May 7th

Khalid Mishal and Mama America
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - (Opinion) May 6, 2009 - 12:00am

In an interview with the New York Times that lasted a total of 5 hours and was conducted over a two-day period, Hamas chief Khalid Mishal said "In order to understand Hamas you must listen to its point of view directly, Hamas is pleased whenever people want to hear directly from its leadership, rather than hearing about the movement from others" What is the meaning of these words?

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Merkel: No 2-state solution substitute
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
May 6, 2009 - 12:00am

There is no an alternative to a two-state peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday. Merkel, speaking a day before Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman visits Berlin, also echoed comments made recently by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and White House Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel, saying that progress in the stalled Middle East peace process would make it easier to resolve the long-running standoff over Iran's nuclear program. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has yet to formally commit to a two-state solution.

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Blair Says Resolving Mideast Conflict Critical to Curbing Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Gwen Ackerman, Jonathan Ferziger - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Middle East envoy Tony Blair said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would remove a toxic barrier between the West and Islamic nations and help deal with the nuclear threat from Iran. Peace in the region would “hugely help in resolving this bigger problem” and remove an “issue which puts such a poison into the relationship between the West, Israel, if you like, and the world of Islam,” the former British prime minister said yesterday in an interview in Jerusalem.

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UN laments choking of Bethlehem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 7, 2009 - 12:00am

The UN has accused Israel of restricting development of the Bethlehem region in the West Bank. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said just 13% of land around Bethlehem was open for use by the Palestinian population. It said the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ was hemmed in by Israeli settlements and military zones as well as Israel's West Bank barrier. An Israeli foreign ministry official said the issue was beyond Ocha's remit.

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Arabs work for unified approach
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 7, 2009 - 12:00am

Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo to formulate a united approach on the Middle East peace process. The meeting is the first since the election of the right-wing Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It comes ahead of a flurry of diplomatic activity in the coming weeks, focussing on the Middle East. The ministers are also to discuss a report on alleged crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza strip last January. The Arab foreign ministers will be discussing how to restart "serious and direct negotiations" between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

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AIPAC Confronts A New Reality as Obama’s Agenda Becomes Clear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am

Washington — “You’re not going to like my saying this,” Vice President Joe Biden told 6,000 delegates from the podium of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference — a spot that politicians usually vie over vigorously for the privilege of telling the crowd what they want to hear.

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Federal Government May Revise Voluntary Guidelines for Giving Overseas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy
by Ian Wilhelm - May 6, 2009 - 12:00am

The U.S. Treasury Department wants to work with grant makers to revise its voluntary guidelines that seek to prevent charitable dollars from inadvertently flowing to terrorists, a department official said at the Council on Foundations meeting. Michael Rosen, a policy adviser in the department’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, said the office wants to work with foundations “to better refine the guidance.”

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The West Bank Archipelago
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Robert Mackey - (Blog) May 7, 2009 - 12:00am

This week, leading Israeli, Palestinian and American officials have agreed that the creation of a Palestinian state on territory in the West Bank and Gaza is essential to peace in the Middle East. But spend any time looking at a map of the West Bank as it is today, or with any of the many different proposals for how that map might be redrawn to accommodate the aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians, and it becomes clear why any sensible mapmaker might choose to steer well clear of the challenge of drawing up that state.

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May 6th

Partnering for peace Zionist, Arab groups share interns for summer
Media Mention of Alison Becker In Washington Jewish Week - August 20, 2008 - 12:00am

Every June, countless young people descend on Washington, D.C., and immerse themselves in the traditional internship experience: attending think tank briefings, conducting research at the office and, of course, networking at happy hours. This summer, Ben Schildkraut, Dana Montalto and Dana Pozza took part in this ritual, though it differed in some respects from the average internship program: They spent their time working to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and they did it on behalf of organizations on "each side" of the conflict.

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President Barack Obama meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Washington (1). Vice-President Joe Biden addresses the AIPAC conference, urging Israel to work towards the creation of a Palestinian state and calling for a freeze on settlement activity (2) (7) (15). The United Nations says it will seek reparations from Israel for damages to their facilities caused by attacks during the Gaza war (4) (10). Quartet Mideast Envoy Tony Blair announces that a new plan for Mideast peace will be unveiled within six weeks (6), while revisions may also be made to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative (12). Concern mounts over the potential demolition of Palestinian homes in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem (14).

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