October 5th

GOP candidates show more loyalty to a foreign country (Israel) than their own ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Walter Rodgers - October 4, 2011 - 12:00am It is disconcerting to see the foreign-policy traps that Republican presidential candidates set for themselves, especially when it comes to Israel and the Middle East. They do a disservice to the United States by trying to bind a sitting American president to the policies of a foreign government, specifically to the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Abbas on charm offensive to push UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency October 5, 2011 - 12:00am RAMALLAH (AFP) -- President Mahmoud Abbas flew to Europe on Tuesday to kick off a week-long tour which will also take him to Latin America to shore up support for his UN membership bid. The UN membership request, which Abbas formally presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 23, is being studied by the 15-member Security Council, which is expected to vote on it in the coming weeks. The move is strongly opposed by both Israel and the United States, which say a Palestinian state can only emerge through bilateral negotiations. » Read more

Israel's tent protests transition to next stage: political fight ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - October 4, 2011 - 12:00am Some two months after sparking mass demonstrations across Israel, the social protest movement that rattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces an uncertain future as it transitions from the street to the political realm. The symbol of the protest movement, the tent encampment on Tel Aviv Rothschild Boulevard, was dismantled yesterday by police. Hours later, Mr. Netanyahu tried but failed to convince cabinet ministers to support a package of economic reforms inspired by the protestors. » Read more

October 4th

Why did PM greenlight Gilo housing project? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am A decision by the Interior Ministry in March 2010 during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden to issue a tender for the construction of a new housing project in Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, which is over the Green Line, sparked a mini-crisis with the US and brought ties between the two countries to their lowest point in years. » Read more

Are Republican politicians good for Jews? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from My Journal Courier by Steve Hochstadt - (Opinion) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am Some people think Jews are supposed to be smart. A Mitt Romney fundraiser said in August that some Jews are so dumb they think Michele Bachmann, the fundamentalist Christian Republican raised in Iowa, is “the Jewish candidate.” He complained: “It’s a real problem. We’re working very hard in the Jewish community because of Obama’s Israel problem. This was surprising.” So surprising that in one day the story spread across the world, from the New York Post to Fox News to the London Daily Mail to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. » Read more

The American Veto is also an Iranian One ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Zuheir Kseibati - (Opinion) October 3, 2011 - 12:00am President Mahmoud Abbas, ever since he put forward the request for membership of the state of Palestine at the United Nations, is facing not only the American veto prepared in advance, as a first look at the developments of “the day after” indicates a trilateral punishment: » Read more

Opposing Statehood Bid, Supporting a New Path to Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Logan Bayroff - (Opinion) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am At college campuses across the country this fall, students are lining up on one side or the other of the most current fault line in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: To support the Palestinian statehood bid, or not? » Read more

Jewish terrorism gaining steam ATFP World Press Roundup Article from by Yaakov Katz - (Analysis) October 4, 2011 - 12:00am The attack against the mosque in the Galilee on Sunday is a clear escalation – and if proven to have been carried out by right-wing extremists – it will be just the latest sign that Jewish terrorism is gaining steam. The target chosen raises serious questions about the motivations of the alleged perpetrators. While attacks on mosques in the West Bank have sadly become something of the norm in recent years, an attack on a mosque in an Israeli town is quite rare, particularly in a Beduin village like Tuba Zanghariya, whose residents serve in the IDF. » Read more

‘Price Tag’ Vandals Mark Up Violence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - October 4, 2011 - 12:00am The escalation in “price tag” attacks on Arab targets and even on the property of the Israeli establishment is a sign of a sense of growing alienation among the Jewish extremist fringe, analysts say. The latest attack suspected of being carried out by Jewish extremist was the torching Monday of a mosque in a Bedouin village in northern Israel. It was the first time vigilantes are believed to have struck inside Israel’s pre-1967 borders rather than in the West Bank. » Read more

Encountering Peace: Yes, but! ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) October 3, 2011 - 12:00am Ah, the status quo, it’s so good, let it only last. September is gone. The UN is behind us. No tsunami, no international sanctions. In fact, Israel came out pretty good from the whole thing. » Read more