Americans for Peace Now

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Americans for Peace Now (APN), the United States partner of Israel’s Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) organisation, is an American organization working to help Israel achieve a secure peace with the Arab states and the Palestinian people. APN believes that Israel’s security and democratic character cannot be maintained if it continues to remain in a state of conflict with its Arab neighbors, including the Palestinian people.

APN has a wide array of educational programs that reach out to the American public and Jewish American communities around the country, and works to mobilize grassroots support among U.S. citizens. By working directly with policy makers in the White House, State Department, and Congress, APN promotes US policies that further the peace process.

Contents

[edit] History

In 1978, 348 senior Israeli army officers wrote a letter to Prime Minister Menachem Begin calling for peace between Israel and Egypt. The letter stated, “the government policy, perpetuating its rule over a million Arabs, could harm the Jewish-democratic character of the state, and makes it difficult for us to identify with the task. Mindful of Israel’s security needs and the difficulties on the path to peace, we nevertheless consider that real security can be achieved only when we achieve peace.”(full text of the letter). This petition led to the creation of Shalom Achshav (Peace Now in Hebrew), a grassroots movement dedicated to raising public support for the peace process.

APN was founded in 1981 to support the activities of Shalom Achshav. APN’s activities have grown to include: media outreach and monitoring, government relations, and public outreach.

[edit] Activities and stated goals

APN is the voice of people who support Israel and believe that only peace will ensure Israel’s security, prosperity, and continued viability as a Jewish, democratic state. APN’s activities include:

[edit] Action network

APNs Action Network generates immediate and forceful grassroots responses to political developments though its national membership base.

[edit] Government relations

APN builds relationships with Members of Congress, Congressional staff, and Executive Branch officials in order to educate them about important developments in the Middle East and the implications of policy choices presented to decision makers. In 2005, Roll Call newspaper quoted a congressional staffer saying that APN's government relations program is "second to none."

[edit] American Jewish community outreach

Through its membership in the Conference of Presidents of major American Jewish organizations, APN works with other mainstream American Jewish groups to support peace for the Palestine and Israel.

[edit] Media outreach and monitoring

APN promotes its goals through press releases, editorials, and personal contacts with reporters. It is a respected source of balanced information on the Middle East, providing insightful commentary and analysis to interested journalists. APN monitors over 400 media outlets and generates responses on an as-needed basis.

[edit] Public outreach

APN publishes a weekly email/fax newsletter on Middle East events, along with a quarterly newsletter and other information sheets. In addition, it maintains an active web site with the latest information from the organization, and it sends speakers to communities around the country to promote the cause of peace. Some of the publications that APN promote their issues through are Peace Now News, Middle East Peace Report, Jerusalem Watch, Settlement Watch and APN Facts/Fax

[edit] Goals Stated at PeaceNow.Org

  1. An American Jewish community and general American public educated about the strategic and economic benefits of security through peace in the Middle East.
  2. Active White House and State Department engagement in the peace process, especially Administration efforts to broker a new interim understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, facilitate final status arrangements that reconcile Israeli security with Palestinian statehood, and encourage negotiations between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon.
  3. Congressional support for the peace process through continued aid to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians.
  4. Broad awareness in the United States of the benefits of Shalom Achshav programs in Israel.
  5. A firm financial base for Shalom Achshav and APN activities.[1]

[edit] Successes

In the wake of the Hamas electoral victory in January 2006, H.R. 4681, The Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, was introduced to the United States House of Representatives. After analyzing the legislation, APN found that the bill would censure and punish all Palestinians, and close the door on any future negotiations to achieve peace with Palestinians.

APN worked with Members of Congress and legislative staff in the U.S. House of Representatives to improve and strengthen the bill. APN pushed for a US policy that pressures Hamas, seeks to avert a humanitarian disaster, and facilitates the eventual return to peace negotiations. These efforts ensured that the bill went through mark-ups in two House Committees, including the House International Relations Committee, where the bill was improved to deal with some of the specific concerns raised by APN – albeit not improved enough for APN to endorse the result.

The Senate version of the bill, S. 2370 – introduced significantly later than the House version, after APN’s advocacy and educational efforts were underway – was significantly better than H.R. 4681. Like H.R. 4681, the Senate legislation sends a sharp message of rejecting terrorism, while giving the President more flexibility to conduct foreign policy and preserves the possibility of producing US and moderate Palestinian relations. In December 2006, the House passed the Senate version of the bill.

[edit] Position on settlements

APN believes that settlements in the West Bank represent a security liability for Israel and an obstacle to future peace efforts, and has advocated that the Bush Administration go on record in opposing the expansion of settlements and in favor of Israel's removing illegal settlement outposts. According to APN, President Bush's oft-repeated vision of a future Palestinian state, living alongside Israel, each country secure in its own borders, can never be realized if Israel continues to expand settlements and further consolidate its hold over land in the West Bank.

APN asserts that the economic and security challenges facing Israel are exacerbated by continued investment in settlements and refusal to rein in renegade settlers who persist in establishing new settlement outposts. Polls show wide support among Israelis for a settlement freeze, dismantling of outposts, and settlement evacuations, and also have shown that most settlers would accept withdrawal from settlements in the context of a peace agreement and a compensation program. APN believes that by making it impossible for Israel to disengage from the West Bank, settlements ensure that the government of Israel will eventually govern an area in which non-Jews outnumber Jews. Israel would thus be forced to choose between remaining a democracy and losing its character as a Jewish state, or retaining its character as Jewish state at the expense of democracy.

[edit] Controversial Claims

In an October 2006 report based on Israeli Civil Administration records, Peace Now claimed that “a large proportion of the settlements built on the West Bank are built on privately owned Palestinian land,” including 86.4% of Ma'ale Adumim's land and 35.1% of Ariel’s. Overall, the report claims, “Palestinians privately own nearly 40% of the land on which settlements have been built." At the time, the Israeli government did not admit that land for settlements were built on any private Palestine land. CAMERA rebutted the Peace Now allegations. In a subsequent update based on more recent Israeli Civil Administration records officially released to the public, the percentage of the land of West Bank settlements privately owned by Palestinians was nearer to 30%. This included a vast reduction for the Ma’ale Adumim settlement to no more than 0.54%.

The report based on the first records stated that 71.15% of the land in Revava was built on private Palestinian land. After disclosure of more current Israeli government records, the figure was reduced to 22%. Sued for libel in Jerusalem Magistrates Court by The Fund for Redeeming the Land, who formally owns Revava’s land, Peace Now was convicted of libel and ordered to pay the Fund 20,000 NIS and to make a public apology which they must publish in the newspapers Haaretz and Maariv.[2]

[edit] Organization timeline

[edit] See also

[edit] Arab-Israeli peace diplomacy and treaties

[edit] References

  1. ^ :: Apn ::
  2. ^ [1]

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Organized Jewish life in the United States
 
Major communal organizations
 
Federal liaisons and policy organizations not focused exclusively on Israel
 
Major foreign-assistance organizations
 
Jewish environmental organizations
 
Major Israel-policy and outreach organizations
 
Major religious-movement organizations
(and associated rabbinical membership / policy body / seminary)
 
Major youth groups
 
Religious education
 
Major college organizations and traditionally Jewish fraternities
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Media
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Major communal activities
1 Policy only.  2 Disputed.
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