of any mainstream media offering even close to equal time and sympathy for the Palestinans, think of the $3.8 billion minimum the US gives Israel annually, and I think there’s a real need for balance here.

 

CONTENTS, ISRAEL-PALESTINE NEWSLETTER #14,  MAY 16, 2021

MAY 12-16, 2021: A Battle Becoming a War

Whitbeck: Meaning of annual $3.8 Billion to Israel

Consequences of Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing

A Palestinian Community Calls for International Help

The Nakba and Israeli Refusers

Nakba Day

Senator Sanders Calls for Peace

Rabbi Waskow: Muslims and Jews Call for Peace (and you can join them)

LOOKING BACK TO PREPARE THE FUTURE

A. J. Muste Institute for Nonviolence, and Israel/Palestine

Canada’s NDP Sanctions Israel

AFSC Demands Vaccinations for Palestinians

Ilan Pappe’s Quick History of Israel/Palestine

APN, Beerman’s Book on Zionism

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs: John Kerry

APN, 2016

 

TEXTS

MAY 12-MAY 16, 2021, ISRAEL AND PALESTINIANS AT WAR

DIVERSE ASPECTS OF THE APRIL-MAY UNEQUAL WAR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND GAZA, THE LARGEST REFUGEE CAMP IN THE WORLD

It’s Not American “Aid” to Israel. It’s Tribute.

BY JOHN WHITBECK.   CounterPunch (MAY 12, 2021).  

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Photograph Source: jaqian – CC BY 2.0

In the wake of the recent Human Rights Watch report on Israeli apartheid and persecution and the ongoing Israeli brutalities in Jerusalem, a slowly growing handful of brave American politicians is daring to defy President Biden’s publicly proclaimed assertion that it would be “absolutely outrageous” to ever condition American “aid” to Israel on any Israeli behavior and to assert that such “aid” should indeed be conditioned, at least to some degree, on Israeli violations of human rights, international law and America’s own laws with respect to the use of American-provided weapons.

While this modest trend in principled support for human rights and international law by even a mere handful of American politicians must be viewed as encouraging, the tradition of characterizing the U.S. government’s payments to Israel — currently a baseline minimum of $3.8 Billion per year, negotiated and agreed by a departing President Obama for the next ten-year payment cycle, inevitably supplemented by numerous add-ons — as “aid” should also be questioned.

Israel is not a poor country. In the latest UN rankings, its annual per capita GDP of $46,376 ranked it 19th among the UN’s 193 member states, ahead of Germany (20th), the United Kingdom (24th), France (26th) and Saudi Arabia (41st).

The guaranteed payments which U.S. governments negotiate with Israeli governments and commit to pay to Israel are not negotiated and paid because Israel needs the money.

They are negotiated and paid as public manifestations of American submission and subservience.

The accurate and proper word for such payments is “tribute”, for which the dictionary definition is “a payment made periodically by one state or ruler to another, especially as a sign of dependence.”

Ever since Israel attacked the aptly named USS Liberty in 1967, killing 34 Americans, wounding another 171 and inflicting 821 rocket and machine-gun holes in the ship, and President Johnson ordered a cover-up which constituted a virtual surrender, the U.S. government has been taking orders from and paying tribute to Israel, with consequences for America’s reputation and its role in the world vastly more costly than mere money.

Indeed, the American relationship with Israel deprives the United States of any credibility when it accuses countries that it dislikes for other reasons of violations of human rights or international law.

If popular perceptions and discourse in the United States could be transformed so as to recognize that the U.S. government’s payment commitments to Israel constitute tribute to a dominant power rather than “aid” to a needy nation, there might be some hope for a long overdue American declaration of independence and a more constructive and honorable American role in the world.

John V. Whitbeck is an international lawyer who has advised the Palestinian negotiating team in negotiations with Israel.

 

Israel’s illusion of normality collapses: May 2021

Eds.  mronline.org (5-14-21). 

May 2021 has shattered Israeli illusions that they are immune from the volcano the country has created through its history of ethnic cleansing and apartheid.   May 13, 2021 | Newswire.  

share on Twitter Like Israel’s illusion of normality collapses: May 2021 on Facebook

 

Palestinian community in Lydda calls for international protection from Israeli state-sanctioned pogroms.  Eds.  mronline.org (5-15=6-21).

