Muslims Will Judge Obama by Actions More Than Words ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Helene Cooper - (Analysis) June 4, 2009 - 12:00am It is too soon to tell whether President Obama’s 55-minute speech to the Muslim world from Cairo will be the balm to America’s broken relationship with Islam that White House officials hope. Some early signs are promising — and not just that several times someone in Mr. Obama’s audience in the domed hall yelled out, “I love you!” » Read more

Israelis Say Bush Agreed to West Bank Growth ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - June 3, 2009 - 12:00am Senior Israeli officials accused President Obama on Wednesday of failing to acknowledge what they called clear understandings with the Bush administration that allowed Israel to build West Bank settlement housing within certain guidelines while still publicly claiming to honor a settlement “freeze.” » Read more

Pollsters Find Israeli Public Less Supportive Of Settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - June 3, 2009 - 12:00am In previous decades, an American president who pressured Israel to freeze settlement growth, as President Obama has done, would have riled large sections of Israel’s Jewish population. But public sympathy for settlers and the settlements is currently at an all-time low, adding a new dimension to the sometimes tense relationship between Washington and Jerusalem. » Read more

Baker’s Ghost in Cairo ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Editorial) June 3, 2009 - 12:00am I hope President Obama has been reading James Baker in preparation for his speech Thursday to the Muslim world. It was in the time of the former secretary of state, two decades ago, that the United States last had a balanced approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here’s what Baker told the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee — the pro-Israel lobby — on May 22, 1989: “For Israel, now is the time to lay aside, once and for all, the unrealistic vision of a Greater Israel.” » Read more

Rabbi Aviner: Don't Bow Down to Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Rabbi Levi Brackman, Rivkah Lubitch, Kobi Nahshoni - June 4, 2009 - 12:00am While Washington and Jerusalem seem to be on a collision course in recent days over the illegal construction of outposts in the West Bank, there are those who remain unfazed by the American pressure. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, a prominent Religious Zionism leader, called on Israel on Wednesday to conduct "tough negotiations" with the US on the issue, and added that "yielding to pressure only breeds more pressure." Protest Rightists to circulate doctored photos of kaffiyah-clad Obama / Efrat Weiss » Read more

Eli Yishai vows to help expand settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - June 3, 2009 - 12:00am On the eve of US President Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Interior Minister Eli Yishai announced Wednesday that he will respond to Obama's outreach to the Arabs by expanding West Bank settlements. In a meeting with leaders of Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria at his Jerusalem office, the Shas chairman said he invited them while Obama was in the region, because the US president's speech reinforced the need to consolidate Israeli society. » Read more

Hamas dismisses commanders on Iran order ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - June 4, 2009 - 12:00am Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal recently relieved two brigade commanders in the Gaza Strip on Iranian recommendations, Palestinian sources said Wednesday. The two officers, Bassam Issa and Imat Aakel, were removed from their positions following the recommendation of Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials who participated in the investigation of the perceived Hamas military failure during Operation Cast Lead. » Read more

Tensions in J'lem ahead of Obama's speech ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - June 3, 2009 - 12:00am Jerusalem will be listening intently along with the rest of the world to US President Barack Obama's speech Thursday in Cairo, hoping his outreach to the Muslim world does not come at Israel's expense. "Like everyone else we will be following the speech very closely," one senior official said Wednesday. While officials in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office did not see a draft of the speech, nor were they asked for their input, they were briefed on the overall content, the official said. » Read more

'We're launching a campaign against anti-Semitic Obama' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Raphael Ahren - June 4, 2009 - 12:00am Some 130 protesters gathered in front of the American Consulate in Jerusalem Wednesday afternoon to rally against U.S. President Barack Obama, who had just launched his Middle East tour, during which he is expected to reach out in friendship to the Muslim world. As more than a dozen local and international journalists looked on, the protesters chanted "No, You Can't" and waved posters saying "20 new 'settlements' by 2010 - Yes We Can!" » Read more

How Not To Protect the Jewish State ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Eric Yoffie - (Opinion) June 3, 2009 - 12:00am During his recent visit to the United States, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his demand that Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state should be a precondition for talks aimed at achieving a peace settlement. While such a request might seem reasonable — after all, Israel is a Jewish state — it is actually a serious mistake. » Read more