The argument starts by recounting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and its extension to Lebanon and pointing also to Iran, and the complicity of the United States. Meanwhile, the American people do not support the war and especially oppose American support for the war.

The argument notes that Kamala Harris is tied in the polls and must make a bold move to win the election. One would think that Harris would acknowledge the strong anti-war feeling in the country by promising to stop Israel’s genocide, probably with an embargo on offensive weapons. But Harris does not act. Why?

The barrier to Harris acting is that almost every Democratic (and Republican) elected leader and the entire foreign policy establishment bond with Israel as our most important ally in the Middle East. This is more than the Israel lobby and AIPAC, it reflects a deep commitment to Israel by American elite who see Israel as “one-of-us,” as part of the Western world. In contrast, Arab countries are not. Another difference between the American elite and American public.

Harris can’t call for an arms embargo to stop Israel’s genocide without confronting almost the entire American political complex. A major confrontation is not an option 3 weeks before the election. Harris will not act on Israel. Our only hope is quite thin—that Biden will act in his final eight weeks as president

Click here for full statement

Rothman says the march "may be able to temporarily end ethnic cleansing and genocide. But, if their victory keeps an unequal economic structure, Palestinian elites will dominate a future state. They will offer underpaid labor to foreign investors, resulting in huge profits for the elites and the investors. How long this situation can be camouflaged by slogans celebrating alestinian national liberation is unknown, even if the new leaders speak Arabic." Click here for full essay

The argument starts by recounting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and its extension to Lebanon and pointing also to Iran, and the complicity of the United States. Meanwhile, the American people do not support the war and especially oppose American support for the war.

The argument notes that Kamala Harris is tied in the polls and must make a bold move to win the election. One would think that Harris would acknowledge the strong anti-war feeling in the country by promising to stop Israel’s genocide, probably with an embargo on offensive weapons. But Harris does not act. Why?

The barrier to Harris acting is that almost every Democratic (and Republican) elected leader and the entire foreign policy establishment bond with Israel as our most important ally in the Middle East. This is more than the Israel lobby and AIPAC, it reflects a deep commitment to Israel by American elite who see Israel as “one-of-us,” as part of the Western world. In contrast, Arab countries are not. Another difference between the American elite and American public.

Harris can’t call for an arms embargo to stop Israel’s genocide without confronting almost the entire American political complex. A major confrontation is not an option 3 weeks before the election. Harris will not act on Israel. Our only hope is quite thin—that Biden will act in his final eight weeks as president

Click here for full statement

Meanwhile the attacks on Gaza continue, with 16 evacuation orders in August that affected over 10% of the Gaza population. Most dire was the Aug.25 order to evacuate the town of Deir al-Balah that effectively ended the U.N. emergency program to vaccinate the population for polio that is spreading in the area.

Military incursion and forced evacuations of an occupied population are violations of the 4th Geneva Convention that mandates that an occupier (Israel) is required to protect and promote the occupied (West Bank and Gaza Strip Palestinians). This raises serious issues for the United States. The United States is the main supplier of weapons that Israel uses in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention, making the U.S. complicit in those violations of international law.

Also, the U.S. is in violation of its own laws including the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act, both expanded by the Leahy amendments, that are meant to prevent the U.S. from supplying arms that will be used in violation of international law.

LA Jews for Peace calls on Congress to impose an arms embargo to enforce American law and stop Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. This duty must fall to Congress because after eleven months of supporting Israel's ethnic cleansing, it is clear the Biden-Harris Administration will not act.

Click here for full statement

In Beirut, Israel assassinated Fuad Shukr who was a senior military commander of Hezbollah. In Tehran, Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh who was chair of Hamas’ Politburo and leader of the ceasefire/hostage release negotiations.

LA Jews for Peace suggests that the Haniyeh assassination was a strategic error because Haniyeh was a leading moderate within the Hamas leadership who supported a ceasefire in the current war, Palestinian unity, and a long-term peace (hunda in Arabic) with Israel.

Nevertheless, President Biden has deployed military forces to defend Israel, saying the forces will reduce tensions. More likely they will embolden Israel and have the exact opposite effect.

LA Jews for Peace notes the present crisis was triggered by Israeli assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders and asks: should the U.S. government defend Israel from retaliation for its reckless aggressiveness?

Click here for full statement

The latest incident occurred July 30 when military police arrested nine soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian prisoner. Right-wing, messianic thugs, accompanied by members of the current Israeli government fought with military police to stop the arrests.

LA Jews for Peace supports the Israeli legal system in its effort to stop mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, calls for more arrests because mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners is systematic, and warns that as Israeli attacks on Palestinians increase, the viability of shared values may be about to disintegrate.

Click here for full statement

LA Jews for Peace joins world reaction to the ruling that is overwhelmingly positive, believing that this ruling is a step to end the impunity that Israel has enjoyed since its founding for its continuous oppression of Palestinians.

Exceptions are Israel and the U.S. that criticized the ruling for reasons we have come to expect. Israel called the ruling antisemitic and supportive of Islamic terrorism. The U.S. said the ruling will “complicate efforts to resolve the conflict.”

President Biden preaches the importance of the international rule of law. LA Jews for Peace agrees. But by criticizing the ICJ and denouncing its ruling, the United States is undermining the same international rule of law they claim to promote. Shame!

Click here for full statement

LA Jews for Peace is outraged at the widespread torture, beatings, sexual assault, and inhumane conditions reported from Israeli’s Sde Teiman military base that has been turned into a makeshift interrogation site for 4,000 Palestinians detained after Oct.7. None are Hamas militants.

Detailed descriptions are quoted from the New York Times, Israel’s +972 magazine, and CNN World.

LA Jews for Peace deplores this mistreatment, a case of collective punishment that is illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 33. The IDF must close Sde Teiman.

As Americans, LA Jews for Peace demands accountability from our own elected officials who have looked away, or actively funded a military establishment in Israel that allows such disgraceful treatment to occur.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace calls for rapid implementation of UN Resolution 2735 that calls for a 3-stage sequence leading to end of hostilities including a full Israel withdraw from Gaza, robust exchange of hostages and prisoners, humanitarian aid, and the start of rebuilding Gaza.

Resolution 2735 has a better chance of being implemented because the U.S. sponsored it, the resolution includes provisions to help the over 2 million Gazans who are not Hamas combatants, and coincident with this resolution is a step-up in international recognition of a Palestinian state.

LA Jews for Peace urges all parties to quickly accept and implement the ceasefire resolution and cease playing politics, posturing, obfuscating, and squabbling to gain an advantage. The important thing is to end hostilities to save lives and avoid Palestinian children starving to death.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement that supports officials in U.S. federal agencies who resigned their positions in protest of U.S. complicity in Israeli’s genocide in Palestine, noting in addition that America’s full-throated support for Israeli’s war is not making Israel safe and is putting world Jewry at risk of increased anti-Semitism.

LA Jews for Peace honors these brave Americans for putting their careers and their personal lives at risk as they stand for their principles of humanity and human rights for all peoples. These resignations will not coerce the Biden Administration to stop supporting Israel’s genocide, but they are a significant blow to the current American policy.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement that celebrates Ireland, Norway, and Space recognizing the State of Palestine. Each country emphasized that they are recognizing the state of Palestine to promote peace, justice, and prosperity for the people in the region.

These diplomatic actions bring the number of countries that recognize Palestine to 146 or 75% of the 193 U.N. member states. This includes 20 European countries.

Other countries will surely follow. Eight European countries plus the U.S. have discussed Palestinian recognition at the cabinet and/or parliament level. LA Jews for Peace calls on the U.S. to recognize Palestine as a step to peace in the region.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, May 23, 2024, that supports the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's request for arrest warrants for Israel and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes committed in the current Israel-Gaza war.

Both sides claim the charges should not have been brought due to lack of equivalence between the sides. But equivalence is legally irrelevant. What counts is evidence that the accused committed war crimes.

This case is important for the peaceful future of the world. If arrest warrants are issued that will build confidence in the ICC and the international rule or law.

LA Jews for Peace joins many others, including Germany, France, and Belgium, in supporting the ICC and not allowing the U.S., Israel, and Hamas from undermining the ICC.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, April 29, 2024, that says the core issue of student protests at tens of colleges and universities across the U.S. is the student’s attempt to stop U.S. government support of the genocide and their university’s investment in funding Israel's apartheid system and war on Gaza.

The protests are not anti-Semitic, in spite of some media and Congressional accusations. LA Jews for Peace condemns all anti-Semitic acts, but notes that imputably antisemitic campus incidents are rare, isolated, and wrongfully mischaracterize these protests.

Students are non-violently protesting within their rights, and universities that call in police are criminalizing students for exercising their freedom of expression.

The statement examines the statement “from the River to the Sea” and shows it is analogous to statements made by Netanyahu using similar language to claim Israel control. The statements are aspirational and not anti-Semitic.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, April 14, 2024, that condemns both the April 1 Israel attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, and Iran's Saturday retaliation of hundreds of drone and missile strikes at Israeli cities.

Iran-Israel fighting must stop because it is a distraction from the worlds efforts to stop Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Iran-Israel fighting must stop because it may escalate into a regional war that may involve the U.S.

LA Jews for Peace calls on the U.S. to stop supplying Israel with weapons. That would stop the fighting and allow thew world to focus on stopping the Gaza genocide.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, March 31, 2024, that endorses Gush Shalom's call for a follow-on to UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2728 in the Israel-Gaza war. Gush Shalom notes that Israel rejected that resolution's call for a 2-week ceasefire.

Gush Shalom summarizes UN Charter Chapter VII that empowers the UNSC to enact sanctions on any state that does not comply with an UNSCresolution. Gush Shalom remembers the 1990 case in which the UNSC imposed sanctions on Iraq for invading Kuwait and not withdrawing as ordered by the UNSC.

Gush Shalom and LA Jews for Peace call for the UNSC to take action to enforce resolution 2728.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, March 24, 2024, reacts to Senator Schumer's brave and correct speech last week on the Senate Floor. LA Jews for Peace applauds that more-and-more Democrats are recognizing the crimes associated with Israel's war on Gaza. But notes that so far all we see is talk.

LA Jews for Peace demands that the Biden Administration take direct action to stop the war and flood Gaza with humanitarian aid. Four specific steps are suggested. The 100s of ceasefire resolutions passed across the country shows that is what the American people want.

Senator Schumer's speech is a tiny step forward.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, Feb.21, 2024, that notes that three weeks after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to stop its possible genocide of the people in Gaza, Israel is about to compound its violations of the ICJ ruling with a ground invasion of Rafah.

Because the U.S. is the major supplier of weapons to Israel, the U.S. is in a unique position to stop Israel’s invasion of Rafah. The Biden Administration has called for Israel not to invade, but Israel seems determined.

LA Jews for Peace calls on the U.S. to do more than ask Israel not to invade. The U.S. can and must prevent an Israel invasion by cutting off Israel’s supply of weapons. This will be difficult politically, but it must be done to stop a humanitarian catastrophe from happening.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, Feb.15, 2024, that calls on the U.S. government, the only world power with any influence over Israel, to demand that Israel builds its buffer on its own land, even if that means appropriating Israeli farmland.

LA Jews for Peace has no issue with Israel building a buffer between itself and Gaza, but LA Jews for Peace strongly objects to that buffer being built a barrier on the Gaza side of the border. Building a buffer on the other guy’s land would violate law and practice, and will contribute to ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, Feb.2, 2024, that demands the United States restore funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that is the key organization facilitating humanitarian aid to the 2.2 million people facing homelessness, disease, and famine in the Gaza Strip.

