I first want to share our wishes for your good health and hope that you are in a situation where you can stay as safe as possible as we live through this unprecedented period.
I wrote to you last during our membership campaign launch in April. As I said then, we really need our members to renew their support so we can continue our efforts through these challenging times. If you haven’t paid your 2020 dues thus far, you can click here. |
Countdown to Possible Unilateral Annexation on the West Bank
The Ameinu Board of Directors held a meeting on Tuesday evening to develop our action plan as we face the possibility of Israeli government action on annexation this summer. We have also been in discussions with our colleagues in the U.S. based Progressive Israel Network as well as J-Link, an international network of progressive Jewish organizations, so we can amplify our voice in these coming weeks.
We will share more with you in the coming days, but for now here is the Ameinu statement in response to the establishment of the new Israel government today. |
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Ameinu Says No to Annexation, Calls on Labor Ministers to Oppose
With the formation of a new government of Israel, Ameinu expresses its fervent hope that this government will uphold Israel's international and moral obligations and commit to seeking a just and mutually agreeable end to the Israel-Palestine conflict. However, as progressive Zionists, we are deeply troubled by Prime Minister Banjamin Netanyahu's pledge to extend Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank. The coalition agreement that allows Israel to do so after July 1 does not portend well for Israel's future. Annexation will weaken relations between Israel and Jews around the world for whom human rights, equality and democracy are essential principles. We also share the objections of many Israeli military leaders to annexation, which they believe will jeopardize the national security and future of the Jewish state. Ameinu, as a member organization of the World Labor Zionist Alliance, calls on Labor Party members and new government ministers, Amir Peretz and Itzik Shmuli, to fight from inside the government on behalf of a two-state solution and to oppose the ongoing occupation, settlement expansion and unilateral annexation of the West Bank. From David Ben-Gurion to Yitzhak Rabin, Israel's Labor Party has a rich heritage of visionary leaders who made painful but necessary compromises in the pursuit of peace. We urge current Labor leaders to build upon this legacy. |
Dror Israel Response to COVID-19 in Israel
Over the years we have shared the work of our partners at Dror Israel, the Urban Kibbutz movement. Barak Selah, the former central shaliach to Habonim Dror North America, wrote that, in response to the pandemic, his “community started a group of hundreds of volunteers from the Hadar neighborhood of Haifa, providing assistance to thousands of local residents; grocery shopping, medication delivery, financial help, donation of tech equipment for local youth and more. I have to say I was amazed by the will and strength of the local volunteers…..they act because their neighbors need help – and they are in a position to assist.” However, this caused him to contemplate the role of volunteerism versus the responsibility of the state.. Read the rest of his article here. |
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Israeli-Palestinian Healthcare Webinar Our sister organization, Project Rozana, operates every day of the year building bridges of understanding through healthcare. As you can certainly imagine, the pandemic has brought new challenges to this work. On May 27 they are presenting a webinar featuring three experts who are on the ground in Palestine and Israel working on these issues; I will be speaking as well. For more information, please click here.
As you can see, we are succeeding in addressing our agenda, even with our staff working from home and our lay leadership understandably focused on the impact of COVID-19. If you have not yet renewed your Ameinu membership in 2020, please do so now by clicking here so we can continue this important effort.
Thank you and stay safe.
All the best, |
Kenneth Bob President, Ameinu |
Ameinu Our People | 25 Broadway 9th floor, New York, NY 10004 | ameinu.net | 212-366-1194 |
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