Washington, D.C. - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today warmly welcomed the Senate's confirmation of Senator John Kerry as the next Secretary of State. APN praised Kerry's strong track record as a foreign policy leader and reiterated its call for President Obama to re-engage urgently and resolutely to save the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) released the following statement today from Debra DeLee, its President and CEO: 

We congratulate the people of Israel for holding free and fair elections yesterday for the 19th Knesset. With these elections, and their myriad surprises, Israelis have reminded the world of Israel's deep culture as a pluralistic democracy and have clearly rejected the status quo policies of the past four years of government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

Washington, DC - APN today sent a letter to President Barack Obama congratulating him on his inauguration for a second term in office and urging him to act quickly, resolutely and decisively to save the two-state solution.  APN President and CEO Debra DeLee commented:

Americans for Peace Now welcomes President Obama's nomination of Senator Chuck Hagel to be America's next Secretary of Defense and urges the Senate to confirm the nomination expeditiously.

APN reaffirms its earlier statement, which strongly rejects attacks on Senator Hagel's record on Israel and Middle East-related issues. We know Senator Hagel well from his time in office. In the Senate he was a thoughtful legislator with a deep commitment to U.S. national security and a keen understanding of the full gamut of complex foreign policy issues, including the vital importance of achieving durable Israeli-Palestinian peace. He is fully committed to Israel's security and wellbeing.

Attacks on Senator Hagel for his record on Israel and the Middle East are disconnected from Hagel's actual record and his qualifications for the office of Secretary of Defense. These attacks appear to reflect, more than anything, a desire to impose a narrow ideological litmus test on senior U.S. officials - a litmus test that is in no way linked to their abilities to carry out the responsibilities of the office for which they are being considered or even to their own commitment to the vital interests of the United States. Such a litmus test serves the interests of neither the United States nor Israel.