1. Bills, Resolutions and Letters 

'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.

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.  

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APN Legislative Round-Up
     for the week ending
      May 13, 2011
=======================

1.  Bills & Resolutions
2.  Cantor/Hoyer Resolution Blasting the Palestinians (just in time for AIPAC conference)
3.  Kirk on Egypt
4.  Berkley-Engel Letter Opposing Palestinian Unity
5.  APN Warns President Obama: Don't Leave Mideast Peace Out of Your Mideast Speech
6.  As Sen. Mitchell Resigns, APN Urges Obama to Personally Lead Mideast Peace Efforts
7.  Odds & Ends

=======================
APN Legislative Round-Up
     for the week ending
      May 6, 2011
=======================

1.  Bills & Resolutions
2.  Quick Review: Current Law on Aid to Palestinian Power-Sharing Govt
3.  Congressional Reaction to Hamas-Fatah Agreement
4.  Menendez-led Senate (Democrats) letter on Fatah-Hamas deal
5.  Granger/Lowey Letter to Abbas on UN Action on Palestinian State & on Unity Govt
6.  APN on Palestinian Unity
7.  AIPAC on Palestinian Unity
8.  Ros-Lehtinen-Engel Letter on Syria
9.  Israel-Cole Turkey/Flotilla Letter
10.  Berkley-Led House letter on Goldstone (to Ban Ki-moon)
11.  Hill Briefing by Jewish Groups: "Palestinian efforts to declare unilateral independence - and what Congress can do to avert it"
12. Get Ready: AIPAC Policy Conference, May 22-24
13.  Odds & Ends

Note:  On 5/4/11 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee met to consider the nomination of Dan Shapiro as the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel.  Dan's prepared testimony is available here.    The committee has not yet voted on the issue.

Also, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Obama May 20.  (King Abdullah of Jordan is also expected in Washington that week).  Netanyahu will also give a speech during the AIPAC policy conference, and is expected to address a joint meeting (not a joint session) of Congress, at the invitation of House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) on May 24.