Americans for a Safe Israel
Encyclopedia
Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) is an American Jewish group that opposes all territorial withdrawals by Israel. It supports the Israeli settlement movement and campaigned against the Oslo Accords
and the evacuation of settlers from Gaza.
The group publishes a monthly magazine entitled Outpost.
A 2003 article in the left-wing magazine Mother Jones included this account of events at the Interfaith Zionist Leadership Summit:
In 2007 the Philadelphia Chapter of AFSI was reorganized and has become very active. The chapter launched its own website at www.phillyafsi.com in 2008.
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
and the evacuation of settlers from Gaza.
The group publishes a monthly magazine entitled Outpost.
Leadership
- Herbert Zweibon – Chairman
- Barry Freedman – Executive Director
- Rael Jean Isaac – Editor of Outpost
- Yehuda Draiman - President of AFSI - The Greater Los Angeles Chapter
Quotations
The group's website defines its position as follows:- Americans For a Safe Israel was founded in 1971 by concerned Americans convinced a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israel conflict would only occur when the Arabs realized once and for all that Israel could not be defeated militarily or in any other way... AFSI is unique in its proud and outspoken advocacy of JudeaJudeaJudea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, SamariaSamariaSamaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
[the West Bank], GazaGazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
and the Golan as integral parts of Israel. AFSI believes that a strong Israel is essential to U.S. security and that the Jewish towns in these areas are the best guarantee against strategic vulnerability. Most importantly, the pioneering efforts of the residents in these areas have the potential of rejuvenating a dormant ZionismZionismZionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
and igniting a second Zionist revolution.
A 2003 article in the left-wing magazine Mother Jones included this account of events at the Interfaith Zionist Leadership Summit:
- A group called Americans For A Safe Israel circulated its own "2 state solution" at the conference, calling for Palestinian refugees and the residents of territory occupied by Israel to be declared JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian citizens and relocated at international expense. If Palestinians refuse to resettle, the flier stated, they should be "declared citizens of Jordan with the appropriate legal steps taken so that they remain within Israel and loyal to Israel (sic) law."
In 2007 the Philadelphia Chapter of AFSI was reorganized and has become very active. The chapter launched its own website at www.phillyafsi.com in 2008.