June 22nd

Outrage is not a Strategy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) June 21, 2009 - 12:00am

A recent exchange with several people for whom I have respect and affection regarding the question of the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian national strategy and interest raises a crucial point that needs much more serious examination in the conversation among Arab-Americans and their supporters regarding the role of outrage in political life. It boils down to this: being upset is not a strategy, and outrage, however moral, is not a political program.

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Abbas, get off your high horse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

The "anger" of Mahmoud Abbas directed at Benjamin Netanyahu is tantamount to a child who threatens his parents that unless they buy him an ice cream, he won't go with them to the circus.

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Opinion: Fictions on the Ground
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Tony Judt - (Opinion) June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

I am old enough to remember when Israeli kibbutzim looked like settlements (“a small village or collection of houses” or “the act of peopling or colonizing a new country,” Oxford English Dictionary). I am old enough to remember when Israeli kibbutzim looked like settlements (“a small village or collection of houses” or “the act of peopling or colonizing a new country,” Oxford English Dictionary).

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Top 5 Bogus Excuses for Opposing a Settlement Freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Americans For Peace Now
June 19, 2009 - 12:00am

A settlement freeze is good for Israel and good for peace. Settlements are bad for Israel. They constitute a burden to Israel's security services. They create points of friction between Israelis and Palestinians. They drain Israel's financial resources. They create a false impression that Israelis are not interested in a two-state solution.

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The Obama World Order
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In New York Magazine - June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

It’s a long-held piece of Washington conventional wisdom—and, unlike most long-held pieces of Washington conventional wisdom, this one actually happens to be true!—that Democratic presidents tend to be more interested in domestic policy, while Republicans like making foreign policy.

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The Obama World Order
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from New York Magazine
by Michael Tomasky - (Editorial) June 19, 2009 - 12:00am

It’s a long-held piece of Washington conventional wisdom—and, unlike most long-held pieces of Washington conventional wisdom, this one actually happens to be true!—that Democratic presidents tend to be more interested in domestic policy, while Republicans like making foreign policy.

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Tussle with Israel puts Obama credibility on the line, observers say
Media Mention of ATFP In The Los Angeles Times - June 22, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama's public quarrel with Israel over the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank is developing into a test of the U.S. leader's international credibility, say foreign diplomats and other observers. Obama and his senior aides have insisted for weeks that the Jewish state completely halt the expansion of its settlements. But now, with U.S. and Israeli officials apparently close to an agreement on the issue, it is widely expected in Israel and the Arab world that the administration will give ground and support at least some growth in the 120 communities.

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Tussle with Israel puts Obama credibility on the line, observers say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Richard Boudreaux, Paul Richter - June 20, 2009 - 12:00am

President Obama's public quarrel with Israel over the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank is developing into a test of the U.S. leader's international credibility, say foreign diplomats and other observers. Obama and his senior aides have insisted for weeks that the Jewish state completely halt the expansion of its settlements. But now, with U.S. and Israeli officials apparently close to an agreement on the issue, it is widely expected in Israel and the Arab world that the administration will give ground and support at least some growth in the 120 communities.

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June 19th

The Wall Street Journal features an op-ed on the peace process by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (1). Controversy continues over planned Israeli expansion in the E1 area of East Jerusalem (3). Saree Makdisi questions how language is manipulated in order to absolve Israel from its responsibilities (5).With the Gaza blockade on construction materials some Gaza residents are building homes out of mud (6). A recent poll finds that an increasing percentage of Israelis view President Obama as ‘pro-Palestinian’ (7). Quartet envoy Tony Blair expresses his optimism that, with cooperation from all sides, a peace deal could be reached ‘within the year’ (9). The Media Line interviews Congressman Keith Ellison (11).

The language that absolves Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Saree Makdisi - June 19, 2009 - 12:00am

On Sunday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech that -- by categorically ruling out the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state -- ought to have been seen as a mortal blow to the quest for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On Monday morning, however, newspaper headlines across the United States announced that Netanyahu had endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state, and the White House welcomed the speech as "an important step forward."

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