Meretz USA is proud to partner with nearly 100 Jewish organizations in New York as we celebrate "Israel at 60" with a mega event worthy of this historic occasion!

With Israel about to celebrate its 60th birthday, Meretz MK Abu Vilan will be with us on Monday, May 5th to give his always-illuminating perspective on Israeli policy and politics.

Meretz USA, together with Hashomer Hatzair and Ameinu, hosted at a discussion with BUSTAN Director Raed Al-Mickawi, who told his story of growing up as a Bedouin in the Negev and discussed the political and environmental issues facing the Bedouin community in Israel.

Read a summary of the discussion.

Meretz USA held a conference call with newly-elected Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron, also known as "Jumes", on April 14th, 2007. In his first conversation with the American Jewish community as chairman of Meretz, MK Oron spoke about the challenges facing the party.

Read a summary here.

On Sunday, March 30 at 12:30 PM, Prof. Naomi Chazan, former Meretz MK and current President of the Meretz party Convention, examined the state of civil rights in the State of Israel. Click here to read a summary of her talk. 

Sponsored by the Jewish Academic Network for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (JANIP), a project of Meretz USA

The conference, was held at Central Connecticut State University, and highlighted the contribution that social scientific and humanistic research and scholarship can bring towards peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Click here for more information.

Is a permanent Israeli-Palestinian peace achievable? What are the issues, obstacles, opportunities, and the U.S. role ahead?

A discussion with Gershon Baskin and Hanna Siniora, co-founders of IPCRI, the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information; a respected, Jerusalem-based joint Israeli-Palestinian think tank aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Therewere  two events: on Sunday, March 23rd and Monday, March 24th.

Meretz USA co-sponsors Breaking the Silence Speaker Dotan Greenvald Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope (274 Garfield Place, Brooklyn, NY). Dotan will share a collection of photographs, interviews by Israeli soldiers and share his story of the daily reality as a soldier in the occupied territories.  

The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture's Ethical Action Committee presents a film by Meretz USA Past President Lilly Rivlin: Can You Hear Me? Israeli and Palestinian Women Fight for Peace. The documentary screening will be followed by a discussion with Ms. Rivlin. The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture is located at 53 Prospect Park West at 2nd St. in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Meretz USA hosted a special in-person briefing from Meretz MK Avshalom ("Abu") Vilan, who spoke about a number of challenges facing the Israeli government today, including Israeli security and the Gaza Strip, as well as the current round of peace negotiations. MK Vilan addressed the importance of dialogue between Israel and Hamas as the only means of bringing about stability and security.  Read a summary of the briefing here. 

Find out about the 2008 Symposium!

The Zipper Factory Theater & Tavern
336 West 37th St. • New York City
Business Attire

Read about the event. 

A Post Annapolis Assessment

Meretz-Yahad chair, Yossi Beilin gave an abbreviated teleconference briefing on Annapolis.

 

Ms. Dayan is a compelling speaker on human rights and social welfare issues in Israeli society. She will be speaking at the West End Synagogue (190 Amsterdam Ave. at West 69th Street in Manhattan).

A fascinating slide show presentation by the artist, Tal Adler, a photographer, teacher and social-political activist who comes face to face with the issue of the unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev and their inhabitants. The presentation will take place at the Manhattan JCC, (334 Amsterdam Ave @ 76th St in New York).

In Memory of Yitzhak Rabin.

A Discussion with Martin Ben Moreh, Director General of Meitar, The College of Judaism as Culture. The event took place at Meretz USA’s offices Beit Shalom (114 West 26th Street, 10th Floor) in New York City.

With Condoleeza Rice visiting Israel and Palestine, and Israeli and Palestinian leaders meeting to compose a joint Declaration of Principles before the Annapolis Conference, Meretz-Yachad Chairman Dr. Yossi Beilin was with us to discuss the diplomatic challenges facing Israel.

Meretz MK Avshalom (Abu) Vilan delivered an update on the prospects for the peace summit coming up in November. He spoke primarily about the upcoming peace conference, scheduled for this November and about the movement he founded to move settlers within the green line.

Read an event summary.

 

Meretz USA screened Promises, the story of seven Israeli and Palestinian children from a Palestinian refugee camp, from an Israeli settlement, and from Jerusalem.

Read a summary of the event.

Akiva Eldar spoke to an overflow crowd at the offices of Meretz USA and Beit Shalom in New York.  A chief political columnist and editorial writer for the Israeli national daily Ha'aretz, Eldar was in New York in connection with the English-language publication (by Nation Books) of his highly acclaimed, "Lords of the Land" -- a definitive history of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. 

His remarks included an impassioned statement of why he, as a Zionist, sees an end to the occupation and a negotiated agreement for a Palestinian state in Israel's interest.

On Thursday, September 6, 2007, Meretz USA hosted Dr. Moises Salinas for a talk on his new book, Planting Hatred, Sowing Pain: The Psychology of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

Read a summary of the talk.

On Thursday, August 2, Meretz USA hosted a luncheon with Meretz MK Avshalom Vilan, in its offices at Beit Shalom.

