Americans for Peace Now: Government Relations Archives

APN's Top 10 Wackiest Congressional Actions on the Middle East of 2011

By Lara Friedman on December 29, 2011 10:55 AM | No Comments

Anyone who reads the Round-Up knows that Congress gets up to a lot of wacky stuff when it comes to the Middle East. Below is a subjective list of the top ten outstanding examples of this. Enjoy!

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APN Legislative Round-Up December 1-23, 2011

By Lara Friedman on December 23, 2011 2:08 PM | No Comments

1. Bills, Resolutions and Letters

2. Consolidated Appropriations Passes (Israel, Egypt, Palestinians and more)

3. Iran Sanctions Bills Pass in House

4. Defense Authorization Passes (Israel, Iran and more)

5. Odds and Ends

Continue reading APN Legislative Round-Up December 1-23, 2011.

APN Legislative Round-up: November 12-30, 2011

By Lara Friedman on November 30, 2011 12:11 PM | No Comments

1. Bills, Resolutions and Letters
2. Iran, Israel in FY12 Defense Authorization Bill (S. 1867)
3. Odds and Ends

Due to a combination of visitors, travel, and holidays, the Round-Up is once again off schedule (and will not be coming out this Friday). We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.

Continue reading APN Legislative Round-up: November 12-30, 2011.

Hard Questions and Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher- November 28, 2011

November 28, 2011 12:40 PM | No Comments

In light of recent developments in Egypt, Alpher assesses the wisdom of the Netanyahu government's decision to instruct Israeli diplomats to lobby for maintaining the status of Egypt's military rulers.

Continue reading Hard Questions and Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher- November 28, 2011.

APN Legislative Round-Up for the week ending November 11, 2011

By Lara Friedman on November 11, 2011 11:40 AM | No Comments

1. Bills, Resolutions and Letters
2. Syria Hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
3. Some additional aid to the Palestinians released by Ros-Lehtinen
4. Odds and Ends

Continue reading APN Legislative Round-Up for the week ending November 11, 2011.

Why We Have Taken a Stand with the Supreme Court

By Ori Nir on November 9, 2011 11:34 AM | No Comments

On November 7, Israel's Haaretz newspaper published an article in Hebrew by APN's President and CEO Debra DeLee explaining why we chose to submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court regarding the authority of the Executive Branch to determine policy on sensitive foreign policy issues such as the status of Jerusalem.

Following is an English translation of the article:

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Why We Have Taken a Stand with the US Supreme Court

By Debra Delee on November 7, 2011 2:33 PM | No Comments

By Debra DeLee

Originally published in Haaretz

An important case, Zivotofsky v. Clinton, is about to come before the U.S. Supreme Court. It relates to U.S. policy on Jerusalem, but isn't really about Jerusalem. Rather, it is about longstanding efforts by the U.S. Congress to wrest foreign policy-making authority away from the executive branch. How this case is decided will have far-reaching ramifications for America's policy, far beyond Jerusalem.

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Hijacked by Legislative Anachronisms

By Lara Friedman on November 3, 2011 5:29 PM | No Comments

As everybody who cares about foreign policy (and hasn't been living under a rock) knows by now, earlier this week the PLO was admitted as a full member by UNESCO, triggering pre-existing U.S. laws that mandate an immediate and 100% cut-off in U.S. funding to UNESCO. These laws likewise mandate such a cut-off of funding to the UN, any specialized agency of the UN, or any affiliated organization of the UN who follows suit. With the Palestinians reportedly planning to apply for membership in at least 16 more agencies, the specter of a far-reaching U.S. withdrawal from international agencies - including from agencies like the IAEA and WIPO, looms large. And with it looms the specter of far-reaching consequences for U.S. international influence, leverage, and engagement, and for the U.S ability to protect and promote its interests across the whole spectrum of issues around the globe.

Absent from the reporting and debate around this issue is any real notice of the fact that the rationale that existed for passage of these laws in 1990 and 1994 no longer exists. Objectively speaking, what we are seeing today is U.S. policy at the UN being hijacked by a pair of legislative anachronisms.

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Tell Congress to act rationally on UN and the Palestinians

November 3, 2011 10:47 AM | No Comments

Earlier this week, members of UNESCO (the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), voted to admit the PLO as "the state of Palestine," with full member-state status in that organization.

This action triggers an existing U.S. law, first passed in 1991 and then strengthened in 1994, that compels the U.S. to cut off all funding to UNESCO. With the Palestinians reportedly poised to seek membership in as many as 16 other UN member organizations, this law could mean the U.S. effective withdrawal from a wide range of international bodies.

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APN Legislative Round-up for the week ending October 28, 2011

By Lara Friedman on October 28, 2011 1:33 PM | No Comments

Note to readers: With the end of the High Holidays (and the wonderful 3-day weeks that go with them), the Round-Up is now back to its regular Friday publication schedule. Thanks for your patience.

1. Bills, Resolutions and Letters
2. More on Palestinians at the UN (UNESCO, etc)
3. FY12 ForOps Update
4. Ramping Up Congressional Pressure on Iran
5. Odds and Ends

Continue reading APN Legislative Round-up for the week ending October 28, 2011.