By Ehud Olmert

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's appearance at congress was impressive and stirred a sense of justified pride among many Israelis who are not subjugated to political rivalries and hatreds. Netanyahu is a talented orator and is particularly lucid in English. He knows how to speak to the Americans in heart-warming "American" they can understand. It was no coincidence that he received a very warm, sympathetic welcome in Congress. It was no wonder that his speech, which was aired live in Israel, elicited a similar response among the Israeli public. It was a moment of pleasure that every Israeli was entitled to enjoy and take pride in.

Yes, Hamas is a terrorist organization, but simply asserting that fact is not a policy.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu was today granted a podium that few world leaders receive. He had the chance to demonstrate to the world that, contrary to many people's expectations, he grasps the urgency of the moment. Unfortunately for Israel, he did not rise to the occasion.
 

'Tis the season. The season when members of Congress are lobbied hard to support positions presented to them as the epitome of "pro-Israel" - but that in fact are anything but.

By YAAKOV KATZ
05/18/2011

Proposal drafted following Itamar terror attack would cost NIS 1 billion over coming year; Peace Now says plan is proof PM not interested in real peace.

Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer slammed the approval of a hearing on Har Homa construction.

"The prime minister is sacrificing relations with the US for the benefit of his loyalty to settlers and rightists in Jerusalem. This is not just miserable timing, but a miserable policy which endangers Israel's status in the world," he said. (Ronen Medzini)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4071079,00.html

APN Spokesman Ori Nir was interviewed as part of the program "Expert Q&A: Prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace"

Read the transcript.

5/19/11

Op-ed: Radical leftists, rightists both hurting two-state vision; Israel's mainstream must unite

Yariv Oppenheimer is the Secretary General of Peace Now

Jerusalem Post: "PM pledges to work with Obama to renew peace talks"

Jewish Journal: "Americans for Peace Now to AIPAC: Support Obama's Two-State Push"

JTA: "From praise to anger, Jewish response to Obama's speech runs the gamut"

Arab News: "Palestine should have '67 border, says Obama"

Jewish Journal: "Obama's Middle East speech draws ire and support"

Although the approval was granted at the end of April, it was first publicized in the last few days - including by Peace Now on Sunday - as part of an overall report on settlement activity.

According to Peace Now, that 390 included: 200 in Modi'in Illit, 100 in Ariel, 40 in Ma'aleh Adumim and 50 in Kfar Eldad.

Today, APN's Director of Policy and Government Relations Lara Friedman sent the following message to every congressional office.

Dear Colleague,

Tomorrow AIPAC supporters will be on the Hill lobbying Congress to support resolutions - H. Res. 268 and S. Res. 185 - taking the Palestinians to task for seeking international recognition and for trying to achieve national reconciliation.   

APN urges members of Congress to refuse to cosponsor these resolutions and to vote "no" when they are brought to a vote.  

"Today, President Obama signaled to the world that he is still serious about Israeli-Palestinian peace and that he is a true friend of Israel. We welcome his clear statement that the U.S. position is that a permanent status peace agreement will be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed on land swaps, and that the outcome must be secure and recognized borders, with a sovereign, contiguous Palestinian state and robust security arrangements for Israel. We also welcome his statement that such an agreement must find a way to resolve the issues of Jerusalem and refugees that is just and fair and that respects the rights and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians.

"By proceeding with settlement approvals in East Jerusalem today - precisely when Prime Minister Netanyahu is headed to Washington to meet with President Obama and address Congress, and when President Obama is about to make a major Middle East speech - Netanyahu is sending an unmistakable message: he values settlements more than peace.

"...history will show that the most pro-Israel U.S. president was not the one who provided the most weapons to Israel and vetoed the most UN Security Council resolutions, but the one who brought peace, and with it, real security, to Israel, and independence to the Palestinian people."

THE FATAL shooting Sunday of at least a dozen Palestinians who crossed into Israel from Syria and southern Lebanon reflected failures of intelligence, crowd control, and diplomacy by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

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Americans for Peace Now seems to think it could be a game changer, and is concerned that Obama will miss a big opportunity if he ignores the issue in his upcoming address.

"The time has come for the President to grab the bull by the horns and take dramatic action..." Debra DeLee, APN's president, said today in a statement.

by ADAM KREDO

APN is referred to in the following:

NY Jewish Week: "Political Insider / Mitchell quitting; what took so long?" by James Besser

The Nation: "George Mitchell Quits as ME Envoy" by Robert Dreyfuss

Jerusalem Post: "US Mideast envoy Mitchell quits after 2 years" by Hilary Leila Krieger

On Israel's Independence Day, APN's Ori Nir looks ahead to real independence for Israel, noting that "Israel is not truly independent as long as it denies the Palestinians their independence."

Israel's Independence Day, May 10th, is a good time to revel in what such a small country has achieved in such a short time and under such trying circumstances. It's also a time to resolve to do more.

"The decision by CUNY's trustees is troubling. Tony Kushner is a talented playwright who has contributed tremendously to American literature. He has been willing to use his enormous talent to speak out on some of the most important and painful issues of our times.

"Americans need and deserve an open, honest debate about Israel. Too often, self-proclaimed guardians of acceptable discourse on Israel try to enforce their skewed political correctness through intimidation. Such efforts are simply wrong. Worse yet, they threaten to needlessly divide Americans who are largely supportive of Israel and want to see it achieve a peace agreement with the Palestinians based on a territorial compromise."