About Us
 Chicago Peace Now      Americans For Peace Now      Shalom Achshav
    
Chicago Peace Now, the Chicago-area affiliate of Americans for Peace Now (APN), is a Zionist organization that affirms the right of Israel to exist in peace and security as a democratic Jewish state. We believe that the only durable settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a two-state solution between Israel and a territorially and economically viable non-militarized Palestinian state.  The mission of Chicago Peace Now is to educate the Chicago-area Jewish community, the wider public, and our elected representatives in Washington about the Peace Now/Shalom Achshav approach to promoting Israeli security through Middle East peace.

Current Chicago Peace Now activities include:
  1. Monthly Programs - with prominent speakers - including leading Israeli and Palestinian peace advocates - to discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict and prospects for ending the violence and returning to negotiations;
  2. Political action - from public rallies to meetings with members of Congress - to explain APN's policy recommendations and ask for congressional support;
  3. Participation in local Jewish-Muslim and Jewish-Palestinian dialogues and solidarity vigils at local mosques to affirm respect for Muslims and Palestinians; and
  4. An email listserv that provides updates on local events and fresh perspectives on the situation in the Middle East. The listserv allows members to learn about and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, efforts to renew peace talks, and the struggle against terrorism. Join the listserv here.
Chicago Peace Now works to support and educate the Chicago-area public about Peace Now / Shalom Achshav's Israel-based grassroots activities to enhance Israel's security through peace.

These include:
  • The Israeli Peace Coalition - brings together Peace Now, Labor Party doves, the Meretz Party, the Democratic Choice Party, the Kibbutz Movement, the Bereaved Families Forum, and other like-minded organizations to reflect the view of the Israeli Peace Camp;
  • The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Coalition - unites moderates on both sides to offer the Israeli and Palestinian publics alternatives to hawkish policies;
  • Israeli-Palestinian Youth Dialogue - brings Israeli and Palestinian youth together to foster mutual understanding on a people-to-people basis;
  • Settlement Watch - gathers information on settlement construction and other activities that undermine the prospects for achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace; and
  • Ir Shalem (Whole City) - provides information and activities to make Jerusalem a truly unified city that accommodates the national aspirations and religious needs of Israeli and Palestinians.

Americans for Peace Now  (APN) is the premier address in the United States for American Jews who support the quest for peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors. APN's many activities include:

Action Network - APN's Action Network generates immediate and forceful grassroots responses to political developments through its national membership base. Action Network is mobilized to contact local media, members of Congress, and the White House to meet the group's policy goals.

Government Relations - APN builds relationships with members of Congress, congressional staff, and executive branch officials in order to educate them about important developments in the Middle East and the implications of policy choices presented to decision-makers.

Media Outreach and Monitoring - APN promotes its goals through press releases, editorials and personal contacts with Jewish, Israeli, Arab, and mainstream reporters.

Public Outreach - APN publishes a weekly fax/email newsletter on Middle East events, as well as a quarterly newsletter and various other brochures and information sheets. APN also maintains an active website, (www.peacenow.org).

American Jewish Community Outreach - APN has built an active coalition of mainstream American Jewish groups that work in support of the peace process.

Arab American Outreach - APN creates interfaith and inter-ethnic peace programs with Arab American organizations.

Shalom Achshav  (Peace Now in Hebrew), the largest grassroots movement in Israel's history, was founded in March 1978 by 348 reserve commanders, officers, and combat soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces. Experience had taught these citizen soldiers that only a politically negotiated solution could end their nation's hundred-year war with its Arab and Palestinian neighbors. As they wrote to then Prime Minister Menachem Begin: "Real security can be achieved only when we achieve peace."

Shalom Achshav believes a secure peace can best be achieved through Israeli withdrawal to safe borders from the West Bank and Gaza; creation of a contiguous, economically viable Palestinian state subject to strict military limitations; negotiation of security and peace accords between Israel and Syria leading to a safe Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights; and a resolution on the status of an undivided Jerusalem that accommodates the national aspirations and religious needs of both Israeli and Palestinian residents.