 

Following a night of racist attacks by far-right Israeli extremists, Palestinians living in Lydda (Lod) are calling for immediate international intervention to defend them before it is too late.

May 15, 2021 | Newswire

share on Twitter Like Palestinian community in Lydda calls for international protection from Israeli state-sanctioned pogroms on Facebook

 

Dick, will you travel with us to Palestine/Israel, virtually?

5-5-21 Learn about Israeli Military Refusal, commemorate the Nakba

Nada, Omar, and Emily, EP Staff <delegations@eyewitnesspalestine.org> 

1:00 PM (14 minutes ago)

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to me

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Show your Solidarity - Join our Virtual Delegations

 Delegations During the Next Two Weeks:
  Military Refusal  
Nakba Commemoration

Our Virtual Delegations connect you directly with
organizers in Palestine and provide important, timely updates.
They also bring much needed financial support to our partners in Palestine.

Space is limited - register today!

Learn about Israeli Military Refusal from Mesarvot - a network of Israeli activists that supports conscientious objectors in their refusal to become soldiers and take part in the oppression of the Palestinian people. The tour will accompany refusers on their enlistment day and join a support protest by the network - standing strong against backlash from Israeli. Get to know some of the young leaders, including the Shministim - a group of high school students who refuse military service publicly for their political beliefs. 

 

To commemorate the Nakba this year, we will be traveling virtually to Lifta. The story of Lifta is one example of about 600 Palestinian localities that were captured, and their indigenous residents expelled, during the Nakba in 1948. Lifta was one of the biggest villages in al-Quds (Jerusalem) district until its occupation in 1948. All of its 3000 residents were forcibly displaced and, even until today, their ability to return to their houses and lands to live has been prevented by Israel. 

May 16, 18, or 20Choose the date best for you!


Register for the tour
to Lifta!

 Also, check out our next Virtual Delegation, coming up in late May/early June:
Child Detention with Defense for Children International - Palestine

And later this spring: Silwan (East Jerusalem), and Rafah (Gaza Strip)

Sign up to get Virtual Delegation updates!

You are receiving this message because you shared your email with Eyewitness Palestine
(formerly Interfaith Peace-Builders).

 

[VFP-all] Nakba Day in New Paltz, NY, 2021

Tarak Kauff via uark.onmicrosoft.com 

6:05 AM (6 hours ago)

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to VFP, VFP-standing-rock@googlegroups.com, vfpall

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Photos by Ellen Davidson. I couldn’t make it but the banner we took to Palestine did. Here’s the link for more pictures:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/igmw3BtMWRXDiWYr5

 

Speaking of that here’s what Matt Hoh wrote and his article, recently reposted:

I wrote this several years ago, but am sharing again as it is relevant today.

Over the last several years, I have thought quite a bit about Palestine and what I experienced there. I also think quite a bit about Ireland, and my family’s history that included membership in the IRA during the Irish War for independence (my grandmother, Mae, was a girl in Tipperary from 1909-1929).

I’ve come to learn the links between the fight for Irish independence and the fight for Palestinian independence, as well as to reconcile my own role in imperial occupation, with a purpose and meaning today I feel agrees more with the values and principles I want to embody from my ancestors. – Matt

https://mondoweiss.net/2017/03/protesting-alongside-palestinian/?fbclid=IwAR3WfQdneKeF2jo70hgaDPTts_y0_ITxS9dtVxOknix9IdBamVs6Yemzvyk

 

Tarak Kauff
NYC Veterans For Peace
Peace & Planet News
845 706-0187

“Colorful demonstrations and weekend marches are vital but alone are not powerful enough to stop wars. Wars will be stopped only when soldiers refuse to fight, when workers refuse to load weapons onto ships and aircraft, when people boycott the economic outposts of Empire that are strung across the globe. ” 
― Arundhati Roy, Public Power in the Age of Empire

 

SENATOR SANDERS CALLS FOR PEACE

Sen. Sanders speaks for those with conscience..Palestinian lives matter

Sonny San Juan  5-15-21

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Date: Fri, May 14, 2021 at 8:46 PM
Subject:
Sen. Sanders speaks for those with conscience..Palestinian lives matter
To:

 

The U.S. Must Stop Being an Apologist for the Netanyahu Government

May 14, 2021By Bernie Sanders

“Israel has the right to defend itself.”