UNRWA has 13,000 employees in Gaza, and is the only organization on the ground holding off mass death in Gaza. The U.S. cut funding because Israel (which has tried to destroy UNRWA in the past) accused 12 employees of taking part in the Oct.7 Hamas attack on Southern Israel. It makes no moral, humane, or strategic sense to destroy UNRWA because a tiny fraction of its employees took part in the Oct.7 attack. And cutting UNRWA funding may violate the recent ICJ ruling that Palestinians in Gaza must receive humanitarian aid.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, Jan.24, 2024, that traces America’s full-throated support for Israel’s war with Gaza that started with Hamas’ Oct.7 attack that killed over 1,000 Israelis and took about 250 Israelis hostage. U.S. has remained a strong supporter or Israel even as Israel attacked all of Gaza ‘s 2.2 million people, most of whom are not Hamas supporters.

The U.S. has urged Israel to moderate its attack on civilians and plan for “the day after” and promoted a Palestinian state alongside Israel as a long-term resolution of the Israel-Palestinian issue. But Israel announced that it intends to remain the sole power between the River and the Sea, and rejected the concept of a Palestinian state.

In light of this growing difference between Israel and the U.S. in war goals, LA Jews for Peace demands that the U.S. stop arming Israel.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement on Jan.9, 2024, that endorses South Africa’s application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ, the World Court) accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Accusations stem from the response of Israel's extremist government to Hamas' Oct.7 attack; the response targeting all Gazans rather just Hamas. Many Jews world-wide oppose Israel's actions.

The U.N. Genocide Convention defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group." The South African application cites dozens of statements by Israeli political and military leaders that demonstrate Israel’s intent to destroy the 2.2 million people living in the Gaza strip.

LA Jews for Peace focuses on two of the eight allocations in the South African application: (1) direct military killing of over 21,000 people, and (2) indirect killing of thousands of people resulting from Israel’s cutoff of electricity, water, food, fuel, and medicine, and destruction of 70% of Gaza’s housing.

LA Jews for Peace urges the ICJ to rescue the people of Gaza by quickly issuing the preliminary order requested in South Africa’s application requiring that Israel cease its genocidal acts pending a full hearing by the court.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement on Jan.1, 2024, that says Israel’s actions bombing Gaza and withholding food, water, fuel, electricity, and medicines may not be genocide, but it is surely horrible and involves war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The statement says that President Biden is not serious when he requests Israel to kill fewer civilians because Biden supplies Israel with weapons to continue its bombardment, blocks U.N. resolutions for a ceasefire, and continues to support Israel’s right to defend itself, regardless of the consequences. In fact, Biden is bypassing Congress to arm Israel

LA Jews for Peace demands: that the Biden Administration and Congress stop the pending arms sale and that the Biden Administration work with the U.N. to institute a permanent ceasefire guaranteed by a U.N. peacekeeping force.      Click here for full statement .

Tony Litwinko reacts to the 51 painted photographs by artist Jaime Scholnick in her 2015 Los Angeles exhibit, “Gaza: Mowing the Lawn,” following Israel’s brutal 2014 Operation Protective Edge, the onslaught on Hamas and Gaza that cost over 200 Palestinian lives, including about 500 minors.      Click here to read article .

Jeff Warner and Yossi Khen's (W&K) goal was to help college students understand the long history leading up to the Oct.7 attacks, and present a path forward that the U.S. should take to make peace. They don't predict the U.S. will do what it takes. The article is updated to late October; nevertheless, its essential message remains valid.

After condemning Hamas’ Oct.7 attack as an atrocity and a war crime, W&K emphasize that although Israel has a right of defense, it does not have a right to kills innocent civilians in Gaza.

W&K remember that Palestinians live under suffocating Israeli oppression from the occupation and siege, and they ask is it any wonder that Palestinians are frustrated with no hope for the future.

W&K characterize Israel’s bombing of Gaza as retribution focused on civilians that has been inhumane and has gone far beyond what is condoned under International Law. The only thing Israel’s bombardment will accomplish is an endless cycle of violence and massacre.

W&K then turn to the U.S. The U.S. should demand a ceasefire, but instead it gives full-throated support to Israel’s retaliation, including sending Israel weapons, that leads to massive amounts of death and destruction.

W&K urge the U.S. to pressure Israel like the U.S. pressured Israel at Camp David in 1979, to accept a two-state solution. The alternative is bloodbaths forever.      Click here to read article .

LA Jews for Peace released a Policy Statement on Oct.16 that starts by calling the Hamas Oct.7 attack on Israel an atrocity and human tragedy. The statement goes on to point out that Israel’s justified military response against Hamas leaders and fighters goes beyond that to an unjustified attack on all two million civilians in the Gaza Strip.

LA Jews for Peace calls out the United States for abandoned any pretense of being an unbiased arbiter of world order. U.S. political and media leaders full-throated support and encouragement of Israeli retaliation enables Israel’s war crimes, and makes the U.S. complicit in those crimes.

LA Jews for Peace asks if the U.S. and Israel will ever learn that there is no military solution to the Palestinians issue and that resistance organically emerges in response to occupation/apartheid.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace released a Policy Statement on Oct.12 that calls out the hypocrisy in U.S. foreign policy with respect to occupation. The U.S. militarily and financially supports Ukraine in opposing the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory. While at the same time the U.S. militarily and financially supports Israel in maintaining its occupation of Palestine.

LA Jews for Peace points out a second hypocrisy in U.S. foreign policy, namely t focus on a military solution in Ukraine and Israel-Palestine means the U.S. abandons its belief in being the “indispensable nation” that is committed to global peace and progress. By focusing on a military rather than a political solution, the U.S. is choosing war over peace, and even undermining its stated goal of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. By not vigorously pursuing peace, the U.S. is enabling future massacres.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a policy statement today, Oct.8, 2023, that condemns Hamas’ attack and Israeli’s military retaliation, and mourns hundreds of lives lost. Hamas and Israel are the actors, but they are enabled by the United States and its allies who consistently back Israel in its denial of Palestinian rights, including Israeli’s almost 20-year siege of the Gaza Strip.

Is it any wonder that Hamas leads Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip to fight for their liberation?

Israel must end it siege of Gaza and occupation/apartheid in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The U.S. and its allies must stop supporting occupation/apartheid. They must build a comprehensive and just peace between Israelis and Palestinians that guarantees long-term security for both people. Anything short of that will surely lead to repeated wars. There is no alternative.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement today, July 30, 2023, calling for an end to the annual U.S. gift to Israel of $3.8 billion in military aid. That has long been a goal of activists, but now American elite are starting to question that American aid because it weakens democracy in both U.S. and Israel.

LA Jews for Peace anticipates that more and more American elites will come to recognize that we share fewer and fewer values with Israel, and that means the U.S. commitment to Israel must be reassessed.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement today, July 19, 2023, that Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal was correct when she called Israel a racist state. In this statement, LA Jews for Peace sets out examples of Israeli laws that are racist in that they either target Palestinians or bolster that idea that, in the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel is a state for Jews only.

LA Jews for Peace commends Congresswoman Jayapal for expressing the truth; her courage is admirable.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement today, July 18, 2023, that Tom Friedman's July 11 column that calls for the US to reassess its commitment to Israel is on the right track. Friedman says that a reassessment is needed because Israel's current extreme right-wing government have destroyed the US-Israel “shared fiction” that the occupation is temporary and a two-state solution is on the way, and is destroying the Israeli separation of power based on an independent judiciary.

LA Jews for Peace encouraged the US to support UN Security Council resolutions that impose sanctions on Israel because it is still expanding settlements, and establish a UN multinational military force in the West Bank to protect Palestinians from Israeli army raids and settler terrorist pogroms.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement today, July 4, 2023, that condemns Israel's July 2 military attack on Jenin with drone airstrikes and an invasion by 1,000 troops. At least eight Palestinians, including children, were killed and buildings and roads were destroyed. This was the largest military attack on the West Bank since Israel attempts to suppress the Second Intifada over 20 years ago.

This attack follows a wave a pogroms inflicted by settlers on Palestinian towns and villages.

LA Jews for Peace demands that the United States must bring a resolution to the U.N. Security Council to authorize the creation of a U.N. force to protect Jenin’s civilian residents from continued Israeli military attack. And in the long run, the U.S. must seriously act to end the 56-year illegal Israel occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.      Click here for full statement .

Yossi Khen speaks for 7:45 minutes at an Israeli Democracy demonstration in Los Angeles on July 2, 2023. Khen points out that democracy means that all people must be able to live a good life that goes far beyond stopping the government's attempted judicial coup. It means assuring that all citizens can live in freedom. Khen's gives examples including the high rate of poverty, the plight of Druse, and pogroms settlers inflict on Palestinian villages and towns.      Click here YouTube video.

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement today, March 6, 2023, that examines the judicial “reform” crisis in Israel.

LA Jews for Peace fears the judicial “reform” laws will pass in spite of opposition from a significant fraction of Israeli Jews. This has emboldened Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, leaders of the far right-wing in the current government, to push towards their goal of expelling Palestinians.

LA Jews for Peace sees and supports changes in the opposition. The protests started by excluding Palestinians and anti-occupation Jews. Now both are accepted as protestors are realizing that to fight judicial “reforms” they must fight for equality for all people under Israeli control including Palestinians from River to Sea.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement today, January 16, 2023, that demands that the United States not build a new embassy in Jerusalem on privately owned Palestinian land. Yet that is exactly what it appears the U.S. intends to do. One of the owners is Rashid Khalidi’s family. Khalidi described the situation in a NY Times Op-Ed.

There are larger implications in light of Israel’s new government that includes ministers who openly demand Jewish supremacy in Israel and have called for expulsion of Palestinians. As Khalidi wrote, “Building a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem … constitutes a legal and moral offense. … It would essentially greenlight Israel’s relentless eviction of Palestinians from their homes, … entrenching Israel’s apartheid-like policies in the city.”      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement today, January 8, 2023, that joins Palestinians world-wide in applauding the U.N. General Assembly resolution of December 30, 2022 that requests an opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.

LA Jews for Peace recognizes that he only way to break the stalemate in the Israel-Palestine crisis is for a power outside the U.S.–Israel axis to intervene. An ICJ ruling may open a path to end the violence the Israeli government and settlers regularly inflict on Palestinians.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement that views with horror the prospect of Benjamin Netanyahu forming a new Israeli government that includes the fascist the Religious Zionist Party led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, both of whom are known anti-Palestinian terrorists. Such a government will not be democratic nor share values with the United States.
LA Jews for Peace calls on the U.S. government to demend that Netanyahu reject fascist parties in his government.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement that says Israel admitting one of its soldiers killed American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aklef does not constiture accountability.

LA Jews for Peace calls on the Biden Administration to intervene to ensure justice is done for an American citizen, and suggests Israel should indice and try the killer, and pay reperations to Abu Aklef's family.
     Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace repeased a policy statement that condemns last week’s military fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). LA Jews for Peace notes that the United States policy of wide and deep support of Israel is what elimately enables      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace regrets that President Biden missed many opportunities to advance human rights during his July 13-16, 2022 trip to Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia.

Biden started his trip with a commitment to human rights, but did not follow through in his visits to Israel, Palestine, or Saudi Arabia. Instead, the trip bolstered American support for Israeli apartheid, gave Palestinians a few crumbs but no significant support for their cause, and cemented America’s military commitment to Gulf Arab monarchies.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace points out pro-Israel bias in the State Department forensic investigation into the May 11, 2022 killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, an American citizen and Al Jazeera reporter.

