This was a winning week for Israel's true patriots, Peace Now's dedicated staff and activists.

Earlier this week, Hagit Ofran, the director of Peace Now's Settlement Watch project, won an esteemed prize, named after her grandfather, iconic philosopher and anti-occupation activist Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz.

There's a reason I have been a devoted supporter of Americans for Peace Now since its inception 30 years ago - and, indeed, of Shalom Achshav, Israel's Peace Now movement, since 1978. In the course of those years, other organizations that care about Israel's peace and safety have come and have gone, some much glitzier than APN, some stodgier. None, in my view, has been clearer in its positions, nor bolder, nor more innovative, nor more sophisticated, nor more productive.

Read a story of reconciliation from David Harris Gershon, a writer whose recent work has appeared in The Jerusalem Post, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Colorado Review and elsewhere. His memoir, Shrapnel, is currently making the rounds. He received his MFA from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.

Americans for Peace Now is proud that Mr. Gershon is an APN "Person for Peace", where you can follow his tweets and blog posts.

Dear Friend,

I am writing to you from a tiny office on M and 21st Streets in Washington, DC--an office which I share with two interns here at Americans for Peace Now (APN). One of them comes from L.A. and goes to school at U.C.-Santa Cruz. The other hails from Gaza and has won a scholarship to Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. I'm probably 50 years older than either of the two interns but we gladly share this space once a week in order to promote the work of Peace Now. As a long-time volunteer here, I'm committed to the task until a peace agreement has been signed and we can close down the office.

I reach out to you as someone who is troubled to see the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians continue apparently without an end in sight.

In fact, there is an end in sight. It's known as the two-state solution... The problem is how to reach that end point. It's something we should be concerned about--not only as world citizens, but as Americans.

When Hamas terrorists killed four Israelis in the West Bank in August, the condemnations came from across the Israeli political spectrum. That the dead--one of whom was pregnant--lived in a settlement made the act no less reprehensible, even to those of us who oppose the settlements.