U.S. Organizations

editor — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:55:15 -0700

Ameinu The successor to the Labor Zionist Alliance, Ameinu envisions Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, at peace with its neighbors, committed to religious pluralism and social and economic justice for all its citizens. Ameinu's political agenda addresses a range of domestic and international issues, including protection of the environment, support for universal healthcare, preservation of civil liberties, and the ending of foreign and domestic sweatshops.

American Editorial Review Assembled and maintained by the Obermayer Foundation, the American Editorial Review includes editorials and op-ed columns from the 15 largest US newspapers concerning Israel and the Middle East.

Americans for Peace Now The leading US advocate for peace in the Middle East, APN's mission is to help Israel and the Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) movement to achieve a comprehensive political settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict consistent with Israel's long-term security needs and its Jewish and democratic values.

The Avalon Project The Avalon Project at Yale Law School contains a collection of documents in law, history and diplomacy, including a section on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Bitterlemons.org Bitterlemons.org is a website that presents Israeli and Palestinian viewpoints on prominent issues of concern, primarily the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and peace process.

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom Brit Tzedek v'Shalom merged with J Street to become J Street Local. It was a Chicago-based American-Jewish organization working toward a just, viable and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. Its political viewpoint is close to that of Meretz USA.
CALME The Campaign for American Leadership in the Middle East (CALME) seeks to demonstrate the American public's strong support for American leadership toward a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and for the leadership of President Bush in helping the parties reach it. Read CALME's Online Journal here.

Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation Established in 1989 by S. Daniel Abraham and Congressman Wayne Owens, the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation sponsors activities aimed at bringing policy makers and private sector leaders together to foster the atmosphere necessary for the promotion and protection of Middle East peace.
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a coalition of 23 national Church denominations and organizations, including Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. It works to encourage U.S. government policies that actively promote a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ensuring security, human rights and religious freedom for all the people of the region.

Engage Engage is a British weblog founded in respose to the actions taken by the Association of University Teachers (AUT) in Britain to launch an academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The boycott decision has since been reversed by a general vote of the AUT membership, but the struggle continues on other issues, such as a boycott of the Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem.

Foundation for Middle East Peace The Foundation for Middle East Peace is a nonprofit organization dedicated to informing Americans about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and assisting in a peaceful solution that brings security for both peoples. Its excellent website contains a wealth of information, and it publishes the bi-monthly Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories.

Givat Haviva Educational Foundation Givat Haviva Educational Foundation is the North American representative and fundraising arm of the Givat Haviva Institute in Israel.

Habonim Dror North America Habonim Dror, the Labor Zionist youth movement, operates seven summer camps and 30 city chapters across North America. The movement educates towards Zionism, Socialism, social justice, Judaism, and self actualization.

Hashomer Hatzair North America Hashomer Hatzair is a youth movement, based on the principles of Progressive Zionism, Social Justice, Progressive Judaism and self-actualization, and committed to peace and equality.

Israel Policy Forum The Israel Policy Forum merged with the Center for American Progress to become Middle East Progress. It was a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization that supports active and sustained American efforts to resolve the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

J Street J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans to advocate for vigorous U.S. leadership to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to broaden debate around Israel and the Middle East in national politics and the American Jewish community.

J Street U J Street U is a student-driven network of activists organizing on campuses across North America for peace, security and social justice in Israel, the future state of Palestine and across the Middle East.

Jewish Virtual Library The Jewish Virtual Library is a good source for information about things Jewish and Israeli. Their angle tends to be a bit right-wing, but the wealth of material is impressive.

New Israel Fund The New Israel Fund works to safeguard civil and human rights, promote Jewish-Arab coexistence, advance the status of women, foster tolerance and religious pluralism, bridge social and economic gaps, pursue environmental justice, and encourage government accountability.

New Voices -- Jewish Student Press Service New Voices is a pioneering magazine for Jewish college students.

Palestine Mission to the UN The website of the Palestinian Mission to the United Nations is a good source for documents and background information from the Palestinian perspective.