The American investigation of the bullet that killed Abu Akleh was to be accomplished solely by an American team. But contrary to agreement with Palestinians, the American team allowed Israelis to join the investigation, ven though Israel has a stake in the outcome of the investigation.

Worse, the State Department report stated that although the fatal bullet was probably fired by the Israeli army, there is “no reason to believe” she was deliberately targeted. What remained unstated is that that there is no reason to believe she was NOT deliberately targeted.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace takes advantage of President Biden's scheduled trip to Israel and Palestine to demand that the United States insist that Israel stop evictions at Masafer Yatta in the southern occupied West Bank. The statement suggests that Biden should concel the trip if Israel does not make substaintial changes to how it treats Palestinians in the occupied territories.

The statement ends with, "LA Jews for Peace demands the Biden Administration stand up for human rights by insisting Israel recognizes Palestinian human rights."      Click here for full statement.

Pro-Palestinian Instagram Sites follow Palestinian activists.
Progressive Web sites provide information beyond what the main-stream media provides.

     Click here for list (last updated June. 17, 2022).

Warner and Khen make an analogy between Russia's denial of Ukrainian sovereignty and nationhood, and Israel's denial of Palestinian sovereignty and nationhood. Russia's denial led to its invasion of Ukraine. Israel's denial underlies 55 years of occupation and refusal to allow Palestinian self-determination.

In response to Russia's invasion, the U.S. and West is sanctioning Russia. Warner and Khen call for an end to the double standard that allows the U.S. to continue to support Israel for similar acts to those that trigger sanctions of Russia.

Warner and Khen call on the U.S. to sanction Israel for its occupation, and suggest two first steps: (1) consistent with U.S. Law, end its military aid to Israel, and (2) remove 501(c)(3) status from charities that support West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements the U.S. considers illegal.      Click here for article .

LA Jews for Peace issued a Policy Statement on March 2 that makes an analogy between Russia’s denial of Ukrainian sovereignty and Israel’s denial of Palestinian sovereignty. That analogy has been made by others (e.g., Gideon Levy on Feb. 27 in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper).

Russia’s denial of Ukrainian sovereignty led to Russia’s present illegal invasion of the entire Ukraine. Israel’s denial of Palestinian sovereignty led to Israel’s refusal to make peace and its 55-year occupation that is characterized as apartheid.

The U.S. government response to Russian’s invasion is to impose harsh sanctions. In contrast, the U.S. does not sanction Israeli for not making peace and the occupation, rather, the U.S. supports and even funds Israel’s actions.

This hypocrisy and double standard of international politics should not stand. LA Jews for Peace calls on the U.S. to support human rights and sanction Israel for its refusal to make peace with Palestine.      Click here for full statement .

The Amnesty International report, “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel system of domination and crime against humanity” (Feb. 1, 2022) reaches a blunt conclusion, namely that Israel’s government of all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea constitutes apartheid that is a violation of international law. The report recommends that Israel must end its apartheid regime for peace to have a chance.

LA Jews for Peace, in agreement with human rights groups in Israel-Palestine, welcomes a debate over apartheid in Israel-Palestine as not only legitimate, but absolutely necessary to achieve peace.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace noted that the overnight action by Israeli police that evicted the Salhiyneh family from their home, and demolished it before dawn, was incendiary, unjust, and harmful; it could lead to violent conflict as similar police actions did last May.

LA Jews for Peace does not accept the Jerusalem municipality claim that they need the Salhiyeh land for a school because there is empty land in Sheikh Jarrah. Rather, the Salhiyehfamily was evicted and their home demolished as part of Israel's continued actions to reduce the number of Palestinians and increase the number of Jews in East Jerusalem

LA Jews for Peace joins with J Street in calling for Administration and Congressional action.      Click here for full statement .

Bishop Tutu, F.W. de Klerk, and Nelson Mandela won Nobel prizes for ending South African apartheid. But they could not have ended Israeli apartheid because of a fundamental difference: South African elite recognized that apartheid was not working and had to change. But Israeli elite think the opposide, namely that Israeli apartheid is working for Israeli Jews.

Sanctions on Israel are required to convince Israel to end apartheid, and a civil society mass movement is the only way to get there.      Click here for article .

LA Jews for Peace condemns the Israeli government military order designating six human rights groups active in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank as “terrorist organizations.” The Israeli government presented no evidence that any of these human rights groups engaged in terrorism, and this action effecxtively stops these NGOs from aiding Palestinians living under occupation.

LA Jews for Peace calls on President Biden to remind the Bennett – Lapid government that outlawing human rights organizations is the action of a dictatorship, not the democratic government that Israel aspires to be. Biden should demand that Israel reverse these designations.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace released a policy statement supporting 400 Google and Amazon workers’ demand that Google and Amazon stop providing cloud services to the Israeli military. These workers, were motivated in support of Palestinian rights that Israel systematically denies. LA Jews for Peace are also so motivated.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace applauds Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling its ice cream in illegal West Bank settlements while continuing it business inside Israel proper. This shows that Ben & Jerry’s recognizes the 1967 Green Line border as the demarcation separating sovereign Israel from the Occupied Palestinian territories.

Ben & Jerry’s decision will not end the Israel’s apartheid regime, or even its occupation of Palestinian land. Rather, combined with similar actions of many individuals and companies, may eventually have two effects: (1) isolate Israel to convince its elite to rethink its occupation/apartheid policies, and (2) help convince the U.S. government to exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to end its occupation/apartheid policies.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace's condemns the Israel IDF's demolition of the un-lived-in home of a Palestinian-American's accused of murdering an Israeli Jew. LA Jews for Peace condemns the standard IDF policy of demolishing homes of Palestinians accused of murdering a Jew, even before the Palestinian is tried and convicted. We note that the IDF never demolishes the home of a Jew even after being tried and convicted of murder. This difference in punishment for Palestinians and Jews for similar crimes is the essence of apartheid.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace urges the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) House of Representatives to adopt a Palestinian Solidarity resolution similar to one of the resolutions recently passed by five UTLA Regional Councils. UTLA should adopt this resolution because it supports human rights and teaching human rights is a core mission of UTLA.

Opponents of the resolutions say it is anti-Semitic but that is not true. The resolution criticizes an Israeli government policy, not Jews or even Israel itself. Other opponents say the Israel-Palestine situation is too complex for UTLA teachers. This also is untrue — It is no more complex than dozens of issues UTLA teachers regularly deal with. UTLA teachers can easily see with their own eyes that the Israel-Palestine situation comes down to Israel using its overwhelming advantages as a state to systematically oppress stateless Palestinians.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace concurs with Gush Shalom’s optimistic analysis that the International Criminal Court in The Hague’s ruling that the court has the authority to hear and decide Palestinian complaints of violations of international law means that the Israel Defense Force’s rules of engagement will change in a manner that protects Palestinian rights and dignity.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace accepts B’Tselem’s assertion that Israel is an apartheid state. B'Tselem argues that: (1) all the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean is under Israeli rule and is not separable across the Green Line into democratic Israel and a temporary military occupation, and (2) the Israel regime promotes and perpetuates the supremacy of one group over another — Jews over Palestinians — across the entire area with Palestinians having inferior rights in Israeli sovereign territory, East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, to the rights of Jews living in the same area.

The liberal Zionist premise that Israel is a democracy rests on the belief that one can separate Green Line Israel from the rest of the territories it controls. But that is a delusion. Israel makes the rules in the entire territory to promote and enforce Jewish supremacy over Palestinians: that is apartheid.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace mourns Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by honoring her enduring legacy. Following RBG’s example, LA Jews for Peace asserts that the people, the voters, should pick a President, and that President should select a successor to Justice Ginsburg.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace supports normalized relations between all countries, including Israel and Morocco, that have had under-the-table relations for many years. But the price for the Israel-Morocco normalization deal is too high because it recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara, and continues militarization of the Middle East and North Africa. It is not a peace agreement, rather it is cynical and despicable deal worthy of condemnation that should be rejected by the U.S. Congress.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace endorses the July 1 protest against Israeli PM Netanyahu'a plan to begin annexing territory in the Occupied West Bank because it would be a violation of international law and would put an end to any possibility of a two-state solution (many believe that we reached that point long ago). Palestinians living in annexed territory will not be given Israeli citizenship making it obvious that Palestinians are experiencing Apartheid.

LA Jews for Peace statement that BDS is not inherently anti-Semitic shows that the double standard accusation that BDS is anti-Semitic is unrealistic and that BDS is prompted by the call of Palestinians to fight for Palestinian rights. The statement also shows that BDS does not deny Israel’s right to exist by promoting the Palestinian right of return. Rather, the right of return is supported by a need for Palestinians to regain their homes and land lost in the Nakba.      Click here for full statement .

Marcus, a well-known opponent of Palestinian rights, reopened the 2011 case against Rutgers University claiming that Jewish students encountered anti-Semitism there and used the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definitions of anti-semitism in his re-examination. LA Jews for Peace considers that using the IHRA definitions to limit or to end criticisms of the state of Israel harms free speech and open debate on campuses, the cornerstones of any democracy.      Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace calls on the United States to end its active military support of the Saudi Coalition fighting the Houthi insurgency in Yemen because U.S. support is a root cause of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis that includes a cholera epidemic and mass starvation. LA Jews for Peace applauds and supports Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA-33) for his leadership in attempting to end the United States participation in this war.      Click here for full statement.

Warner and Khen analyze Democratic political dynamics to understand why elected Democrats started to take public actions in support of Palestinians. They argue that Netanyahu’s 2015 speech to Congress was a tipping point in that all the actions were taken in the past few years. Not only did the speech argue against the Iran nuclear deal in direct conflict with President Obama, but the very optics were taken as an affront to the very popular (with Democrats) president. Since the speech/tipping point, more and more elected Democrats are open to hearing about the plight of the Palestinians and what they hear conflicts with their support and belief in universal human rights.      Click here for full essay .

LA Jews for Peace endorses the July 30, 2018 letter signed by 70 Democratic members of Congress demanding that the Trump Administration immediately restore Gaza aid funding “to alleviate the growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip.” Improving conditions in Gaza where most people lack adequate power, clean water, medical care, and many other basic necessities “is a critical first step to improving the security and safety of both Palestinians and Israelis.” Even Israel’s security establishment has warned that the humanitarian disaster in Gaza could increase the likelihood of violence.

Part of the problem is Hamas’ repression, corruption and insistence on pursuing a violent struggle against Israel. But the larger part of the problem is Israel's restrictions on the freedom of movement of people, legitimate goods and equipment in and out of Gaza.

But cutting aid meant to relieve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip where half the population are children is not a proper response.

LA Jews for Peace urges all Southern California Democrats who did not sign the July 30 letter, to endorse that letter and demand that the Trump Administration restore Gaza aid funding.      Click here for full statement.

LA Jews for Peace applauds Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA-33) for leading the effort to impose Congressional oversight on the United States war effort in Yemen. But oversight is just the first step; the goal must be to end U.S. involvement which violate American laws that work to assure that the U.S. is not complicit in war crimes.

LA Jews for Peace urges all southern California Congressional Democrats to join Ted Lieu in the House, and Senators Sanders (D-Vt.), Lee (R-Ut.), and Murphy (D-Ct.) in speaking out in opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Yemen war.      Click here for full statement.