These are the words we hear from both Democratic and Republican administrations whenever the government of Israel, with its enormous military power, responds to rocket attacks from Gaza.

Let’s be clear. No one is arguing that Israel, or any government, does not have the right to self-defense or to protect its people. So why are these words repeated year after year, war after war? And why is the question almost never asked: “What are the rights of the Palestinian people?”

And why do we seem to take notice of the violence in Israel and Palestine only when rockets are falling on Israel?

In this moment of crisis, the United States should be urging an immediate cease-fire. We should also understand that, while Hamas firing rockets into Israeli communities is absolutely unacceptable, today’s conflict did not begin with those rockets.

Palestinian families in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah have been living under the threat of eviction for many years, navigating a legal system designed to facilitate their forced displacement. And over the past weeks, extremist settlers have intensified their efforts to evict them.

And, tragically, those evictions are just one part of a broader system of political and economic oppression. For years we have seen a deepening Israeli occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and a continuing blockade on Gaza that make life increasingly intolerable for Palestinians. In Gaza, which has about two million inhabitants, 70 percent of young people are unemployed and have little hope for the future.

Further, we have seen Benjamin Netanyahu’s government work to marginalize and demonize Palestinian citizens of Israel, pursue settlement policies designed to foreclose the possibility of a two-state solution and pass laws that entrench systemic inequality between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel.

None of this excuses the attacks by Hamas, which were an attempt to exploit the unrest in Jerusalem, or the failures of the corrupt and ineffective Palestinian Authority, which recently postponed long-overdue elections. But the fact of the matter is that Israel remains the one sovereign authority in the land of Israel and Palestine, and rather than preparing for peace and justice, it has been entrenching its unequal and undemocratic control.

Over more than a decade of his right-wing rule in Israel, Mr. Netanyahu has cultivated an increasingly intolerant and authoritarian type of racist nationalism. In his frantic effort to stay in power and avoid prosecution for corruption, Mr. Netanyahu has legitimized these forces, including Itamar Ben Gvir and his extremist Jewish Power party, by bringing them into the government. It is shocking and saddening that racist mobs that attack Palestinians on the streets of Jerusalem now have representation in its Knesset.

 

These dangerous trends are not unique to Israel. Around the world, in Europe, in Asia, in South America and here in the United States, we have seen the rise of similar authoritarian nationalist movements. These movements exploit ethnic and racial hatreds in order to build power for a corrupt few rather than prosperity, justice and peace for the many. For the last four years, these movements had a friend in the White House.

At the same time, we are seeing the rise of a new generation of activists who want to build societies based on human needs and political equality. We saw these activists in American streets last summer in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. We see them in Israel. We see them in the Palestinian territories.

With a new president, the United States now has the opportunity to develop a new approach to the world — one based on justice and democracy. Whether it is helping poor countries get the vaccines they need, leading the world to combat climate change or fighting for democracy and human rights around the globe, the United States must lead by promoting cooperation over conflict.

In the Middle East, where we provide nearly $4 billion a year in aid to Israel, we can no longer be apologists for the right-wing Netanyahu government and its undemocratic and racist behavior. We must change course and adopt an evenhanded approach, one that upholds and strengthens international law regarding the protection of civilians, as well as existing U.S. law holding that the provision of U.S. military aid must not enable human rights abuses.

This approach must recognize that Israel has the absolute right to live in peace and security, but so do the Palestinians. I strongly believe that the United States has a major role to play in helping Israelis and Palestinians to build that future. But if the United States is going to be a credible voice on human rights on the global stage, we must uphold international standards of human rights consistently, even when it’s politically difficult. We must recognize that Palestinian rights matter. Palestinian lives matter.

