FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 31, 2009
CONTACT:  Ori Nir - (202) 728-1893
 
Washington, D.C - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today wished success to Benjamin Netanyahu's government and challenged it to make pursuit of peace with the Palestinians and with Syria a top priority.
 
APN noted with concern the dangerously hawkish and sometimes belligerent platforms of Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud and his coalition partners, as well as the often extremist and even racist campaign-rhetoric of some of the new government's members during the campaign leading up to last month's general elections.
 
"The long-held positions of Netanyahu and his coalition partners do not bode well for peace efforts," said Debra DeLee, APN's president and CEO. "Netanyahu refuses to endorse the two-state solution; his foreign minister is a hate-monger; several of his coalition partners support the most extremist West Bank settlers and their messianic vision; Netanyahu reportedly gave his promise to coalition partners to build new settlements in crucially sensitive areas such as the Jerusalem - Maale Adumim corridor. We find all these alarming. They threaten Israel's security and stability and leave very little room for hope for progress toward peace," said DeLee.
 
"We can only hope that Netanyahu will realize that extremist dogmatism must be abandoned at the threshold to the Prime Minister's Office, to be replaced with pragmatism."
 
Yesterday, in his Knesset speech, Netanyahu vowed that his government "will do all it can to reach peace with our neighbors" and noted that "the people of Israel strive for peace and yearn for peace."
 
Commenting on Netanyahu's statement, APN's DeLee said: "American friends of Israel strongly support the peace-seeking sentiment of the Israeli public. We will therefore strongly support genuine, courageous peace-seeking policies of the Israeli government, if Netanyahu chooses to pursue them. Whether he does or not, APN will continue to urge America's elected officials to push for Middle East peace and we will continue to voice the pro-peace sentiment of Americans who care about Israel's security and stability."
 
APN supports the actions of its Israeli sister movement, Peace Now, to express concerns over the new government's hawkish positions.
 
APN is the premier voice for American Jews who support Israel and know that only peace will ensure Israel's security, prosperity, and continued viability as a Jewish, democratic state.
 
Helpful links:
APN podcast on the topic with Nimrod Novik
APN blog posting on the topic
New York Times editorial on the topic
APN statement on Avigdor Lieberman