The statement points to several circumstances that perpetuate the current state of affairs:

Tatour was convicted of inciting violence and supporting a "terror organization." She says there was no call for violence in her poem, rather it calls for a non-violent struggle. But Israeli authorities interpreted it to be violent.

If Tatour’s conviction is enforced while rabbis and Jewish political leaders and settlers make equivalent or worse statements and are not even indicted, it demonstrates that Israel has different laws for Jews and others, and this case is just another Palestinian writer persecuted by Israel for her speech. That is apartheid.      Click here for full essay .

LA Jews for Peace urges our Southern California Congressional Representatives to endorse the Schakowsky–Yarmouth letter to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu urging him not to allow the Israeli government “to demolish the Palestinian village of Susiya and other similarly situated Palestinian communities in the West Bank.” This request is based on the Democrat support of human rights.      Click here for the Open Letter .

LA Jews for Peace urges our Southern California Congressional Representatives to speak out about the Israeli army shooting and killing 125 unarmed, non-violent Palestinian protesters at the Israel-Gaza fences over the past three months. The request is based on human rights, the rule of law, and even adds a political twist. Click here for      Click here for full Open Letter

On April 6, 2018, LA Jews for Peace called for the United States government to vigorously Enforce the Leahy Law that restricts transfer of American weapons to countries that use them to violate human rights and/or engage in aggressive military action. This was a call for limited U.S. government sanctions against Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Since then we have seen Israel use American weapons to shoot unarmed, non-violent Palestinian protesters on the Gaza-Israel border. Thus far, about 45 Palestinians were killed and over 5,000 were wounded. In contrast, no Israeli suffered any injury.

In an attempt to stem this slaughter, Amnesty International called on "governments worldwide to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel following the country’s disproportionate response to mass demonstrations along the fence that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel."

LA Jews for Peace supports the Amnesty International call for an arms embargo against Israel, and renews its call for the U.S. government to promptly enforce the Leahy Law.      Click here for Amnesty International Statement .

LA Jews for Peace supports and encourages Congressional actions to restrict American arms sales to countries that violate human rights and/or engage in aggressive military action. We stand on the moral principle that the United States government must not support or enable other government violations of human rights or unilateral aggressive military attacks on their neighbors. The United States must work to stop killing innocent civilians and abide by its own laws barring these actions.      Click here for full statement.

PETITION TEXT: We, Americans, Jews, and citizens of the world, applaud Ronald Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, for his op-ed in the New York Times on Sunday, March 18, 2018, titled “Israel’s Self-Inflicted Wounds,” in which he calls for stopping the settlement project as necessary to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and also goes a long way to bring peace to Israel-Palestine and all the people in the region.

SEND TO: Ronald Lauder, President, World Jewish Congress, info@worldjewishcongress.org, https://www.facebook.com/WorldJewishCong      Click here for full statement .

A pdf file that contains two documents:

1. Executive Summary of the Falk-Tilley report to the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia titled “lsraeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid,” (Title page plus 5 pages of text).

2. Article in The Nation by Richard Falk “The Inside Story on Our UN Report Calling Israel an Apartheid State” (3 pages).      Click here for document .

LA Jews for Peace calls on United States Senators to assure that The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action commonly known as the “Iran deal” or “Iran nuclear deal” remains in effect because the deal is working as planned by stopping every Iranian pathway to a nuclear bomb. The deal is important to protect peace and security for the world community as affirmed by top security officials in the United States, Europe, the United Nations, and even Israel.      Click here for full essay .

LA Jews for Peace supports Israel’s right to exist, but opposes the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S-570 & HR-1697).

The ACLU argues the proposed bills violate the First Amendment because they criminalize boycotts that are a form of political speech.

The proposed bills are meant to protect Israel, but they target boycotts rather than the occupation that is the root cause of Israel's tarnished reputation. Better than punishing BDS activists, Congress should enact sanctions against Israel until Israel end its occupation.

Finally, the proposed bills blur the distinction between Israel itself, and illegal settlements built in occupied territory.      Click here for full statement.

LA Jews for Peace urges Congress to restrict and/or cancel the $110 billion arms sale agreement that President Donald Trump signed with Saudi Arabia on May 20 in Riyadh. Selling weapons to Saudi Arabia will only worsen the war in Yemen, further arm Saudi-sponsored terrorist groups like Daesh (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda fighting in Iraq and Syria, and enable a war with Iran.

LA Jews for Peace strongly encourage Congress to apply the same scrutiny to other countries in the Middle East, especially Israel and Egypt. The U.S. government sells them the same arms they sell Saudi Arabia, and they too are guilty of the same violations of the U.S. Arms Export Act and the Leahy act because they use these U.S.-supplied arms against civilians.      Click here for full statement.

Jeff Warner traveled to the West Bank with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence's nine-day summer work camp where 133 Diaspora Jews participated in projects across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, "The very existence of the CJNV delegation, perhaps the largest group of Diaspora Jews ever to come together in Palestine to fight the occupation, makes a powerful statement to American and Israeli political leaders. It is another illustration that Jewish American and Diaspora Jews do not support Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and are ready to stand up and fight for that principle."      Click here for full essay .

LA Jews for Peace condemns California State University Long Beach President Jane Conoley opposition to Associated Students resolution SR #2017-37. SR #2017-37 recommends that the university divests from companies that profit from human rights violations against Palestinian people. Conoley was wrong to attempt to divert student attention from Israel's 50 occupation of Palestine, and denying over 4 million Palestinians all rights, and point students at Russia for its mistreatment of LGBTQ people.      Click here for full statement.

LA Jews for Peace welcomes United Nations Security Council resolution 2334, Dec. 23, 2016, demanding the cessation of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, immediate steps by the parties to end terror and incitement, and reaffirming the international community's support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.      Click here for full statement.

Nader urges Obama to follow President Carter’s advice (Nov. 28, 2016 NY Times Op-Ed) to recognize Palestine before he leaves office. Says that if Obama takes such a step he will “have the support of the active peacemakers on both sides—including numerous former heads of the Israeli domestic and foreign intelligence agencies …, former cabinet ministers, mayors and public intellectuals, not to mention stalwart Israeli human rights organizations, such as B’Tselem,” as well as the American people including Jewish and Arab Americans.      Click here for full letter.

"In the wake of this election, which has catapulted Donald Trump to the presidency, it is important that we stand together as a community and protest a series of his appointments, beginning with Stephen K. Bannon. ...

"[We] denounce Trump’s appointment of Bannon, and resist the normalization of white supremacy and state-sanctioned hate. We affirm the basic values of freedom and dignity for all and believe that we must build this world with love."      Click here for full essay.

LA Jews for Peace is determined to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, Blacks, Latinos and Latinas, immigrants, and all other groups, including Jews, who may be isolated, identified, brutalized, criminalized, or subjected to registration and mass detention or deportation due to the Trump administration enacting a white supremacist agenda. We intend to speak out and stand up along with allied civil rights and human rights organizations. If the government institutes a Muslim registery, we will join other civil rights leaders like ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt and register as Muslims.      Click here for full statement.

The resolution starts by “affirming the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem for the three monotheistic religions” – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is unfortunate that the resolution refers to the “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram AlSharif” eighteen times, but never as the “Temple Mount,” its Israeli name.

LA Jews for Peace condemns the Israeli response that falsely claims that the resolution denies a Jewish connection to the Temple Mount. Unfortunately, LA Jews for Peace fears that Israeli PM Netanyahu will continue to criticize the UNESCO resolution as a distraction from Israel’s Greater Israel project. Rather, the resolution should be used as a guide to correct its violations of humanitarian international law as a step towards peace, and in accord with Jewish values.      Click here for full Statement.

AB-2844 says it will protect California from companies that may discriminate if the boycott Israel. But anti-discrimination laws already exist so AB-2844 will not provide any added protections, yet it will cost thousands of dollars, and perhaps millions.

What AB-2844 will do is punish companies who use their First Amendment right who follow their customers demand that they boycott Israel to protest the occupation and well-documented abuses of Palestinians.

AB-2844 is part of a national campaign by pro-Israel forces to stop any criticism of Israeli government abuses.      Click here for full letter.

Assemblymember Richard Bloom's bill that attempts to legislate against BDS will be another factor that allows AIPAC to dictate U.S. policy in Israel-Palestine in the short run. But in the long run it will be irrelevant because of four geo-political trends: (1) Declining American influence in the Middle East and the inability of American-armed Israel to offer any help in accomplishing American goals, (2) Israel's increasing need for U.S. arms and protection as it deepens the occupation and builds an apartheid state, (3) Jewish disenchantment with Israel, and (4) the weakening Israel lobby.

These together mean that Israel’s need for protection from accountability and opposition will eventually exceed the United States’ capacity or commitment. At that point, Israel will have to adjust to a new reality with dramatic political changes. The best option for a non-violent resolution is for the moribund Israeli peace forces to regain strength and, together with Palestinian movements, find a way to end the occupation and establish a viable, sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel. All other options will trigger war.      Click here for full essay.

LA Jews for Peace endorses “A Vision for Black Lives, Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom, and Justice,” the Platform of the Movement for Black Lives. The Platform is a strong and comprehensive statement for social, racial, political, and economic justice. We would very much like to live in the society it describes.

Platform accuses Israel of genocide. LA Jews for Peace rejects that accusation, but points out several types of Israeli oppression that has destroyed Palestinian lives.

LA Jews for Peace does not believe that the Movement for Black Lives Platform’s incorrect use of the term “genocide” negates an otherwise powerful statement for social, racial, political, and economic justice enunciated in the Platform’s other 37,000 words. That is why LA Jews for Peace proudly endorses the Platform of the Movement for Black Lives.

     Click here for full endorsement.

Letter follows a meeting with Assemblyman Richard Bloom elaborating that the greatest threat to Israel’s existence is not the return of Palestinian refugees or BDS, but endless conflict with Palestinians resulting from the elimination of the two-state solution through expanding West Bank Jewish-only colonization (that is, the settlements), and the double-standard of Israeli laws (one version for Jews and a different version for Palestinians) in Israel and in the occupied territories. Letter opposes AB-2844, an anti-BDS bill, 2844 because it impedes, rather than supports, the concerted, but so far ineffective efforts by the international community, the US government, and progressive Israeli and Palestinian groups to establish a two-state solution in lieu of the widespread discrimination and the incremental construction of an apartheid state that is the Israeli status quo.      Click here for full letter.

Senator Leahy and ten Congresspersons wrote to Secretary of State Kerry asking for an investigation to determine if Israel and Egypt use American arms for human rights abuses. The letter suggests that the US State Department and Department of Defense may be in breach of the Leahy Law that prohibits the provision of military assistance to foreign military units that violate human rights with impunity.      Click here for full letter.

LA Jews for Peace is disappointed in the Report of the Regents Working Group on Principles Against Intolerance. The report purports to provide broad-based guidelines against discrimination and bigotry. But the Report does not do that. Rather, it focuses almost exclusively on anti-Semitism (giving short-shrift to other issues) and also conflates anti-Semitism with any political discussion or critique of Zionism. That is a mistaken and an unfortunate position.

That is the essence of a letter LA Jews for Peace send to the UC Regents.      Click here for full letter.

Essay expanding talk pesented at UC Riversite "Conference on Palestine, Israel and the Assault on Academic Freedom." Argues there is not a rash of anti_semitism on college campuses. Most claims of anti-Semitism are simply criticism of the Israeli government policy of occupation that deprives Palestinians of rights. The few isolated anti-Semitic incidents are connected with Israel-Palestine debate on campus, and are likely blowback to the aggressive tactics of the pro-Israel student groups, and deliberate blurring of the line between the Israel government and Judaism.      Click here for full essay.

Letter makes many of the same points as the below talk at UCR by Warner and Platkin.      Click here for full letter.

Talk pesented at UC Riversite "Conference on Palestine, Israel and the Assault on Academic Freedom." Argues there is not a rash of anti_semitism on college campuses. Most claims of anti-Semitism are simply criticism of the Israeli government policy of occupation that deprives Palestinians of rights. The few isolated anti-Semitic incidents are connected with Israel-Palestine debate on campus, and are likely blowback to the aggressive tactics of the pro-Israel student groups, and deliberate blurring of the line between the Israel government and Judaism.      Click here for full essay. See "Phony Claims of Anti-Semitism at UC Campuses" entry, above for updated essay.

The Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the P5+1 and Iran in Vienna on July 14, 2015 is a good deal because it diplomatically achieves a halt to Iran’s real or imagined nuclear bomb program for ten to fifteen years. It offers assurances based on the most intrusive international inspections ever devised. In exchange, the UN will incrementally drop sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program.

No alternative to the present deal will stop an Iranian bomb and bring security to Americans, Israelis, and the world. If the deal is rejected, the consequences could be a regional war and unimaginable human suffering. This is not an acceptable option.

The agreement marks a break in the 36 year cold war between Iran and the West and could lead to Iran rejoining the community of nations and a more peaceful world.      Click for full statement.

Presents and expands on LA Jews for Peace call for U.S. government sanctions on Israel (see below post).

The BDS movement celebrates its 10th anniversary with 100 victories, but those victories have failed to change Israeli policy, except to focus on defeating the BDS movement. Article points out that government sanctions have considerably more power than civilian boycotts or institutional divestment, and it was government sanctions that played a critical role in ending apartheid in South Africa.

Article admits to getting the U.S. government to enact sanctions on Israel will be a long and difficult road. Article says "it is nevertheless worth waging this critical fight because sanctions would not only end U.S. government bias towards Israel, but also become a critical policy change to end the occupation"      Click here for full essay.

Decades of United States efforts have failed to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian areas and failed to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel, with both sides living in peace, security, and prosperity. For the good of all parties – Palestinians, Israelis, and Americans – we call on the United States government to impose sanctions on Israel until the conflict is resolved through compliance with United Nations resolutions.      Click for full statement.

LA Jews for Peace endorses David Mandel and others June 8, 2015 letter to the California Assembly Higher Education Committee. LA Jews for Peace, and the Mandel letter, demand that the Committee "shelve" SCR-35, or if not they must replace the present State Department definition of Anti-Semitism that makes criticism of Israel anti-Semitic, with a standard dictionery definitin that does not conflate anti-Israel with anti-Semitism.     

Placed the P5+1 - Iran nuclear negotiations in a historical context of international efforts to control nuclear weapons. Touches on nuclear engineering to help understand negotiating points. Reviews objections to deal and shows they have no substance. Then asserts that the back-story, the situation that is driving opposition to the deal, is that the deal will likely bring Iran into the community of states, and an Iran more on the world stage will constrain the opponents freedom to act with impunity      Click here for full PowerPoint.

The article examines the national debate by presenting a point-by-point rebuttal of David Suissa's April 10 column in the Jewish Journal that calls the nuclear deal "a dangerous lemon."

Tom Friedman's column in April 22 NY Times is an interesting parallel read. Friedman supports the framework and set out goals for the final agreement.

Article defending the Iran framework nuclear deal by rebuting David Suissa's recent column that suggests the deal is "a dangerous lemon."      Click here for an updated version of the article.

Version of "'NEW ANTI-SEMITISM' ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES ..." with emphasis on UCLA incident.     

We write that two incidents of alleged anti-Semitism at University of California campuses are blowback against the aggressive pro-Israel policies of campus groups financed and directed by the Israel lobby and Israel itself. Contrary to reports in the NY Times and the LA Times, these incidents do not represent a national trend of revived campus anti-Semitism.     

Update of our article The Slow Collision Published in Levantine Review March 2, 2015 and LA City Watch March 10, 2015 (links below). This article explains why the current situation in Israel-Palestine is unsustainable. We start by pointing out that Israel apartheid relies on the unwavering financial, diplomatic, and military support of the United States. We note that the U.S. empire is in decline and will reach a point when it is unable and/or unwilling to continue its unwavering support of Israel. We further note the decline in the Israel lobby makes it harder and harder for the lobby to maintain America's unwavering commitment to Israel. And finally we note that Netanyahu's excesses have created a rift between the U.S. and Israel that might trigger the start of the end sooner than expected. We conclude with an examination of what the end of Israeli apartheid might look like.     

The article concludes that the United States “should support recognition of the state of Palestine" because that is the most efficient way to reduce Palestinian suffering. The article urges U.S. citizens to put pressure on the Obama Administration to accept a Palestinian state when it is debated at the United Nations. The article pitched the petition we sponsored in December. Click here to sign the petition     

Article elaborates the same points made in the presentation on ICAHD Reframing at the U.S Campaign’s End the Occupation Conference (third below post). This update incorporates some things we predicted are already happening.

The U.S.'s foremost regional ally in the Middle East, Israel, has been unwilling to use its vast arsenal of American military hardware to assist the U.S. in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, or other areas of Sunni Jihadist activity, most notably the Islamic State in Syria. For that matter, Israel has not even succeeded in defeating two small Islamic forces in adjacent areas, Hezbollah and Hamas, despite inflicting enormous death and destruction on Lebanon and Gaza. As “gratitude” for continued U.S support of these assaults, the Israeli government has openly disparaged the U.S. President, Vice President, and Secretary of State. It even attempted to interfere in American elections, supporting Republican Mitt Romney for President in the 2012. And, most recently Israel bypassed traditional diplomatic protocol by wangling an invitation for Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak directly to Congress without first contacting the White House.      Click here for full essay in Levantine Review and in LA City Watch.

Article elaborates the same points made in the presentation on ICAHD Reframing at the U.S Campaign’s End the Occupation Conference (below post). An updated version is posted on Feb. 17, 2015.

     Click here for full essay. Click on the link in the below post for a PowerPoint presentation of talk.

Ten point summary:
•     Israel is constructing apartheid Greater Israel, and this makes a Palestinian state alongside Israel impossible.
•     Greater Israel critically relies on U.S. diplomatic, military, and financial support.
•     U.S. hegemony in the Middle East that supports Israel is degrading (just like the prior Ottoman and British empires degraded and then disappeared).
•     Once the U.S. empire decays, even AIPAC’s political influence will not be able to maintain American support for an apartheid Greater Israel.
•     Evidence of the decline of the U.S. Empire includes its inability to shape the Arab Spring, desperate use of drone attacks, growth of Al Quada, Israel’s inability to destroy Hamas, and growth of the Islamic State.
•     Too many factors will determine the timing of U.S. decay to predict its timeline.
•     The U.S. may respond to its decline by attempts to maintain “stability”, engage in an orderly retreat, or resort to a last violent gasp.
•     Israel may react peacefully to its loss of U.S. support by:

1. Transforming apartheid Greater Israel into a single democratic state.
2. Dismantling Greater Israel in favor of a Palestinian state alongside itself.

1. Emphasize sanctions in BDS actions, specifically ending U.S. arms sales the entire Middle East, including Israel.
2. Lobby Congress to enforce the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act, building on Josh Ruebner’s work and the October 2012 Christian Clergy letter to Congress.
3. Integrate Israel-Palestine peace activities with broad-based anti-war actions.
4. Always emphasize that Israel-Palestine is just one component of a sensible Middle East policy.

LA Jews for Peace opposes the resolution being considered by the LA City Council condemning Hamas for using human shields. But this accusation is likely false.

LA Jews for Peace will present this statement to CityCouncil on Friday, August 15, 2014 at the 9 AM Rules Committee hearing.

     Click here for full statement .

LA Jews for Peace Statement on current war, updated to Aug. 10, 2014, calls for a Cease-Fire Now and to End the Gaza Blockade. Its main points are:

LA Jews for Peace joins 7,000 Israelis and the world community in demanding a cease-fire now to stop the killing of civilians. The killing of Palestinian civilians is not being done in our name.

LA Jews for Peace calls for a just peace as the only way to security to both people.

LA Jews for Peace demands that Israel and Egypt end their blockade of the Gaza Strip that is the root cause of resistance.

LA Jew for Peace supports the U.N. investigation of war crimes and joins Israeli human rights organizations in calling for Israel to follow the rules of war.

LA Jews for Peace demands an end to U.S. government’s unconditional diplomatic, financial, and military support of Israel that enables the occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza.

     Click here for full statement/a>.

LA Jews for Peace Peace joins 7,000 Israelis and the world community in demanding a cease-fire now to stop the killing of civilians. The killing of Palestinian civilians is not being done in our name.

LA Jews for Peace demands that Israel and Egypt end their blockade of the Gaza Strip.

LA Jews for Peace calls for a just peace as the only way to bring security to all people.

LA Jews for Peace joins Israeli human rights organizations in calling for Israel to follow the rules of war.

LA Jews for Peace demands an end to U.S. government’s unconditional diplomatic, financial, and military support of Israel that enables the occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza.

     Click here for full statement/a>.

LA Jews for Peace joins the world community in demanding a cease-fire now to stop the killing of civilians. The killing of Palestinian civilians is not being done in our name.

LA Jews for Peace demands that Israel and Egypt end their blockade of the Gaza Strip.

LA Jews for Peace demands an end to U.S. government’s unconditional diplomatic, financial, and military support of Israel that enables the occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza.

     Click here for full statement/a>.

Calls for an immediate cease-fire.

Explains how the Israeli government instigated the present military conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza by having its army rampage through the West Bank after the three Israeli teens were abducted and killed. Also explains how Hamas' fell into Israel's trap by responding to the instigation by shooting rockets deep into Israel. That lost the Palestinian's PR advantage and gave Israel an excuse to escalate its bombardment of Gaza.

Deconstructs the Presbyterian Divestment resolution and shows that it calls for divestment while at the same time calling for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The Presbyterian's show the way to thread the needle between the one-state dreamers of BDS and two-state peace-makers

     Click here for full essay.

LA Jews for Peace calls for an immediate end of hostilities between Israel and Hamas. The death toll is now over 124 – all Palestinians. We call on the U.S. government to facilitate a full cease-fire, now.

LA Jews for Peace calls on the Obama Administration to follow its public statements and quickly facilitate a cease-fire. The U.S. must release Jordan’s draft cease-fire resolution in the U.N. Security Council as is – the U.S. must not weaken the resolution with a press statement calling for de-escalation.

The United States should take notice that Israel is attacking Palestinians using American supplied weapons like F-16 jets and Apache helicopters. Israel has publically stated that its goal is to destroy Hamas – an operation that clearly violates the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, two laws that restrict American supplied weapons to self-defense and humanitarian purposes.

     Click here for full essay.

LA Jews for Peace welcomes the new unity Palestinian government sworn into office on June 2, 2014.

One of the reasons that negotiations between Israel and the PLO repeatedly fail is the unequal power of the two sides. Having a unity government partially reduces the power disparity between the sides, and it is a step to unify the Palestinian struggle for freedom, political and economic equality, and justice.

Both are good for the eventual resolution of the Israel-Palestine issue and therefore benefit both Palestinians and Israelis. Furthermore, it gives the United States government an opportunity to resume negotiations, especially if it continues to support the unified Palestinian government despite the objections of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

     LA Jews for Peace, June 9, 2014

I economically boycott illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. But I cannot support the BDS movement. I believe I am acting on principled and pragmatic grounds. But I worry I am trapped in self-delusion. Am I allowing the perfect to kill the good? I solicit your feedback      Click here for full essay.

