Since my Bat-Mitzvah in 1999, my self-awareness as a Jew has steadily declined. I attend temple on holidays, light the menorah during the week of Chanukah, and give up my beloved yeast containing products on Passover. But for the remaining 348 days of the year, my occasionally worn Star of David necklace is one of the only things that keeps me in check with the fact that I am indeed an Ashkenazi Jew.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a topic I have never felt quite comfortable debating. While I could recount the dates and locations of the most recent bombings and invasions in Israel I had read about in The New York Times, I was still unfamiliar with the complex history that existed between the Israelis and Palestinians. People seemed to expect me to side whole-heartedly with the Israeli side because I was Jewish. But my being Jewish just made me feel more confused about the situation. Was I expected to blindly take sides because my last name happened to be “Lieberman?”
My decision to intern with Americans for Peace Now was made somewhat on a whim. I agreed with APN’s politics and thought working with the organization would help me learn more about where I, an American Jew, stand in the midst of the Israel-Palestinian clash.
APN, one of the largest groups in America dedicated to the Peace in the Middle East, was founded in 1981. It was created to support Shalom Achshav, the largest peace-focused grassroots organization in Israel. APN is a financial base to Shalom Achshav, but also works to increase support in America for the organization and its cause. Both groups act as mediators to the Israelis and Palestinians and try to foster a successful relationship between the two parties. APN signs mailings “Shalom,” “Salaam,” and “Peace,” demonstrating its commitment to the different groups involved in the conflict.
APN is active in U.S. government engagements with the peace process; it encourages negotiations and offers support to different Congressional proposals for aid to the Middle East. It also tries to increase Americans’ awareness of the situation in the Middle East and the benefits of supporting Shalom Achshav.
In order for Israel to achieve and maintain a peaceful relationship between Arab states and the Palestinian people, APN, according to its website www.peacenow.org, proposes “a termination of Israeli rule over the great majority of the West Bank and Gaza,” and “a creation of a Palestinian state subject to strict military limitations.” It also has called for a resolution, which will ascertain that Jerusalem will remain physically undivided, yet will cater to the religious and state rights of Israelis and Palestinians.
As an intern for APN, my duties have mainly been limited to office tasks; I have not yet had the chance to sit in on a panel, and as I have only been working for APN for less than a month, I still am not one to jump into an intense debate on Middle Eastern politics. Though I have not become an extreme activist for either party, I am beginning to understand that as a Jewish American I don’t have to. I am simply making the most out of working to help resolve an issue in which I am far more than culturally invested–peace.
