America, James Baker once said, cannot want peace more than the parties to the conflict. The truth to this sentence encompasses more than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Israeli-Syrian one or even America's involvement in various conflicts around the world.

Americans for Peace Now urged the Obama administration not to squander what it said was an opportunity to advance the peace process, saying any new government should be judged by its actions and not by the positions of its component parties.

"Today's announcement of a Fatah-Hamas deal to jointly form a government and to hold new elections is good news, and we hope that the agreement is implemented.  While we still don't know all the details of the agreement, we know that a Palestinian government representing all Palestinians, with security and governance capacity in both the West Bank and Gaza, is vital to the achievement of a peace agreement.

Alpher responded last month to the following questions for an APN mailing insert:

Would a Palestinian state threaten Israel's existence? Why can't we accept that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be resolved, and, accordingly, find ways to manage the conflict or just live with it? Where does Israel's Peace Now movement come into the picture? How does it contribute to Israel's overall security?

Despite Netanyahu's rhetoric, the facts on the ground - illegal outposts, failure to abide by court rulings, unfettered settler activity- make peace a distant dream.

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As much as it is about divine intervention, miracle, and faith in God, the story of Passover is about leadership and courage.

For the Sea of Reeds to miraculously part, one of the Israelites had to take the first step in. That person, according to tradition, was Nachshon. He dived into the spray without assurance that the sea would split. He knew that if the sea didn't recede, he would drown, and that turning back would mean certain death for him and his fellow Israelites at the hands of Pharaoh's advancing army.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/opinion/25mon1.html

President Obama began his presidency vowing to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian peace. He backed off in the face of both sides' obstinacy and after a series of diplomatic missteps. Since then, the stalemate, and the mistrust, have only deepened, and it is clear that nothing good will happen until the United States fully engages.

With the Middle East experiencing a democratic awakening, the future looks both hopeful and uncertain, while the need for Israel to move forward on a path towards peace and strengthening its democracy is more crucial than ever.

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As General Director of Peace Now, Oppenheimer is Israel's leading advocate for a sustainable resolution to the Israeli-Arab conflict that provides for Israel's security and is consistent with Israel as a Jewish state and a democracy. Towards this end, Oppenheimer and Peace Now support bringing a negotiated end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the implementation of a "two-state solution" for Israel and Palestine.

Oppenheimer is one of the most significant political figures in contemporary Israeli society. He speaks throughout the country and internationally, is regularly interviewed and cited by the Israeli and foreign press, and is a frequent interviewee on radio and television broadcasts.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1976, Oppenheimer was just 18 years old and newly conscripted into the Israeli Army when he attended the 1995 peace rally in Tel Aviv where Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was killed. Oppenheimer says "that night made me more committed and eager to continue my activity and to fight for peace." Fifteen short years later, he now sits at the highest level of peace activism by leading the Israeli Peace Now Movement, the very same organization that coordinated that fateful rally in 1995.

Oppenheimer was Commander of New Recruits in the Israeli Defense Forces (1995-98), Youth Department Director of the Israeli Labour Party (1998-2002), and has a Law & Public Policy Degree from the College of Interdisciplinary Center of Learning in Herzliya.

By HELENE COOPER

WASHINGTON -- A Republican invitation for Israel's conservative prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to address Congress next month is highlighting the tensions between President Obama and Mr. Netanyahu and has kicked off a bizarre diplomatic race over who will be the first to lay out a new proposal to reopen the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

On Passover, we acknowledge the struggle that Israel and her neighbors still wage for peace and security.

Each year, APN sends to our friends and colleagues some language which can be added to the reading of the Haggadah. We believe it is important that as we recount the history of our journey from Egypt to freedom, that we acknowledge the struggle that Israel and her neighbors still wage for peace and security.

Americans for Peace Now strongly condemns the attack by terrorists on a school bus in southern Israel today.

"the IPI serves as a timely reminder to the Obama administration (which has welcomed the initiative) that there is in Israel an influential and credible peace lobby..."

Read all of Alpher's comments on the newly released Israeli Peace Initiatiative (IPI) endorsed by an impressive group of Israeli security experts (not officially connected to the current Israeli government).

Only days before President Peres was to meet with President Obama in Washington, Israel made a significant announcement about increased housing construction in settlements. See excerpts and links to the following articles:

NY Times: "On Eve of Meeting in Washington, Israel Announces More Housing Construction"
Jerusalem Post: "Jerusalem committee advances plan for Gilo housing"
Jerusalem Post: "Barak approves master plans for 4 settlements"
YNET: "Settlers angry expansion plans don't include Itamar"
AFP: "East Jerusalem settlement set to grow: Peace Now"

Peace Now lays out the basics in this short animated video with English subtitles.

WATCH...

Listen to the song.

Download a printer-friendly version.

Access APN Seder inserts from previous years.

...significance of Judge Richard Goldstone's recent Washington Post op-ed revealing his new conclusions regarding the problematic nature of the Goldstone report?

Alpher also addresses PA FM's Malki's comments on the regional revolutionary situation, its potential effect on the Palestinian assessment of prospects for progress; Abbas on Palestinian plans for September, and any new explanations regarding the failure of his 2008 peace talks with then-PM Ehud Olmert?