Jeff Warner's thoughts after Omar Barghouti's talk on BDS at UCLA, Jan. 15, 2014. Brief review of the talk and some thoughts that the talk brought to mind      Click here for full essay.

LA Jews for Peace sent a letter to the Swarthmore College Hillel on Dec. 11, 2013 to support their declaration of the Swarthmore Hillel as an "Open Hillel."

The issue is that International Hillel guidelines forbid individual Hillel chapters from hosting groups or speakers that among other things deny Israel’s right to exist or support boycott or divestment from Israel. This rule recently forced Harvard Hillel to cancel an appearance by former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg because it was co-sponsored by a student group that supports BDS.

The Hillel guideline, contrary to free speech and the open speech environment expected at a university, has been faithfully followed by UCLA Hillel.      Click here for full text of letter.

I am a Jewish critic of Israel’s treatment of Israel, West Bank, Gazan, and refugee Palestinians as sub-human, and all that follows from that assessment. Most Jewish Israelis, and many Jewish Americans, reject the humanity of Palestinians. How else to explain the ethnic cleansing, violent occupation, and cold-blooded murder of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers during the 2008-09 Gaza bombardment with no subsequent accountability. That said, we must recognize and admire the accomplishments of Israel since 1948; 65 years of building jobs, infrastructure, institutions, family, culture, science, and so forth.      Click here for full essay.

LA Jews for Peace condemns the chemical weapons attack in Syria on August 21, 2013 that resulted in the death of over 1,000 civilians. That said, LA Jews for Peace opposes all direct and indirect military intervention in Syria, including supplying arms, demands that whoever is responsible for the massacre of over 1,000 civilians on August 21, 2013 be held accountable through prosecutions under international law, and urges Congress and the Obama administration to support diplomatic and humanitarian measures to protect civilians in the region, including refugees and displaced Syrians, and to end the Syrian civil war.      Click here for full statement.

Despite many assaults, past and present, the First Amendment of the United States constitution broadly guarantees freedom of speech. But it is threatened by a slanderous campaign to discredit or silence American critics of the Israeli government. The Israel Lobby, guided by the Israeli government, with the help of Israeli think tanks, is organizing this effort. In fact, Malcolm Hoenlein, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, has publicly announced this campaign for the 2013-4 school year.     

An early version published under the title "FREE SPEECH AT RISK" http://www.lajewsforpeace.org/Essays/FreeSpeechRisk.pdf.

A provocative essay by Jeff Warner and Lilian Laskin. They look beyond the frozen two-state peace process and the abortive one-state movement to ask how the Palestinians attain human and civil rights. They urge for the Palestinians to demand that Israel annex the entire West Bank and that Israel grant Palestinians a path to citizenship. By converting their struggle from one of national sovereignty to one of civil and human rights, Palestinians can reverse the Western bias towards protecting Israel. After all, how can the Western democracies not support the Palestinian's drive for civil and human rights?      Click here for the complete essay.

The massive conquests by Israel in the June 1967 war provided Israel with an opportunity to trade land for peace and cement its position in the region. But Israel turned away from peace in a quest to keep all the land. This book examines the first year and a half after the war to explain how Israel’s policy developed.

The title, a phrase Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol used many times, and sums up the main story. As soon as the 1967 war ended Israel had to decide what to do with the land it captured – the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights. Basically the Israelis wanted to keep the land (“a beautiful dowry”), but without its Arab inhabitants (an “unwanted bride”).

Summary of book by Jeff Warner.      Click here for full essay.

Joseph Massad says that Zionism is anti-Semitic

Al Jazeera English published and then apparently pulled an essay by Joseph Massad, Columbia University Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History. In the article, Massad argues that European anti-Semites and Zionists shared the same ideology that Jews are a distinct, non-European, racial/ethnic group, whose differences with Europeans meant they could not be assimilated and would always be subjected to prejudice. He argues they both agreed to the solution of getting the Jews out of Europe, although Nazism and political zionism obviously parted ways later on.

Massad then argues that in the 1960s there was a discontinuity and Europeans and Jews decided that Jews were white European and transferred their anti-Semiticism to Arabs. Israel became a tool of white Europeans to subjugate Arabs.      Click here for full article.

Norman Finkelstein on Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Norman Finkelstein argued that there is a “possibility” of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the next few years, and presented a methodology for arriving at a solution to the conflict, and enunciated that solution.      Click here for Jeff Warner's summary of Finklelstein's talk.

Norman spoke at the Westwood Hills Congegrational Church on Thursday, April 25, in a talk organized by LA Jews for Peace and the Levantine Cultural Center.

Warner analyzes the situation in the wake of the 2012 Gaza war and the Palestinian vote in the U.N. making Palestine a non-member observer state. Warner dismisses the importance of the U.N. vote and the prospects of Palestinian unification. Instead he sees Gaza becoming more and more of an independent state leaving Israel free to annex Area C, thus confining most West Bank Palestinians into Bantustans.      Click here for full essay.

Review and discussion of "Islamophobia, An Interfaith Dialogue." This recent Progressive Conversations in the Middle East event was held on Sunday, November 11, 2012, at the Culver-Palms United Methodist Church in Culver City, California. Over 100 people heard Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, Shakeel Syed, and Reverend James Lawson discuss the current wave of hatred directed against Muslims spreading across American society.      Click here for full essay.

As Jews who suffered discrimination and persecution for centuries in the name of Anti-Semitism, we are particularly sensitive to the evils of Islamophobia. We recognize Islamophobia as the new Anti-Semitism. Muslims today are identified as “the other,” just as Jews were so identified for a millennium. Fear of “the other,” be it Judaism and Jews or Islam and Muslims, is irrational.      Click here for full essay.

"One or two states? The status quo is Israel’s rational choice" by Noam Sheizaf

Sheizaf argues that the rational choice for Israelis and Israeli leaders is not withdrawal from the West bank for a two-state solution (2SS) because of unknown risks a Palestinian state may impose, nor is it annexing the West Bank for a one-state solution (1SS), because Israelis want a Jewish and democratic state in which to express their national identity. Since each option has potential negative consequences, Israelis have opted for a third option of maintaining the status quo (military occupation under which a privileged Jewish population lives alongside a Palestinian majority with no civil rights). Sheizaf says this explains why Israelis say they want a 2SS while in practice they are creating a 1SS.      Click here for full essay.

J Street 2012 Convention

Videos (from 4 to 120 minutes) of 12 sessions at the March 24-26 J Street Conference in Washington, DC.      Click here .      There are many highlights. Some particularly recommended include:

• Video 11 (10-17 minutes): Gershom Gorenberg examines the impossibility of a OSS.
• Video 11 (27-29 minutes): Menachem Klein predicts that if a TSS agreement is reached, settlers will violently resist.
• Send your favorate highlighs and I will post it.

Peter Beinart: in his March 19 Op-Ed in the NY Times, "To Save Israel, Boycott the Settlements," Peter Beinart takes an outstanding step forward in the Israel-Palestine conversation by calling for boycott of settelments with clear and defined boundaries.      Click here for full essay.

Adam Horowitz shows how big a step this is by quoting a Beinart interview with Jeffrey Goldberg in 2010 and a Beinart piece in from March 2012 in the Daily Beast      Click here.

Rebuttal by Adam Horowitz on Mondoweiss.net "The flaw of Beinart’s conception of Israel’s ‘flawed but genuine democracy’"      Click here.

David Remnick: in a talk of the Town piece in the March 12, 2012 New Yorker, on Becoming Democratic David Remnick contrasts Anerica's long struggle to expand democracy, with Israel's flight from democracy      Click here for full essay.

Plitnik uses Netanyahu's gift to Obama of the biblical Book of Esther to deconstruct the present drive to war with Iran. He extensively quotes Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini, the real power in Iran, that nuclear weapons are a sin, and Iran is not building one. Analyzes the relationship between Obama and Netanyahu.      Click here for full essay.

President Obama's speech to AIPAC, March 4, 2012,      Video from CSPAN.org - click here .
                 Transcript from Whitehouse.gov- click here .    

Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to AIPAC, March 5, 2012,      Video from CSPAN.org (from 1:29 ro 1:58) - click here .    

Analysis of Obama - Netanyahu confrontation:
             Obama won:     MJ Rosenberg in Jewish Journal - click here .    
             Obama won:     Justin Frank on Time.com - click here .    
             Obama sold us out:     Rabbi Lerner on TikkunDaily - click here .    

Conference website with program and list of speakers, Click here .    

Op-Ed in Washington Post by Ahmed Moor, one of the student organizers of the conference, describing why there is a need for the conference. His argument is "informed by the uncontroversial view that all people are created equal." Click here for full text .    

Keynote addresses. Audio of Ali Abunimah's Saturday keynote address, and video of Ilan Pappé's Sunday keynote address (Pappé's talk similar to his Feb. 24 talk at UCLA - see following entry). Click here to link to Electronic Intifada website .    

"Reflections After the Harvard One State Conference," essay by Jeff Warner describing need for regime change in Israel for any progress toward peace, regardless of solution, exploring types of possible liberal, democratic one-states, and thoughts on a path from here to there. Click here for full text .    

"Why I’m presenting at Harvard’s one-state conference," Mondoweiss.net essay by Rabbi Brant Rosen in which he notes the death of the two-state solution, and asks "is it unreasonable that people of good will might desire to open conversations and suggest fresh, creative approaches that might ensure a better future for Israelis and Palestinians?" Click here for full text .    

JTA article describing conference. Click here for full text .    

Open letter to president and dean of Harvard to counter pressure for Harvard to cancel the concference, Click here for full text .    

JLWs speaker-by-speaker summary, Click here for full text .    

"Ilan Pappé Returns to Lecture in Southern California," essay by Tony Litwinko.
In two talks in the Los Angeles area on February 20 and 24, 2012, Israeli revisionist historian Ilan Pappé, now Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at Exeter University, called for a "new paradigm" for approaching the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The old paradigm—that of a "peace process" between equals, beginning in June 1967, after Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip—has been shown to be a total failure, and is no longer useful in talking about the long-standing historical situation.      For full text of Litwinko's essay on the Levantine Cultural Center website, click here.

2-hour audio stream of Pappé's lecture at UCLA, including talk and the full Q&A. Click here     

50-minute video of Pappé's lecture at the One State Conference (almost the same as his UCLA talk), Click here (from the Tuffs Students for Justice in Palestine)     

In a 30 minute video interview with Norman Finkelstein conducted on Feb. 9, 2012 (video (loads slowly) from HuffPostMonitor), Finkelstein explains how and why he differs from the Palestinian Solidarity Movement (PSM) and BDS, and in doing so is quite blunt about fatal flaws in both PSM and BDS as now formulated.

Finkelstein argues that the only asset Palestinians have is the people, and the PSM/BDS are wisely using that asset. He says that to effect any change the PSM/BDS will have to get support from the general population in the face of Israel defending itself. He then asserts that the way to get public support is to follow International Law, and International law calls for Israel to exist. He then notes that a subtext in the PSM/BDS essentially includes the elimination of Israel, and until PSM/BDS acknowledges the existence of Israel, they will be marginal movements.

Finkelstein says that many people and many nations are "fed up" with Israel, so now is the moment for the PSM/BDS to get in line with International Law by acknowledging Israel and to win an end to the conflict.

