Michael Sfard is one of Israel’s leading human rights lawyers and the legal counsel of Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) and of the organization Yesh Din.

Yesh Din recently commissioned Sfard to prepare a legal opinion on whether the current situation in the West Bank, the occupation -- regardless of Israel’s intention to de-jure annex parts of the West Bank -- can be defined as Apartheid. Michael issued a report titled “The Occupation of the West Bank and the Crime of Apartheid: Legal Opinion."

In this episode, a version of an August 10th 2020 webinar, Sfard talks about his report and what it means.

A link to the report

Donate to APN

Eran Nissan is a key orgnizer and activist in the current Anti-Netanyahu, anti-corruption and pro-democracy protest movement in Isreal. He is a former staff member of Peace Now, and currently works for Mehazkim, a progressive Israeli activist nonprofit. 

What is the role of the Israeli peace movement in the broader context of the protest movement? What opportunity does this mass protest movement grant to the Israeli peace camp to advance its advocacy? Does the protest movement open a door to highlight the relationship between the occupation and the erosion of democracy in Israel?  Eran addresses this and other questions.

Eran's story on a past PeaceCast episode

Mehazkim's web site

Donate to APN

David Pollock’s new book, A Nation Divided – Palestinian Views on War and Peace with Israel is an analysis of many years of surveying Palestinians' attitudes regarding their relationship with Israel. Pollock's book on the web site of the Washington Institue for Near East Policy Donate to APN

This episode is an edited version of a July 23rd 2020 webinar with Peace Now's Hagit Ofran, one of the leading authorities on West Bank settlements and on settlements in East Jerusalem.

Her recent report, Annex and Dispossess, documents the way in which Israeli authorities have been using the Absentee Property Law to transfer Palestinian real estate in East Jerusalem to settlers. The report points out ways in which Israel's government could emulate this method to dispossess Palestinians of their land and homes in the West Bank once parts of the West Bank are annexed to Israel. 

New Story Leadership is a program that every summer brings to Washington five Israelis and five Palestinians for a program aimed at empowering young leaders who will advance mutual Israeli-Palestinian understanding, tolerance and peace.

Americans for Peace Now has partnered with NSL since its inception, more than ten years ago.

This year, due to COVID-19, the Israeli and Palestinians who were chosen for this summer’s program had to stay home and participate in the program virtually, online. They will travel to DC, COVID permitting, next summer.

In past years, we brough NSL delegates to PeaceCast. This episode is a COVID-era attempt to bring NSL’s voices to you, PeaceCast’s listeners. It’s an opportunity to listen to young Israelis and Palestinians who are acting, separately and together, to build bridges between their communities and to forge hope for a better future.

An APN July 10th 2020 webinar with Peter Beinart on his pivoting away from the two-state paradigm. 

An edited version of a webinar with Lara Friedman and Danny Seidemann on West Bank annexation.

Lara Friedman is the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. She joined FMEP in 2017 after a long career at APN as its director of policy and government relations. 

Daniel Seidemann is an Israeli attorney specializing in Israeli-Palestinian relations, with an emphasis on Jerusalem. He is the founder and director of Terrestrial Jerusalem, an NGO that works towards a resolution to the question of Jerusalem that is consistent with the two-state solution.

After 16 years in the Knesset, including six years as chairperson of Israel’s Meretz party, Zehava Galon is back to human rights activism as the President of Zulat for Equality and Human Rights, a new Israeli activist think tank. 

(Photo credit: Ronen Ackerman)

Zulat's web site 

This webinar is one in a series of APN briefings on West Bank annexation. It features Ambassador Daniel Shapiro, the United States’ former ambassador to Israel and currently a distinguished visiting fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).

Dan Shapiro served as US ambassador to Israel under President Obama between 2011 and 2017, one of the longest serving ambassadors to Israel. In that role, he participated in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, in U.S.-Israeli discussions on the Iran nuclear deal, and in negotiations on U.S. military assistance to Israel. Prior to that he was Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council at the White House.

To donate to APN: https://peacenow.org/donate

To write to us: [email protected]

This is an edited version of an APN webinar, one in a series of briefings on West Bank annexation. It features Khalil Shikaki, the leading Palestinian pollster and political analyst. Shikaki accompanied his prepared remarks with a computerized presentation comprised of three slides. Here are the slides: