February 27th

Israel planning mass expansion of West Bank settlement bloc ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am Despite the state's formal commitment not to expand West Bank settlements, a government agency has been promoting plans over the past two years to construct thousands of housing units east of the Green Line, Haaretz has learned. The plans, which have not yet been approved by the government, were drawn up by the Civil Administration, the government agency responsible for nonmilitary matters in the West Bank. Details of the plans appear in the minutes of the agency's environmental subcommittee, which were obtained by the B'Tselem organization under the Freedom of Information Act. » Read more

Zero tolerance now ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Lara Friedman, Hagit Ofran - (Opinion) February 27, 2009 - 1:00am Media reports that Israel has approved the massive expansion of the West Bank settlement of Efrat represent the first lesson for the Obama administration as to why it must establish a policy of zero tolerance for settlement expansion before it is too late. » Read more

ATFP Board Member Participates in Kennedy Center Festival Press Release - Contact Information: Alison Becker - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am Mr. Farah Munayyer, Board member of the American Task Force on Palestine, and his wife Mrs. Hanan Munayyer, co-founders of the Palestinian Heritage Foundation, participated in Arabesque: Arts from the Arab World, at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. The Festival that celebrates the culture of the Arab world was dedicated on Monday, February 23, 2009 will remain open to the public through March 15, 2009. Read more

Is Obama ready for a Middle East Change? Media Mention of ATFP In - February 20, 2009 - 1:00am On Saturday, the Arab Student Association will host Dr. Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow of the American Task Force for Palestine in an event titled “Is Obama Ready for a Middle East Change?” via video conference from Washington, D.C. The event will be held on Saturday at 6 p.m. in 2520-D University Capitol Centre, in the UI Core Conference Facility on the second floor. » Read more

CHF International Announces New Partnership with the American Charities for Palestine and the Sheikh Mohammad Shami Foundation Media Mention of ATFP In - January 25, 2009 - 1:00am CHF International is pleased to announce that in partnership with the American Charities for Palestine, with funding from the Sheikh Mohammed Shami Foundation, we have commenced a Three Hundred Thousand Dollar ($300,000) development project in the West Bank village of Beit Ur Al-Tahta. ACP, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is a sister organization of ATFP dedicated to help build the education and health sectors in Palestine. » Read more

Obama Empowers Jewish Insurgency Media Mention of ATFP In The Huffington Post - February 21, 2009 - 1:00am The other day I was asked if the existence of Israel Policy Forum "really makes a difference." My interlocutor went on: "I would not expect you to have ended the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That is not something Americans can do. But I would think you and your allies would have cut into the power of the right-wingers by now. But they still seem to own Capitol Hill, almost as if you guys didn't exist." It's a good question, but it is also one that I had no problem answering. » Read more

US Congress hears urgent appeal for aid to Gaza Media Mention of ATFP In The Daily Star - February 14, 2009 - 1:00am US Congress hears urgent appeal for aid to Gaza Daily Star staff Saturday, February 14, 2009 WASHINGTON: While urgent humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is immediately required, the long-term consequences of the recent Gaza war depend on advancements in the peace process and a settlement freeze, Ziad J. Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) told a congressional hearing on Thursday. » Read more

Rescue a two-state solution in Palestine In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Star - February 27, 2009 - 1:00am In the wake of the devastating war in Gaza, the immediate challenge facing the United States, its Arab allies, and the international community, is providing essential aid and reconstruction to the people of Gaza without bolstering Hamas. Hamas launched reckless and provocative rocket attacks against Israel. But Gazans, already suffering under siege, are not Hamas, they are not combatants, and should not be punished. » Read more

Remembering Edward Said - Worth a Thought. And Many more In Print by Ziad Asali - United Press International (UPI) (Blog) - September 26, 2003 - 12:00am A university professor of literature at Columbia University has died. He was witty, elegant and powerful, passionate about his field of study and a man of aristocratic bearing. He loved opera and art and wrote lovely, erudite books. What made him especially important, however, was none of the preceding. Edward W. Said was one of the architects of all reasonable discussion on the question of Palestine and commanded the moral authority to discuss the subject honestly and outside the rhetoric of hatred and violence. He was a brilliant man who sought to improve the world through the » Read more

A Palestinian View: In search of a Palestinian strategy In Print by Ziad Asali - Bitterlemons - April 26, 2004 - 12:00am The foundations of the historic compromise have been shaken in this cruelest month of April. The president of the United States, publicly and clearly, redefined the right of return to mean the return to the yet-to-be-born Palestine. He questioned the "sanctity" of the 1967 borders and sanctioned "reality on the ground" as a determining factor for the future of settlements and borders. » Read more