As expected, there has been a lot of negative reaction to the Finkelstein interview. Much of the criticism focused on Finkelstein's comments on BDS, but that was not Finkelstein's main point. Among other comments, Finkelstein called BDS a "cult." That was a misuse of the word. What Finkelstein means is that BDS is a fringe minority movement that, instead of practical politics understandable by the public, BDS indulges in harboring a utopian goal - e.g. the one-state solution.

Mondoweiss.net highlighted three of the critiques Click here Finkelstein responded to the third, but it was taken down from the website. He made a distinction to what he personally believes or prefers, to what he advocates because it is supported by International Law or is likely to be accepted by the community of nations.

Another interesting critique is by Ali Abunimah published in Al Jazeera Feb. 28. Click here Abunimah makes an analogy between Israel-Palestine and Northern Ireland and imagines an Israel with equal rights for all, and a Palestinian state also with equal rights for all. He asks if Finkelstein and Zionists would accept such a configeration, and notes that it would be compatible with the BDS call for equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Likely Finkelstein would.

Palestinians should focus on the real enemy, Zionists, not Finkelstein who supports the Palestinian struggle for freedom but suggests a difference in tactics.

Whitbeck cites examples where the pervasive use of Israeli framing has distorted how people and leaders understand the Israeli-Palestinian issue. He says it is high time Israeli-Palestinian issue for all involved to recognize and speak clearly about fundamental realities. This clarity of thought is necessary to achieve either a decent two-state solution or a democratic one-state solution would be greatly enhanced by clarity of language, by taking care to use terminology which both reflects reality and facilitates, rather than hinders, the achievement of both peace and some measure of justice.

John V. Whitbeck is an international lawyer who has advised the Palestinian negotiating team in negotiations with Israel.      Click here for full essay.

Finkelstein is a medium-term optimist. He sees public opinion constraining Israeli actions and slowly moving American policy and Israel will respond by allowing a Palestinian state – a two-state solution. Mearsheimer is a medium-term pessimist, but a long-term optimist. He sees a greater Israel which is an apartheid one-state solution, that evolves into a democratic one-state solution.

Some great quotes

"The reason that people continue to talk about a two state solution even though I think it’s no longer realizable is that many Palestinians don’t see a viable alternative; they don’t think that a one state solution will work. And in the case of many Israelis and their American supporters, they’re basically sticking their heads in the sand because they don’t want to talk about a one state solution, because they understand that a one state solution is basically an apartheid state." (Mearsheimer)

"Once there is a real mass action and summoning of will, you may see things shift in Israel. It’s just not been tried. All that’s been tried is this thing called a “peace process.” Nothing happens because there was no pressure on them; the Israelis treat the whole thing like a joke." (Finkelstein)

"I think sometimes we underestimate just how vulnerable Israel is on the public-relations front. That’s why they spend so much money on propaganda. And that’s why they panic every time they feel like they’re losing the propaganda war. Because they realize just how vulnerable they are and how big the constraints on them are." (Finkelstein)      Click here for full discussion.

As long as the peace process was based on the illusion that Israel was always ready to return the Occupied Territories in exchange for Palestinian and Arab recognition, and that America would use its leverage to bring Israel into line if it failed to do so, there was no chance that the peace process could lead to a two-state solution. Now that Netanyahu and Obama have put an end to these two illusions, international sanctions fairly applied to both parties for illegal and predatory behavior are no longer inconceivable. If such intervention were now pursued by an international community no longer willing to accept an American Middle East peace policy that is hostage to its Israel lobby, a Palestinian state living in peace alongside an Israel reconciled to its internationally recognized borders may yet be achievable.      Click here for article.

PowerPoint set that Dick Platkin used at his talk on U.S. Militarism and the future of the Occupy Movement. Platkin and Marcy Winograd spoke at the Levantine Cultural Center on Dec. 11, 2011.      Click here (note: this is a 2.6 MB pdf file that will take 30 seconds or so to load).

Thirty minute video interview with Israeli academic Nurit Peled-Elhanan, author of the forthcoming book “Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education.” Describes distorted image of Palestinians in Israeli text books.      Click here for interview.

"The current strategy to get both sides to the negotiating table (in the present cultural environment) won’t work. And here’s why. The Israeli/Jewish state doesn’t believe in negotiations. They are wedded to the belief that all of the land belongs to Jews and must not be shared with the “Other”. Hard as it may be, it is this cultural constant that has to be changed."

Kleinheksel presents a Christian Theology analysis of what must be done.      click for full article.

Nov. 6, 2011 article in Open Democracy

"Is a two-state framework still feasible and, if not, is the so-called 'one-state solution' the default alternative? Is that what’s next? Proponents of a unitary state would certainly claim that it is. However, in my view, there is a fundamental flaw at the heart of their proposal, for it is predicated on the notion that what, at root, is a historical clash of two national movements can, hey presto, be turned into a struggle for civil rights."      click for full article.

WHEN:      Sunday, December 11, 1 PM
WHERE:      Levantine Cultural Center: Bridging Cultures Since 2001; 5998 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 310.657.5511 (between Fairfax and La Cienega; park on the street or under the CVS pharmacy across Pico).

$10 donation at door; no one turned away

The crackdown on many of the Occupy encampments throughout the United States, including Los Angeles, indicates that this protest movement is at a crossroads. Will it grow by improving its analysis and expanding its reach beyond the encampments, or will it stagnate in response to attacks?

Some of the critical questions are:

• How does the high price of US militarism and wars result in domestic cutbacks and inequality?
• How can a sharp critique of US foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, be integrated with Occupy's focus on domestic inequality in wealth and income?
• What specific actions, such as calls for public employee pension funds to engage in socially responsible investment, can better link domestic and foreign policy issues?     

  Flyer: click here; distribute freely.

The 3rd International session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine meet in Cape Town on 5-7 November to examine whether Israel’s practices against the Palestinians is in breach of the prohibition on Apartheid under International Law. It's summary dated Nov. 7      click here for full text      has four sections:

1. APARTHEID: "The Tribunal finds that Israel subjects the Palestinian people to an institutionalised regime of domination amounting to apartheid as defined under international law."
2. Persecution as a Crime against Humanity: The summary enumerates which Israeli actions consist such crimes.
3. Legal consequences: What the crimes entail in terms of Israeli responsibility, and in terms of international obligations.
4. Recommendations.

The press kit describes the Tribunal, and its jourors, members, and witnesses      click here.

• Original: NY Times, Nov. 1, 2011      click here for full text

• Rebuttal by Jerome Slater: Nov. 1, 2011      click here for full text

• Rebuttal by Ali Abumina: Electronic Intifada, Nov. 2, 2011      click here for full text

• Rebuttal by Udi Aloni: Nov. 9, 2011      click here for full text

The vast majority of Israelis seem to believe that they can live indefinitely with the status quo. They cannot. The ongoing occupation has fueled an aggressive ethnoreligious nationalism that is destroying Israel’s liberal democracy. A centrist governing coalition could still halt Israel’s slide toward illiberalism, but Israel must first pull out of the West Bank and resolve the conflict with the Palestinians.     click here for full text

WHEN:      Sunday, November 6, 3 PM
WHERE:      Levantine Cultural Center: Bridging Cultures Since 2001; 5998 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles 310.657.5511 (between Fairfax and La Cienega; park on the street or under the CVS pharmacy across Pico).

$10 donation at door; no one turned away

Samir Twair is a member of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, past president of the Arab American Press Guild, and, in partnership with Pat Twair, is the Southern California correspondent for Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. His most recent article on the Syrian situation was a September 15 Op-Ed in the Orange County Register titled "Syria’s Arab Spring Must Not Fail"     

Flyer: click here; distribute freely.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the founder and president of J Street, presents a personal and organizational testament. This book serves at least two purposes. First, it is a detailed portrait of Ben Ami’s background, including his family’s involvement in Zionist politics from the 19th century to the present. Second, the book presents a detailed description of J Street, the Washington, DC lobbying organization he founded in 2008 and now leads.

This review contains an analysis of Ben-Ami's "balancing act" in attempting to balance a liberal Zionism with liberalism.      full text here.

Video of event on Sunday, August 7, 2011, part of the "Progressive Conversations on Israel/Palestine and US Foreign Policy in the Middle East" series co-sponsored by LA Jews for Pece, Jewish Voice for Peace - Los Angeles, Friends of Sabeel - Los Angeles, and Levanrine Cultural Center. Jeff Warner is moderator.

Thanks to Billy Norris (billy@daymakers.com) who supplied the video.
     part 1: Moderator introduction and first part of Yonatan (14:53) .
     part 2: Remainder of Yonatan (13:36) .
     part 3: First part of Mary (9:36) .
     part 4: Remainder of Mary (9:43) .

So two – not three! -- cheers for the two state solution J-Street and its co-thinkers want the United States to make happen. A genuinely democratic state in all of Palestine would be better of course. But in the world as it is and as it is likely to remain for generations, there is, unfortunately, no way from here to there. This is why, important as it is to expose the two state solution's philosophical and political shortcomings, care must be taken not to let the best become the enemy of the better. Palestinians have suffered enough.      full text here.

4 million Palestinians living under Israeli occupation are seeking the freedom to govern themselves. For them, independence means more than a seat at the United Nations General Aassembly (UNGA). It means being able to decide where in their country they will live, work, and worship. It means knowing that their government is able to keep them safe. And it means having a say in how their country's resources are used and distributed. But how can these aims be realized?

A legal analysis by Omar Dajani    click here for a plan.

A similar lergal analysis (long) by David Horovitz of the Jerusalem Post    click here.

Mitchell Plitnik deconstructs a letter from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs to the U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon. The letter purports to prove that the Palestinian effort to gain recognition of statehood is illegal under international law. Plitnik demonstrates that the Israeli argument is quite weak.    click here.

Ha'aretz" article describing a Palestinian political - tactical plan    click here.

U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has a FAQ page analyzing possible U.N. actions and what will be a proper role for the U.S.    click here.

President Obama's May 19, 2011 speech: click here for full transcript or the complete video

Here is a selection of comments from across the peace camp.