Read a summary of his remarks.

On Monday, July 9, 2007, Meretz USA screened The Ritchie Boys at its offices Beit Shalom.

Read a summary of the program.

On Tuesday, June 26th, Meretz USA hosted a screening of the PBS documentary “Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century” at its NY offices at Beit Shalom.

Read a summary of the film and the following discussion.

On Thursday, June 22, 2007, Meretz USA held a conversation among progressive American Jews.  The event took place at the Stephen Wise Free Synogogue and was co-sponsored by Ameinu.  It asked the questions: What are the obstacles to discussing the occupation and US-Israel relations in the public arena? How can they be overcome?  The featured speakers included Anne Roiphe, Philip Weiss, and Dan Flesher, with J.J. Goldberg as the moderator.

Read Dan Fleshler's remarks.

On Wednesday, June 20, 2007, Member of Knesset Avshalom Vilan spoke with Meretz USA about the civil war between Hamas and Fatah and the deteriorating situation in Gaza.

Read a summary of his remarks.

On Wednesday, June 13, 2007, Felice and Michael Friedson, co-founders of the non-partisan, not-for-profit American news service, “The Media Line”, spoke to a Meretz USA gathering. Mr. and Ms. Friedson discussed their effort to produce objective, unbiased journalistic work, covering Israel, Palestine and the broader Middle East region.

On Tuesday, May 1st, Meretz MK Avshalom (Abu) Vilan spoke to Meretz USA board and friends. He discussed the recently released Winograd Report and presented results from a study on moving the settlers back into Israel.

Read a summary of his report.

On Wednesday, April 18th, Hanna Barag of Machsom Watch spoke during a 12:30 lunch at Beit Shalom. Ms. Barag discussed her observations at West Bank checkpoints, describing their proliferation and impact on the everyday lives of Palestinians. She reported and reflected on Machsom Watch’s activities at the checkpoints and the military courts, as well as the organization’s interactions with the police and General Security Service.

Click for a summary.

On the evening of Thursday, March 22, 2007, Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin addressed the Meretz USA board. He discussed current events surrounding the Winograd Commission, the formation of the Palestinian Unity government, and what the US should be doing, among other issues.

Read a summary of his remarks.

On Shabbat, March 17, 2007, Yael Dayan, former Knesset Member and current deputy mayor of Tel Aviv, delivered the D'var Torah at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan.

On March 6, 2007, Meretz USA and Ameinu members gathered at Beit Shalom for a panel discussion responding to recent accusations aimed at Israel and the American Jewish community. Ralph Seliger, Meretz USA's vice president for publications and editor of ISRAEL HORIZONS magazine, examined the views of NYU historian Tony Judt; Gidon (Doni) Remba, incoming director of Ameinu, discussed Palestine Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter; and Dan Fleshler, on boards of both Ameinu and Americans for Peace Now, offered an analysis of “The Israel Lobby” by Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt .

Read a summary of their remarks.

On February 2, 2007, MK Ran Cohen (Meretz-Yahad) met with Meretz USA members at Beit Shalom for a lunchtime discussion on the domestic and diplomatic challenges facing Israel.

Read a summary of the event.

Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin spoke with Meretz USA members and an intimate reception on November 8, 2006. He discussed the political situation in Israel and its neighboring countries and posed the question "what can we do" now to acheive peace?

Read a summary of the event.

On November 1, 2006, R'anan Boral, a Hebrew University- and Harvard Kennedy School-educated environmental activist, met with Meretz USA, Ameinu, and Green Zionist Alliance members at Dewey's Flatiron to discuss the environmental impact of the second Lebanese War.

Yael Dayan, a former MK and current Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv, spoke to Meretz USA supporters and other members of the community at the Village Temple on October 9, where she discussed the post-war political situation in Israel. Click here to read a summary.

On September 21st, 2006, Meretz USA hosted a conversation between Palestinian Lily Habash and Israeli Galia Golan. So close and yet so far, they discussed about their different experiences during this last “summer of war” – separated by borders, checkpoints, physical barriers, and much more. Habash and Golan analyzed the role of women in the peace camp, and described their different experiences during this last summer – prior to the war, during the war, and now in its aftermath.

The discussion was moderated by Lilly Rivlin.

Mohammad Darawshe met with Meretz USA supporters on Tuesday, September 12, to discuss the Israel-Hezbollah war and its impact on the Israeli Arab community.

On August 30, Meretz USA hosted Stav Bar Shany of “Brit Olam”, an international Israeli-Jewish volunteer movement dedicated to social welfare and humanitarian assistance around the globe. Ms. Bar Shany discussed her experiences running Brit Olam’s “Mobile Summer Camp” project in Israel’s north during the recent Israel-Hezbollah war.

A brief summary of her remarks can be read by clicking here.

On August 2, Meretz USA hosted Dr. Naomi Baum, Director of Children’s Services at the Psychotrauma Center of the Hertzog Hospital in Jerusalem. Dr. Baum spoke about her program’s many initiatives in response to the current crisis and about specific techniques for addressing the stress and trauma that residents of Israel’s north find themselves facing today.

Click here for a summary of the talk.