MUSLIM-JEWISH CALL FOR PEACE

 

Rabbi Arthur Waskow Awaskow@theshalomcenter.org via uark.onmicrosoft.com 

9:13 AM (3 hours ago)

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to James  5-16-21

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Web:Theshalomcenter.org

The Shalom Report

A MUSLIM AND JEWISH CALL FOR SHALOM, SALAAM, PEACE IN JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, AND PALESTINE

[Dear friends, In response to a recent Shalom Report of mine, "The Roots of Turmoil in Jerusalem," Daisy Khan, executive secretary of  Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE), asked me to join her and Adem Carroll, an active Muslim member of several interfaith organizations, in working out a shared statement by Muslims and Jews about the worsening violence that began in Jerusalem and has now spead to all parts of Israel and Palestine. We did, we invited some leaders of both communities  to sign it, and this is it, below. We invite you to join in it, and to share it with your friends. 

To sign it, please click to --

https://theshalomcenter.org/civicrm/event/info?id=43&reset=1

Since the Call was designed for signature by Muslims and Jews, we have provideed another link for signatures by allies and supporters from other spiritual, religious, and ethical communities:

https://theshalomcenter.org/civicrm/event/info?id=44&reset=1

We see this morning that many demonstrations and public statements yesterday were caught in the binary of either Palestine or Israel. One must be totally right,  the other totally wrong. But that binary is no more true, and no more peaceful, than  any other binary. We are taught, "Justice, Justice shall you Pursue" to remind us that one side may have more justice than another, as in this case,  but both may have some. We are also taught  "Seek peace and pursue it" to remind us to pursue peace even when it seems to be running away from us -- like nowThis Call seeks to follow both teachings.

That doesn't mean this Call is perfect, flawless. No doubt in the current fury of fear and rage some on both sides will condemn this effort. Why then do this, when Palestinians and Israelis are dying at each others' hands and what were fragile threads of relationship between Israelis of Jewish identity and Israelis of Palestinian identity (who had been mostly disempowered)  have been torn apart through violence in the streets of many Israeli cities? In our view, precisely because life in America, where there are warm ties of affection with family and friends in Palestine and Israel but where our ccommunities are not urgently needing to prevent being killed, offers some hope of a measured intention to seek peace. People who have sharp and immediate fears of being killed are often not able  to turn their attention to seeking peace, no matter how much they want it.

Furthermore, we hope that a shared statement at such a moment can bespeak the deep desire for justice and peace of the Muslim Community as a whole and of the Jewish Community as a whole. The Call, by simply existing, is already a partical step toward a more just and peaceful world. Additional signatures, and your efforts to spread the word to friends, officials and newpapers, social media, etc, will strengthen the bonds. --- AW, editor]

 

A MUSLIM AND JEWISH CALL FOR SHALOM, SALAAM, PEACE   

IN JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, AND PALESTINE 

May 14, 2021; 3 Sivan, 5781; 2 Shawwal, 1442

 On the occasion of the Islamic Holy Day of Eid and as we approach the Jewish Holy Day of Shavuot,  the Muslim and Jewish communities must both deplore the violence between Israel and Palestine and note the disproportionate response of the state of Israel, beginning with the attack on the Al Aqsa mosque on Laylat al Qadr, one of the holiest nights of the year.

 Some Israeli extremists continue to advocate for Israeli seizure and destruction of this holy site. Though their numbers are small, it is as if small numbers of people were known to be planning for destruction on Easter Sunday of St. Peter’s  in Vatican City, or on Yom Kippur of the Western Wall so sacred to Jews, or on July 4  of  the US Capitol together with the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, even if no one were to be killed – most unlikely in all four cases. 

Given the intense devotion to this place,  one of the most important sites in the Muslim world, and given the constant anxiety caused by the known threats to it, the actual attack was extremely provocative. We must question the motivation, the timing, and the necessity.

And we mourn the loss of lives, all sacred. We plead with our co-religionists in Israel and Palestine, and world-wide, to return to the shared vision of Jerusalem as a Holy City, one that reflects vision, light, hope, compassion and peace, and reflects the profound dignity and value of all humans as Images of the Holy One.

We ask both governmental leaders and private citizens, those with power and those in the street, to do everything in their power to de-escalate the conflict and further calm, to protect life and limb, restore the safety of all,  and prevent any damage to the sacred sites of all.

