Americans for Peace Now
By APN on December
18, 2013 5:05 PM
The
stakes are high. While many persist in comparing the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict to a schoolyard brawl, Israelis and Palestinians are struggling with
matters of life and death. The question of the possibility of peace holds
existential ramifications.
The
broad strokes of a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians
have been well known for decades -
two states, Israel and Palestine, side by side, broadly based on the pre-1967
lines with agreed-upon land swaps. Israel's security needs will be addressed and
anchored in a treaty and safeguarded by a powerful IDF.
President
Obama reaffirmed this sensible vision in March when he addressed the Israeli
public and the world in Jerusalem. And with his backing, Secretary of State John
Kerry has willed the parties back to the negotiating
table.
This
is a stunningly delicate process. Unforeseen events in the region, unilateral
actions by either party or even just a failure of political will and imagination
can lead to a breakdown in talks at any moment.
"Read More"This is where Americans for Peace Now and Shalom Achshav in Israel come in.
Shalom
Achshav was founded in 1978 to mobilize public support for Israel's peace treaty
with Egypt. Since then, it has played a key role in spurring the Israeli public
and its leaders towards further peace treaties.
Shalom
Achshav is widely known for its Settlement Watch program, the premier civilian
source of impartial information about the expansion of Israel's settlements in
the territories, which serve now as a physical and political barrier to a
two-state solution. Settlement Watch carefully monitors the growth of the
settlements, tracking information that would otherwise be extremely difficult to
maintain.
Shalom
Achshav's legal advocacy challenging settlements in Israeli courts gets results.
Since 2005, when Shalom Achshav began petitioning against illegal outposts, no
new outpost has been established in the West Bank and the number of houses built
on private Palestinian lands has fallen dramatically.
In
the United States, Americans for Peace Now (APN) provides nearly half of the
funding for Israel's Peace Now and helps make possible the actions, research and
legal advocacy that assists peace-seeking Israelis in taking back the middle
ground.
Every
week brings a healthy dose of bad news from the region -from the stubborn growth
of Jewish settlements to distorted history in Hamas textbooks, from Jewish
"Price Tag" attacks on Palestinians to public celebration of Palestinians who
committed acts of terror against Jews. Those looking for despair can easily
amass supportive evidence.
But
instead of apathy and resignation, many of us have chosen action and hope.
That's why I support Peace Now,
which since its inception has been pushing for peace with a balanced approach,
reminding the Israeli public that the status quo -the continued occupation of
the West Bank- threatens the very existence of the Jewish
state.
Americans
for Peace Now is not Pollyannaish; their brand of hope is based on a rational
and constructive view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Thousands of people
turn to APN's website,www.peacenow.org,
for information, analyses and the opportunity to learn more. Joining APN on
Facebook and Twitter are further ways to be connected.
Follow
APN's calls to action online. Talk to your friends about the middle ground that
Peace Now is trying to reclaim. See how settlements have proven disastrous for
Israel. Read why a two-state solution will preserve Israel's Jewish and
democratic character.
Israelis
and Palestinians deserve to live normal, dignified lives that are not governed
by conflict, violence, humiliation and de-humanization. They
deserve leaders who leave no stone unturned in pursuit of peace, and supportive
world leaders who will make sure that they keep their eyes on the prize: a
PEACEFUL resolution to this conflict.
There
are few things more important to me than seeing the survival of Israel as a
democracy and as a Jewish state, which is why I'm not giving up in the fight for
peace.This
is a critical moment for our voices to be heard, for our support to be
felt. Join
me in supporting Americans for Peace Now with a tax-deductible
donation.
L'Shalom
Rabbi
Sharon Brous
P.S. As
I am drafting this letter, Shalom Achshav (Peace Now in Israel) achieved another
important victory,
with the Israeli High Court ruling emphatically in favor of its case to evacuate
several illegal outposts in the West Bank. It is written in Pirkei Avot (1:17)
"It is not what one says, but rather what one does, that makes all the
difference in the world." Shalom Achshav and APN are making a difference. You
can too. Let's not just wish peace; Let's
help do it.
RABBI
SHARON BROUS In
2013, Rabbi Sharon Brous was recognized as the most-influential Rabbi in the
United States by Newsweek and the Daily Beast, and as one of the Forward's 50
most-influential American Jews. In 2013 Brous blessed the President and
Vice-President at the Inaugural National Prayer Service. She sits on the faculty
of the Hartman Institute-North America, Wexner Heritage and REBOOT. She serves
on the board of T'ruah -The Rabbinic Call to Human Rights, is a rabbinic advisor
to American Jewish World Service and Bend the Arc. She received the Lives of
Commitment Award from Auburn Theological Seminary, was a JWI Woman to Watch and
was the inaugural recipient of the Inspired Leadership Award from the Jewish
Community Foundation of Los Angeles. In 2004 Brous, Melissa Balaban and a
handful of young, entrepreneurial Jews realizing they shared a passion for
meaningful and intentional Jewish engagement, social justice and really good
fair-trade chocolate, set out to create IKAR - now one of the fastest growing
Jewish communities in the country.
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