Today, the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 282, a resolution introduced March 24, 2009 8th by Reps. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) in honor of the 30th anniversary of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel."  This timely resolution, which passed by a vote of 418-1, is reminder of the importance of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty and, in the words of the resolution, the example it set of "reconciliation following decades marked by nearly unremitting tension and confrontation..."  APN strongly supported H. Res. 282 from the time of its introduction, mobilizing APN supporters to contact their representatives and urge them to support the measure (see our Action Alert at: http://www.peacenow.org/updates.asp?rid=0&cid=6081).

APN commends Reps. Fortenberry and Ellison for introducing H. Res. 282 and applauds the leadership of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, as well as House leaders, for recognizing the value of this resolution and acting swiftly to bring it to the floor for passage.

Today the Newsweek-Washington Post site (PostGlobal) has an op-ed by me (Lara Friedman) and Hagit Ofran, my Israeli colleague at Peace Now who runs Peace Now's Settlement Watch.  Enjoy!

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/needtoknow/2009/03/freeze_israels_settlements_for.html

Haaretz's Anshel Pfeffer penned a powerful critique today of the knee-jerk Israel propagandists, for whom it is always easier to "blame the messenger" than to explore and internalize troubling Israeli actions.

Many have predicted in recent days that Binyamin's Netanyahu's premiership - he is expected to be sworn in shortly - means the end of the peace process. How can a prime minister who refuses to utter the phrase "two-state solution" pursue a meaningful peace process with the Palestinians, they ask.

The answer is vigorous encouragement. Encouragement from within Israeli society, which is still solidly supportive of the two-state solution, from within the American Jewish community - also solidly supportive of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, as recent polls have shown - as well as from the Obama administration and the international community.

My new op-ed on the vision for Israel and its relations with the Palestinians was just published in the Baltimore Sun. Here it is

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.viewpoint18mar18,0,2793131.story

baltimoresun.com

Viewpoint: Where is Abba Eban when we need him?

By Ori Nir

March 18, 2009

Remember Abba Eban?

As Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to (again) become the prime minister of Israel, as hate-monger Avigdor Lieberman prepares to be sworn in as Mr. Netanyahu's foreign minister, and as security hawk extraordinaire Moshe Yaalon prepares to take over the defense ministry, I really miss Abba Eban. I miss Israel's quintessential diplomat, who fought so eloquently and effectively to portray to the world a just, moral and peace-seeking Israel in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

(The following article has been sent for syndication by U.S. Jewish weeklies)

NOT EVERY DAY IS PURIM

By Ori Nir

A colloquial Hebrew expression says "not every day is Purim," which can loosely be translated to "you can't fool all the people all the time."

Israelis - and many in our pro-Israel community in the U.S. - in the past wanted to believe that Palestinian economic development is the path to resolving Israel's conflict with the Palestinians: If only the Palestinians have full stomachs and some cash in their pockets, they will forget about Israel's occupation of the West Bank, about their land being gradually eaten up by Israeli settlements, about their aspirations for independence and sovereignty being ignored.