In recent years, a concerted, organized and well financed campaign to delegitimize Israel has intensified.  This campaign, which goes well beyond criticism of Israel's policies, distorts the history of the Jewish state, ignoring the national aspirations of the Jewish people to live in peace in a homeland to which we have been connected continuously for more than three millennia.

It is within this environment -- in which Israel is repeatedly blamed regardless of the facts --  that a global network of NGOs has emerged to urge the use of Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) as a tactic to isolate the State of Israel.  This campaign, which has posed a significant challenge to the Israel advocacy community, has manifested itself in various spheres in which we work, including churches and campuses, as well as corporate, civic and cultural arenas.  The IAI has emerged as the principal coordinating body for countering the campaign to delegitimize Israel, which has become a major priority for our community.  The IAI’s efforts to counter these activities include: 

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Israel has continually demonstrated the desire to live side-by-side in peace and security with its Arab neighbors. Israel has also proven willing to take the steps necessary to end the conflict with the Palestinians. History has taught us that peace is possible when, as with Egypt and Jordan, there are partners willing to reach agreements and possessing the means to implement them. We must never stop working for peace until it is realized.

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The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is a matter of the gravest concern and utmost urgency to the international community. The Iranian regime, most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the United States, other Western powers, Israel, and the Jewish people.

Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear activities.  A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a regional nuclear arms race.  Iran also continues to support and provide weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas, two groups classified by the United States State Department as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.  

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Gilad Shalit is a 23-year-old Israeli soldier that has been held captive by Hamas since June 25, 2006. He was kidnapped in a cross border attack from the Gaza Strip on the Kerem Shalom crosssing in Israel.

Hamas has continued to refuse a deal for his release and threatened that if Israel does not act soon, Gilad will suffer a similar fate to Ron Arad.  Gilad has been denied access to the International Red Cross and his family has been left to wonder about his health. International human rights groups continue to remain virtually silent on Gilad's fate.

The Jewish community has worked to bring awareness to the plight of Gilad Shalit and will not stop until Gilad is released and able to return to his family.

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