Rabbis for Human Rights - North America (RHR-NA) is an organization of rabbis from all streams of Judaism dedicated to expanding support for the mission and work of RHR in Israel, and to education and advocacy on human rights issues in North America.
Seeds of Peace Seeds of Peace is a non-profit, non-political organization that helps teenagers from regions of conflict learn the skills of making peace.
Seeking Peace, Pursuing Justice Seeking Peace, Pursuing Justice is the Reform Movement's campaign to educate and mobilize North American Jewry to support peace efforts and social justice causes in Israel.
Shalom Center Led by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, the Shalom Center is a network of American Jews who draw on Jewish tradition and spirituality to seek peace, pursue justice, heal the earth, and build community.
Union of Progressive Zionists A joint venture of Meretz USA, Habonim Dror North America, Hashomer Hatzair and the Labor Zionist Alliance, UPZ merged with J Street to become J Street U. It remains a campus-oriented initiative to support liberal pro-Israel student activism.

Israeli Organizations

editor — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:48:41 -0700

Adva Center The Adva Center conducts policy analysis, advocacy work, and public outreach to inform policy makers and the general public in Israel and abroad about equity and social justice issues in Israeli society. Adva analyzes equality and inequality in Israel in a way that integrates gender, ethnicity and nationality.

Ariga Ariga is a web-based source of news and resources from Israel, emphasizing the peace process. It carries information from pro-peace and human rights groups in Israel and Palestine.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is Israel's oldest and largest human rights organization and the only one that deals with the entire spectrum of human rights and civil liberties issues in Israel and the Occupied Territories. ACRI's work encompasses litigation and legal advocacy, education, and public outreach as the most effective way in which to build toward our long-term vision of a just and democratic society that respects the equal rights of all its members.

B'Tselem An Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem strives to change Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories and ensure that the Israeli government protects the human rights of residents there and complies with its obligations under international law.

Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development (CJAED) is an Israeli non-profit organizations, established in 1988 by a group Jewish and Arab Business people. The guiding principle of the Center and its activities is that Jewish-Arab economic cooperation in Israeli is essential for peace, prosperity, and economic stability in Israel and the region at large. CJAED acts through a wide range of programs on the premise that Israel's primary resource is its people; that Israel's strength lies in its pluralism and democracy, and that the Arab community must be integrated into Israeli mainstream economy and society.

Council for Peace and Security The Council for Peace and Security is an association of national security experts, including former high-ranking officers in the army, police and security agencies, retired diplomats, directors general of government ministries, and academics. The Council for Peace and Security believes that peace is a necessary requirement for Israel's security.

Courage to Refuse Courage to Refuse ("Ometz Lesarev") is the group of over 550 (and counting) Israeli reserve soldiers who have declared their unwillingness to serve in the Occupied Territories.

Encounter is an educational organization dedicated to providing Jewish diaspora leaders from across the religious and political spectrum with exposure to Palestinian life. Motivated by the relentless Jewish pursuit of hokhma (wisdom) and binah (understanding), Encounter programs bring participants on journeys to engage with Palestinians face-to-face and witness realities first hand.

The Geneva Initiative The official home page of the Geneva Initiative includes a wealth of information, mostly in Hebrew, about the Initiative, such as background info., press clippings, interviews, key elements, and maps. The full text of the Initiative is also available here in English (as it is on the Meretz USA web site) and Arabic. Also check out the Joint Partner Campaign in English.

Gisha is an Israeli not-for-profit organization, founded in 2005, whose goal is to protect the freedom of movement of Palestinians, especially Gaza residents. Gisha promotes rights guaranteed by international and Israeli law.

Givat Haviva Institute Givat Haviva, the educational, research and archival center of the Kibbutz Artzi Federation, is Israel's premier institute devoted to Jewish-Arab rapprochement, trade union studies, kibbutz education, and diverse other areas of educational and cultural content.

HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual founded by Dr. Lotte Salzberger, is a human rights organization which was established in order to assist Palestinians subjected to the Israeli occupation which causes severe and ongoing violation of their rights. HaMoked works for the enforcement of the standards and values of international human rights and humanitarian law.

Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information The only joint Palestinian-Israeli public policy think-tank, IPCRI is devoted to developing practical solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

MachsomWatch in existence since 2001, is an organisation of peace activist Israeli women against the Israeli Occupation of the territories and the systematic repression of the Palestinian nation. We call for Palestinian freedom of movement within their own territory and for an end to the Occupation that destroys Palestinian society and inflicts grievous harm on Israeli society

MidEastWeb - Middle East News, Views & ReferenceMidEast Web strives to promote dialogue and coexistence through the internet by weaving a world-wide web of Arabs, Jews and others who want to build a new Middle East based on coexistence and neighborly relations.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs website contains a wealth of valuable information about Israel.

Palestine-Israel Journal Published by the non-profit Middle East Publications, the Palestine-Israel Journal provides background material and in-depth analysis of various aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspective of both sides, thus helping to shed light on the complex issues dividing Israelis and Palestinians and on the relationship between the two peoples.

Peace Now Peace Now (Shalom Achshav), the largest grassroots movement in Israel's history, was founded in 1978 by 348 reserve IDF officers who believe that while Israel must always be ready to defend itself, violence and occupation are not the answers to the Middle East conflict. Of particular interest is Peace Now's "Settlements Watch" project.

The People's Voice The People's Voice ("Hamifkad HaLeumi") is an Israeli-Palestinian public intiative spearheaded by Sari Nuseibeh and Ami Ayalon that aims to advance the peace process by collecting signatures of Palestinians and Israelis on a joint statement of intentions based on the "two states for two peoples" formula.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that strives to promote a more fair and inclusive society in which the right to health is applied equally for all. It is PHR-Israel’s view that Israel’s prolonged occupation over Palestinian territory is the basis of human rights violations. For this reason we oppose the occupation and endeavor to put an end to it. PHR-Israel stands at the forefront of the struggle for human rights – the right to health particularly - in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.

Rabbis for Human Rights Rabbis for Human Rights is a multi-denominational group of rabbis and rabbinical students that seek to counter Israeli abuses of human rights in the Occupied Territories.

Sikkuy (a "chance" or "opportunity" in Hebrew) is a non-partisan, non-profit, NGO in Israel that develops and implements projects to advance equality etween Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel in government budgets, resource allocation, hiring policy, land usage, access to government services, etc.

Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research A multi-disciplinary academic framework shared by the faculties of the humanities, social sciences, and law at Tel Aviv University, the TSC promotes systematic research and thinking on issues connected with peacemaking processes and conflict resolution.

The Other Israel The Other Israel is the bimonthly publication of Gush Shalom - the Israeli Council for Israeli/Palestinian Peace, founded by Uri Avnery. Their positions tend to be somewhat left of Meretz.

Women of the Wall is a group of Israeli and Jewish women from around the world who seek the right for Jewish women to conduct prayer services, read from a Torah scroll while wearing prayer shawls, and sing out loud at the Western Wall–Judaism’s most sacred holy site and the principal symbol of Jewish people-hood and sovereignty.

Yachad Yachad (aka "Yahad" or "Yakhad") - Social Democratic Israel, the successor to the Meretz party in Israel, changed its name on June 26, 2005 to Meretz/Yahad. See above.

Yesh Din is comprised of volunteers who have organized to oppose the continuing violation of Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Some of us have long been active in defending human rights, and others have just recently joined the struggle. We have different personal, professional, and political backgrounds but are united by our deep concern over the serious damage the occupation is inflicting on both Palestinian and Israeli societies.

Zionism-Israel Information Center Zionism-Israel.com is a website that provides a wealth of general information in English about Zionism and its history, including many links and source documents.

World Union of Meretz Links

editor — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:43:32 -0700

The World Union of Meretz is an Israeli non-profit organization, which serves as a global framework for organizations worldwide that subscribe to the progressive Zionist values of the Meretz party.

The New Movement-Meretz is the Social Democratic party of Israel, the liberal Zionist party most often associated with a negotiated peace solution and an active approach to equality and civil rights. The English webpage is still under construction.

Meretz UK is the British affiliate of the World Union of Meretz. It shares a common vision and a common philosophy - that of a liberal humanistic Zionism that strongly seeks peace and encourages human and civil rights - with the other organizations in the Union.

Press Links

editor — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:00:17 -0700

Links to media and press resources that cover Israel, the Middle East, the Jewish and the Arab World: