America | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israel's Challenege to the U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
March 10, 2010 - 12:00am

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was unpleasantly surprised in Israel on Tuesday when the country’s Interior Ministry declared that it would expand housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem. Mr. Biden, who earlier that day had expressed American support on Israel’s security needs, condemned the announcement, which had been made without the knowledge of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What did the incident reflect about the state of the Obama administration’s relations with Israel and the future of talks with the Palestinians? Aaron David Miller -

Why Israel jailed me for 'talking too much'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Jamal Juma' - (Opinion) March 9, 2010 - 12:00am

East Jerusalem The Palestinian elected leadership is weak. And even with Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this week, the renewed Middle East peace process appears to be little more than a charade. Israel has taken this opportunity to crack down on Palestinians who advocate nonviolent protests against the Israeli West Bank segregation barrier and charged them based on questionable or false evidence. I know: I was arrested for talking too much. All we Palestinians want is a life free from racial discrimination.

Hard Mideast Truths
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) February 11, 2010 - 12:00am

For over a century now, Zionism and Arab nationalism have failed to find an accommodation in the Holy Land. Both movements attempted to fill the space left by collapsed empire, and it has been left to the quasi-empire, the United States, to try to coax them to peaceful coexistence. The attempt has failed.

Build a Partnership for Peace, Right Here in America
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) February 3, 2010 - 12:00am

With the turbulence surrounding diplomacy and the Middle East peace process, it is more urgent than ever for civil society to unite around the obvious reality that a conflict-ending solution can only be attained through the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security.

Build a Partnership for Peace, Right Here in America
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Jewish Daily Forward (Opinion) - February 3, 2010 - 12:00am

With the turbulence surrounding diplomacy and the Middle East peace process, it is more urgent than ever for civil society to unite around the obvious reality that a conflict-ending solution can only be attained through the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security.

Why the Mistrust Between U.S. and Israel?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - (Opinion) January 13, 2010 - 12:00am

Washington — Like a couple that just can’t get along, even when they agree, Washington and Jerusalem have spent early January locked in squabbles. Beneath the media radar, the America-Israel strategic relationship is flourishing after running into problems at the end of President George W. Bush’s tenure, according to Israel’s Washington ambassador, Michael Oren. Yet, relations between Jerusalem and Washington are still marred with problems of miscommunication fed by mutual suspicion.

U.S.-Israeli Arms Cooperation Quietly Growing
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - December 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Leaders in Washington and Jerusalem have publicly locked horns over the issue of West Bank settlements. And Israeli public opinion has largely viewed America’s new administration as unfriendly. But behind the scenes, strategic security relations between the two countries are flourishing. Israeli officials have been singing the praises of President Obama for his willingness to address their defense concerns and for actions taken by his administration to bolster Israel’s qualitative military edge — an edge eroded, according to Israel, during the final year of the George W. Bush presidency.

America speaks Arabic
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Moshe Elad - (Opinion) November 18, 2009 - 12:00am

US Special Envoy Mitchell’s demand that the Israeli government refrain from building in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood is merely the prelude to a process meant to erode the legitimate status of Israel’s Jerusalem neighborhoods. These neighborhoods (including Gilo, Ramot Alon, French Hill, and Neve Yaakov) were built after the Six-Day War within the jurisdiction of Israel’s capital; now, they are finally being granted American recognition of their traditional Palestinian name: Settlements.

The Obama Presidency and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Brandeis University Crown Center for Middle East Studies
by Shai Feldman, Khalil Shikaki - November 18, 2009 - 12:00am

The first ten months of the Obama administration’s efforts to achieve a breakthrough in Arab-Israeli peacemaking have led to widespread disappointment among Palestinians and to growing anxiety among Israelis. Inevitably, this unsatisfactory interim report card is partly a result of the high expectations created by President Barack Obama himself, during the presidential campaign as well as in his inaugural address and following his inauguration.

Netanyahu: We too can act unilaterally
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinians are determined to build state institutions in preparation for statehood, caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in Ramallah on Sunday. Speaking alongside US officials, he dismissed Israeli concerns as irrelevant. "They're talking about unilateralism, to which we reply - yes, building state institutions is our responsibility and we embrace it," Fayyad said.