--- Democracy Now discussion with Jeremy Ben-Ami, Norman Finkelstein, and Noura Erakat; click here

--- J Street is sees progress; click here

--- Americans for Peace Now does also; click here
     additional analysis from APN pointing out omissions from the speech click here

--- Roger Cohen of the NY Times says the speech hit exactly the right mark; click here

--- Joshua Holland of AlterNet sees the speech as neutral; click here

--- Adam Keller, writing for Gush Shalom, says Natanyahu's extreme reaction puts Obama in a trap; click here

--- Mitchell Plitnik thinks the speech was a disservice to Palestinian; click here

--- Gideon Levy of Ha'aretz does also; click here

--- Jewish Voice for Peace was dissappointed; click here

--- The Israeli Left thinks it was worse; click here

--- Seham on Mondoweiss.net says Obama was disingenous; click here

--- Nahida Halaby Gordon says Obama is a racist sectarian; click here

--- Henry Siegman in The Nation says Obama was setting out red lines; click here

--- President Obaba called on the Palestinians to explain why a unity government that includes Hamas is helpful for peace. Here is his answer, written by Mustafa Barghouthi and published before the President's speech; click here

Netanyahu's reaction: click here for the complete video of news conference

--- Mitchell Plitnik thinks the Netanyahu killed any hope to restart of the peace process; click here

--- Mitchell Plitnik thinks deeper click here

--- Gideon Levy of Ha'aretz says Netanyahu does not want peace; click here

--- ML Rosenberg thinks Obama is too condesending towards Netanyahu and his supporters; click here

--- Bernard Avishai of TPM pokes holes in Netanyahu's objection to the 1967 borders as the basis for negotiations; click here

President Obama's May 22 speech to AIPAC: click here for the complete video

--- NY Times report says Obama Doubled-down; click here

--- MJ Rosenberg of TPM Cafe says Obama did a great job; click here

--- Philip Weiss of Mondoweiss.net says Obama was angry, but he was great; click here

--- Bernard Avishai of TPM tells us the back story behind Obama's words; click here

Netanyahu's May 23 speech to AIPAC: click here for full transcript

---

Netanyahu's May 24 speech to Congress:

--- NY Times report says Netanyahu gave no ground; click here

--- JTAs report says no compromise on Jerusalem, refugees or Jordan River presence; click here

--- MJ Rosenberg of TPM Cafe Netanyahu told Congress that all Palestinians are terrorists who haven't earned a state, and probably never will; click here

--- Gideon Levy of Ha'aretz "Netanyahu's 'speech of his life' was the speech of the death of peace;" click here

--- Uri Avnery equates Congress to Stalin’s Supreme Soviet for cheering "the most outrageous lies and distortions of Binyamin Netanyahu;" click here

--- Jerome Slater explains why the Democrats cheered; click here

--- Ha'aretz editorial says Netanyahu is leading Israel and the Palestinians into a new round of violence; click here

--- Stephen Walt on Foreign Policy says Congress is cheered for apartheid ; click here

--- Paul Pillar on National Interest says Netanyahu's speechs confirms his position is to oppose creation of a Palestinian state in any part of the West Bank; click here

--- APN, in mild and measured words, says Netanyahu is against peace; click here

--- Mustafa Bargouthi on Democracy Now; click here

--- Fareed Zakaria on CNN says Palestinians should wait for citizenship; click here

--- Ira Chernus says American failure is due to buying into the Israeli myths;" click here

---

Second demonstration on al-Nakba law organized by al-Awda, also May 15, noon - 2 PM; Israel Consulate (6380 Wilshire Blvd.)

There can never be peace as long as Jews and Arabs don’t recognize the other’s narrative. But Israel has just made a central part of the Palestinian narrative illegal.

A core issue for the Palestinians is Al-Nakba, Arabic for the catastrophe, the Palestinian name for the 1948 events in which over 80% of Palestinians lost their homes and farms. Some left under threat and some were expelled by the Jewish Israeli army. However they became refugees, for 63 years the Israeli army has refused to allow any of them to return to their homes and land.

This winter the Israeli Knesset passed a law making it illegal to commemorate Al-Nakba, and any village or institution that does will lose government funding for education and infrastructure.

In the interest of peace, the Israeli anti-Nakba law must be withdrawn.

Information: info@LAJewsforPeace.org

In a May 4, 2011 speech, Ambassador Chas Freeman discusses the impact of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the region, and what it means in a revolutionary Arab World.    click here for full video.

"How Israel treats its own minority citizens, Gazans, and residents of the West Bank, and its neighbors might be significant from a humanitarian point of view, but it is not a vital interest of the United States. That Washington has become a victim of the internal politics of the Middle East is largely due to manipulation by Israel and its lobby, which has turned all Americans into enablers of Israeli policies, no matter how short-sighted or ill-conceived. It is the US national interest that has been sacrificed in the process. "

   click here for full article on AntiWar.com, April 28, 2011.

LA Jews for Peace, along with millions of peace loving Americans and world citizens, are horrified at the American veto in the United Nations Security Council February 23, 2011. Why are we continually supporting the Israeli apartheid regime in the face of current Middle East democratic revolutions? Our democratic principles are becoming false rhetoric. LA Jews for Peace is ashamed of Israel's actions in our Jewish name. A million peace promoting Jews are rising up against the hardliners that Congress thinks is the "Jewish voice." That the U.S. backs Israel carte blanche is atrocious!

For full letter, click here.

Richard Goldstone wrote an Op-Ed in the Washington Post Friday, April 1 (April Fools Day). "Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and war crimes" click here. Goldstone says "civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy" by the Israeli army during the 2008-09 Gaza Bombardment. He also praised Israel for investigating war crimes aleged in the Goldstone Report, and dissed Hamas for not doing any investigations.

There has been a flurry of articles responding to Goldstone's Op-Ed. Israel and its supporters claim Goldstone's Op-Ed means the Goldstone Report is wrong and should be recinded by the U.N. Here is a typical report.
-- Ron Kampeas, The Forward click here.

Goldstone Report supporters point out that Goldstone's Op-Ed means no such thing. They say the report's accusation that Israel intentionally killed civilians was never supported by data, that the Israeli investigatuions are not up to standards and look like a white-wash, that the Goldstone Report had seven major accusations against Israel, and they remain standing, etc. There is also quite a bit of speculation as to what new information Goldstoen actually has to write his Op-Ed, and why he did it. Here are our favorate essays.
-- Uri Avnery, "The Gold and the Stone" click here.
-- Roger Cohen, "The Goldstone Chronicles,"NY Times click here.
-- Jonathan Cook, "Goldstone's Rethink," CounterPunch click here.
-- John Dugard, "Where now for the Goldstone report," NewStatesman click here.
-- Akiva Eldar, "What exactly did Goldstone 'retract' from his report on Gaza?," Ha'aretz click here.
-- Laila El-Haddada "Palestinians betrayed by Judge Goldstone," Baltimore Sun click here.
-- Richard Falk "Goldstone breathes new life into Gaza report," Al-Jazeera click here.
-- Norman Finkelstein interviewed by Philip Weiss "Finkelstein says Goldstone restored Israel’s only faculty (aggression) based on a claimed drone image it has never produced," Mondopweiss.net click here.
-- Adam Horowitz, "Goldstone op-ed praises Israeli investigation of Gaza war crimes, but UN committee paints a different picture," Mondopweiss.net click here.
-- LA Times editorial "What's behind Goldstone's flip-flop?," click here.
-- Gideon Levy, "Goldstone Has Paved the WPath for a Second Gaza War," Ha'aretz click here.
-- Jessica Montell (head B'Tselem), "Op-Ed Doesn't Close the Book on Cast Lead," The Forward click here.
-- Ilan Pappe, "Goldstone's shameful U-turn," Electronic Intifada click here.
-- Jerome Slater, "The Goldstone Retraction," click here.

Jews who embrace narratives other than those sanctioned by the pro-Israel community often inflame others.

Miral, currently in theatres, portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from an entirely Palestinian perspective. It is nothing earth-shattering, except that it was made by a Jewish filmmaker.

For full essay in Al Jezeera, click here.

Jordan Elgrably has an opinion piece, "We are not the enemy" on the Jewish Journal website here. He concludes "If Israel wants to preach peace, it should walk the walk. Apologize for its wartime mistakes and missteps; compensate its victims; and reform its military and occupation policies—as well as laws in Israel that discriminate against non-Jews. In other words, let’s help Israel get on the same page as Americans who could never live under the kind of oppression Palestinians experience on a daily basis."

Elgrably wrote in response to a David Suissa column, "A King's Speech" here.

This Oct. 10, 2010 essay in Wallwritings is one of the more insightful pieces analyzing the proposals made by Obama to get an extra month of the "settlement freeze." The package includes military hardware, support for a long-term Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley, help with enforcing a ban on the smuggling of weapons through a Palestinian state, a promise to veto Security Council resolutions critical of Israel during the talks and a pledge to forge a regional security agreement for the Middle East.

This gives away the store in a deal that cheats the original store owner. more

In this long September 24, 2010 interview in the Independent, Gideon Levy describes how Isarelis are taught from childhood that:

LA Jews for Peace condemns the recent smear campaign against Muslims and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) by the Republican Jewish Committee (RJC). CAIR is an American civil rights and advocacy institution that works to defeat religious discrimination in the U.S. and to uphold the U.S. Constitution. To those ends, LA Jews for Peace has worked in partnership with CAIR over the years, and we have jointly sponsored lectures and other civil rights events. more

"As Israeli citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman want us to prove our loyalty to the flag by supporting a policy of oppression and humiliation. We must champion the separation barrier in Bi’lin and in other places throughout the West Bank. We have to defend the brutal destruction of unrecognized Bedouin villages, and the ongoing land grab both inside Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We must support the checkpoints and the silent transfer in East Jerusalem. We are also expected to bow our heads and remain silent every time government ministers, Knesset members and public officials make racist statements against Arab citizens. We must support the neo-liberal policies that continuously oppress Israel’s poor, and we are obliged to give our blessing to the imprisonment of Gaza Strip’s 1.5 million residents." more

LA Jews for Peace supports the Cordoba Initiative in their project to build an Islamic Center in downtown Manhattan. The Cordoba Initiative is dedicated to bridging gaps between Muslims and the West, and has received legal permission to build on the site in question.

We agree with President Obama who said on Friday, August 13, 2010: "As a citizen and as President I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country." more

Falk, UN special rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories and former Princeton Univ. professor of international law, will issue a report to the United Nations this fall in which he will assert that the Israeli process of colonialism and apartheid has accelerated over the past three years. He will call in the report for the U.N. to consider unilaterally declaring Palestine an independent state, as it did with Kosovo. more

LA Jews for Peace is discussing how we should take part in the BDS movement. Here are two essays by members addressing the issue:

June 2, 2010:       LA Jews for Peace condemns Israel's piracy of the Freedom Flotilla in international waters, a clear violation of International Law, and the killing civilian members of the Flotilla who were bringing humanitarian supplies to the 1.5 million people living in the besieged Gaza Strip.       complete statement

Norman Finkelstein visited Los Angeles in mid March 2010 to deliver a lecture to the Students for Justice in Palestine at USC on his new book "This Time We Went Too Far" about lastr winter's Gaza bombardment, and do a Q&A after a screening of "American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein." Finkelstein's comments during the Q&A were elaborated during a private meeting with LA Jews for Peace. Summary of Finkelstein's visit is divided into four parts: (1) Finkelstein's chief points about the Gaza Bombardment, (2) Finkelstein's take on the present political situation in Israel-Palestine, and how to fight for justice and peace, (3) Rick Chertoff's optimistic viewpoint based on Finkelstein's comments, (4) Duncan MacKay's detailed summary of Finkelstein's talk about the Gaza Bombardment, and (5) Dick Platkin's critique of Finkelstein's comments.         click here

Jeff Halper argues that the Palestinians plan to declare a Palestinian state alongside Israel with the pre-1967 borders, and ask the U.S. to recognize that state, is perhaps the best option for the Palestinians. Halper says that given the occupation and Israel's unwillingness to negotiate seriously, "something must be done, and given the failure of the international community to either protect the Palestinians or rein in Israel, I [Halper], for one, am at a loss to suggest alternatives that address the urgency of a way out of Israel's growingly genocidal occupation."

Following the Israel-Lebanon/Hezbollah war, LA Jews for Peace faxed a letter to 20 Representatives from Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Barbara counties, Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein, President G. W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Ambassador to the UN John Bolton. The letter set out seven specific goals for United States policy in the Middle East that would promote peace. The letter was signed by 18 members of LA Jews for Peace.

For a copy of the letter addressed to Representative Maxine Waters (CA-35-D), click here. Names and districts of the twenty Representatives who received the letter:

Warner argues that BDS does not work in changing government policy, although BDS may educate Israelis that their treatment of Palestinians is not normal, and Americans that their government is working to preserve the status quo. click here

Halper argues that recent United States foreign policy related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict around settlements and the Goldstone report have the effect of "deminishing American Credibility." click here