Injustices and inequalities feed this conflict. Though we deplore the rockets from Gaza as we deplore the Israeli bombing, the most immediate crisis in Jerusalem has its roots in the continuing military occupation and siege of lands that comprise the necessary aspirations of the Palestinian people  --  East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza – and the constant forcible pressure to replace Palestinian residents of these lands with settlers who often act oppressively, with  military and police protection.There may be several different ways to end this unjust occupation and to protect the safety of all who live in the region. So long as it continues, crisis after crisis, bloodshed after bloodshed, will be its consequences. 

For there can be no true security without justice. Nor will there be peace without justice, only  pacification based on force. Though many feel that the US has not maintained its neutrality as an honest broker in this ongoing conflict, President Biden should far more energetically promote a peace process both in Israel and Palestine, meanwhile responding to the concerns of the international community. The US Government has  so far seemed unable or unwilling to confront the settlement movement that has played such a destabilizing role in Israel as well as Palestine.

Our own spiritual and religious communities throughout the world are deeply affected by what our communities in Israel and Palestine do. The vision of the ancient Hebrew Prophets and of the Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon them all, of a world of peace and justice – and the shape of a Jewish People and Islam struggling to carry out those visions today – will be deeply compromised by injustice and violence committed in their names.

Blessed be the peacemakers. On this occasion, we affirm that our shared religious and moral values require an embrace of peace and justice, especially when our views and perspectives differ. The other alternative is oppression and conflict without end. 

To sign, please click to --

 https://theshalomcenter.org/civicrm/event/info?id=43&reset=1

Signed (Institutions cited for identification only):

Imam Shamsi Ali,  Director, Jamaica Muslim Center, NY, and President, Nusantara Foundation USA 
. . . .

Ani Zonneveld, Muslims for Progressive Values

To add your name, please click to --

 https://theshalomcenter.org/civicrm/event/info?id=43&reset=1

 

Since the Call was designed for signature by Muslims and Jews, we have provideed another link for signatures by allies and supporters from other spiritual, religious, and ethical communities

https://theshalomcenter.org/civicrm/event/info?id=44&reset=1


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Shalom, salaam, paz, peace, namaste! -- Arthur

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THE MISCELLANEOUS PAST FOR PRESENT ACTION

 

“Despair Is Not an Option”: grantees speak out on Palestine/Israel

https://ajmuste.org/sites/default/files/muste-notes/mustenoteswinter2016.pdf

A.J. Muste Memorial Institute <info@ajmuste.org>

11:21 AM (29 minutes ago)

2-5-16

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ajmuste.org - supporting nonviolent action since 1974

JUST LAST MONTH, APRIL 2021, CANADA’s NDP STANDS WITH PALESTINIANS

 

Canada’s new Democratic Party passes motion to sanction Israel

Michael Arria.  At the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) convention last week, party members overwhelmingly passed a motion to sanction Israel. The policy book forthe center-left political party, which has existed in Canada since 1961, will now include a boycott of goods from illegal settlements and an arms embargo on the country.

April 14, 2021 | Newswire.   share on Twitter Like Canada’s new Democratic Party passes motion to sanction Israel on Facebook

AFSC
Tell Congress: Demand Israel provide Palestinians with COVID-19 vaccinations and humanitarian aid
I
srael’s inoculation program is moving forward quickly for Israeli citizens, but Palestinians living under Israeli control in the West Bank and Gaza are being left behind. Israel has indicated that it has no intention of facilitating a vaccination campaign in Gaza and the West Bank.   

In addition, U.S. humanitarian assistance to Palestine that was cut under the Trump administration is urgently needed and must be resumed immediately.

o    Write to your Representative today to ask that they sign a new Dear Colleague Letter initiated by Rep. Pocan and Rep. Carson and calling on Sec. Blinken to demand that Israel provide Palestinians living under its control with COVID-19 vaccin   DONATE

 

 

A THUMBNAIL SKETCH OF PAST FOR PRESENT

If you’re not familiar with Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, you should be.  Here’s an 11 minute interview, several years old, that provides essential background to what’s happening today. 
See you at noon.
Peace, George
https://therealnews.com/how-israels-erasure-of-palestinian-history-perpetuates-occupation

George Paulson  5-14-21

 

There is no better legacy than peacemaker: Understanding Zionism

Professor David N. Myers, UCLA apndc@peacenow.org via uark.onmicrosoft.com 

9:00 AM (2 hours ago)

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to James

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Americans for Peace Now

 

Dear Dick,

The struggle to bring peace and justice to both Israelis and Palestinians remains as important as ever. And so too is the need to understand the history of the conflict, as well as the two peoples who stand at its center.

I often think of the historical experience and wisdom of my dear friend, Rabbi Leonard Beerman z"l , who had a deeply personal angle on the conflict. After serving in the U.S. Marines, Leonard joined the Haganah, the underground Jewish militia in Palestine fighting for independence against local Palestinian Arabs. Following his experience, Leonard returned with new powers of understanding and empathy for both peoples, in addition to a life-long commitment to pacifism.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgkIO1WcaW_Y9i7w50pSiFn_dWRGGFvufvgGzOxzsuLYqF5JLDIpeQfJsmoLMmkTJy8N8coDrcIqmanFL9QroevRddDkSpgvsAs1Xh6gBfXyoUzmhsgTXTg3-ArGs3UZN64CX4TTSh2T6DKYEJxOZs9Hux5H4wvdxjPNk-SZtGebXh2tH9EJYrR=s0-d-e1-ftOne of the people with whom Leonard most liked to discuss his passions and hopes about the conflict was his dear friend, Milton Viorst. In fact, Milton has dedicated his new book, Zionism: The Birth and Transformation of an Ideal, to "Rabbi Beerman and the other peacemakers, the greatest of the Zionists."

Milton's book offers fresh insight and a wide-angled lens on the movement that propelled the Jewish people from dispersion to the path of return to Palestine, where they encountered not an empty land but a native population fearful of being displaced. The book discusses the arc of the Zionist idea, from its European birthplace to its location at the center of the conflict between Jews and Arabs over historic Palestine.

His book is timely and reminds us of the value of studying the past in order to grasp the present. And this is why Americans for Peace Now wants you to read this book. APN wants you to educate yourselves. So too would our friend and teacher, Rabbi Leonard Beerman, who supported Americans for Peace Now, as does Milton Viorst.

Donate TodayPlease honor the memory of Rabbi Beerman today by making a contribution of at least $90. If you do so, APN will send a copy of Milt’s newest book (enter"Book" in the comments section to indicate you'd like one).

May Rabbi Beerman’s name (z”l) be a blessing, and there is no better legacy than "peacemaker". Thank you Milt for doing this.

Sincerely,

David N. Myers
Sady and Ludwig Kahn Professor of Jewish History, UCLA

 

 

 

 

o me

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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

ACTION ALERT
December 28, 2016

Contact: news_editor@wrmea.org

 

 

Secretary of State John Kerry Discusses Two-State Solution, Security Council Vote Criticizing Israeli Settlement-Building

Watch Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech (with unedited transcript below):

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DIRECT VIDEO LINK:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?420776-1/secretary-state-kerry-says-twostate-solution-path-middle-east-peace

DIRECT REMARKS LINK:
https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/12/266119.htm

Please take a moment to thank Secretary of State John Kerry for his speech today at the State Department.  [In 2021 tell him Gaza should not be a concentration camp in the process of becoming an extermination camp, and much more good advice.  –D]

Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
(202) 647-6575  #8

 

APN Update - It's the settlements stupid, APN in 2016, help us do more, and thank you

Americans for Peace Now apndc@peacenow.org via uark.onmicrosoft.com 

3:58 PM (17 hours ago)

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to James

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Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: December 28, 2016

 

APN Response

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhLa2iijHthS-h2uKMCQevYKpQR1nG8uFdF47RTaoR1eiL-FDWRllqvAPF1ys90PN8HxfdFROuECZ2tvSfyyNUsi_J1jb2paqdbUcZbL5699zngKfBZsIPAR6CtwFS3x9rUkHG3_x8BGQ=s0-d-e1-ftAPN Welcomes Sec. Kerry's Speech on Israeli-Palestinian Peace

All who care about Israel – including members of Congress and the incoming Trump Administration – must take heed of Secretary Kerry's powerful, wise, and compassionate words... The true pro-Israel position for any US president is to stand with Israel – its security, its future, and the best interests of its people – and to stand against settlements and permanent occupation.

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https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhroU2lxLON4ekM0Tlvx_OVh0jXe2weeOAJ96WUOBl56rDs8qJLn1HGvz32BIB_N1Clcwm2iSyfhdgtrF_25C1VkTzTsDJYsl6mPaDnwEQmx8v9ypMywfwcSr_F-FGoeHwaD32pm38_0g=s0-d-e1-ftAPN Welcomes UNSC Vote on Israeli-Palestinian Peace

The resolution, which APN encouraged the US to support or abstain on, is pro-Israel in the deepest sense of the term, supporting Israel's existence and security, and standing against those who would sacrifice both at the altar of settlements, for an ideological, expansionist agenda.

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Some new and recent projects and actions from APN include:

APN in Action

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PeaceCast - A new APN podcast

APN's new podcast exploring issues and trends relating to peace and security for Israel, focusing on Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and efforts to resolve it. Listen to the premiere episode >

APN Settlements Map Project - "Facts on the Ground 2.0"

APN is soon to launch a crowd-funding campaign for Facts on the Ground 2.0, an update to our mobile app that informs and educates the public, press, policymakers, and centers of power on the scope and impact of settlement expansion. See APN's Map Project online >

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhZ5VxGEx3YJSTnMKZtwdwfEwXKFXHzzBhAST0bcEtFfOr7jmz-jpphULYVvw7evN2IS4Ckb0zB5d1K6QNjhElMX-9ci_uyVGWqk3yEyI910XyANORkDyU6tND5Mg2B_Cx0COx79-fSeg=s0-d-e1-ftResponse to Transition to new Presidential Administration

APN was out front in responding to and protesting Israel-related statements from Trump advisors and appointments, like David Friedman as US Ambassador to Israel. Read More >

Take Action: Tell Your Senators: Reject Trump's Dangerous Choice for Ambassador to Israel

APN Presents Testimony at UN Security Council Special Session on Settlements

APN's Lara Friedman presented a powerful statement about settlements at a special session of the UN Security Council in November with all nations in attendance. Read More >


In The News

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Throughout the year, Americans for Peace Now and its Israeli partner Peace Now published opeds, had their activities covered, were quoted, and provided background information for myriad newspapers and media websites in the US, Israel, and internationally.

Go HERE for articles covering APN's testimony at the United National Security Council


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APN produced several publications in 2016, including...

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Sensible Suggestions for the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict in a vibrant booklet. See Do This Not That >

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What Would, Could, Should be done? See Words Matter, Actions Matter More >

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APN continues to build up the resource of substantive and categorized responses to the arguments of the religious and political right-wing and left-wing. See They Say, We Say >, including recent inclusions of APN's arguments on BDS (against) and on boycotting settlement products (for).

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APN produced an impashioned letter from Fania Oz-Salzberger, co-authored with her father Amos Oz, of Jews and Words. See the Fania Oz-Salzberger letter >


 

Contents Israel-Palestinian Newsletter #13, August 13, 2016

http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2016/08/israeli-palestinian-newsletter-13.html

Nuclear Armed Israel:  Vanunu Jailed Again

Occupation Conflict Today

Documentary on Israeli Media Control:  The Occupation of the American Mind,
      How Israel Occupies the US: Mnar Muhawesh meets Sut Jhally

Dov Waxman,The American Jewish Conflict over Israel, why Israel has
           become such a divisive issue

Resistance

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Divestment

WRL supports Black & Palestinian solidarity

Congressional Supporters of Palestinians

Americans for Peace Now, “Do This Not That”

Bernie Sanders’ Critique of Israel

CodePink BDS Movement:

   Codepink:  RE/MAX  stop selling properties in Israeli settlements built on
      occupied Palestinian land

      Codepink:   Letter to John Kerry on Human Rights in Israel and Palestine

Illegal settlements acquired illegally, and Ban Ki-Moon

“Despair Is Not an Option”: Muste grantees speak out

Sloan, “The Olive Grove”

 

 

END ISRAEL-PALESTINE NEWSLETTER #14

 

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