December 6th

Come Home to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am


When Israeli actions seem arrogant or insulting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is capable of rapid action to repair the damage — provided those offended are American Jews. That is the lesson of the brouhaha over a now-aborted Israeli advertising campaign intended to shame Israeli expatriates in the United States into returning home by suggesting that America is no place for real Jews and that Diaspora life leads to loss of Jewish identity. The Jewish Federations of North America called the ads “outrageous and insulting.”


December 5th

NEWS: Sec. Panetta says Israel must “get to the damn table” and negotiate with the Palestinians. Israeli officials condemn statements attributed to Sec. Clinton critical of recent antidemocratic Israeli legislation. An Israeli entrepreneur opens an online university in the occupied West Bank. After an outcry from Jewish Americans, the Israeli government cancels advertisements warning against life in the United States. Officials from Hamas and Fatah meet to discuss reconciliation. Diplomats say Hamas is quietly scaling back its presence in Syria and Iran is threatening to cut off its funding and weapons. PM Netanyahu calls for a Likud party vote, which could lead to early national elections. Israeli rights groups again say the government is curbing free speech. The US has reportedly asked Palestinians to stop leaking contents of Quartet proposals. PM Fayyad offers a frank analysis of the present situation facing the PA. COMMENTARY: David Ignatius says Panetta was merely saying what most US officials think but rarely say in public, and the Gulf News says he was right. Akiva Eldar says Jewish Americans should use their influence to stop “Israeli incitement.” Ha'aretz interviews historian Rashid Khalidi. Musa Keilani says Israel's diplomatic woes are of its own making. In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, Senior Egyptian journalist Mounir Mahmoud says there is no danger of a cancellation of the peace treaty. Amira Hass says if a New York Times reporter had not been abused by occupation forces, a Palestinian woman's story would never be known.

Politics not ripe for Palestinian statehood bid - Fayyad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Taylor Luck - December 5, 2011 - 1:00am


AMMAN - Global and regional politics are not yet ripe for a Palestinian state, according to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as leadership in Ramallah eyes a less than certain future. The Palestinian premier, a champion of institution-building as a path to statehood, said the current political conditions within Israel, the Palestinian territories and across the world are not favourable to lead to concrete steps towards a Palestinian state.


U.S. warns Palestinians: Stop leaking content of Quartet talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - December 3, 2011 - 1:00am


The U.S. government has asked senior Palestinian officials to refrain from leaking details of talks that took place recently between Middle East Quartet envoys, Israeli representatives and the Palestinian Authority. According to a senior U.S. official, the Quartet agreed with Israel and the Palestinians that the content of the talks would remain confidential. “Quartet members and parties have agreed to preserve confidentiality in their discussions. So frankly, we're somewhat disturbed by the fact that many of these details have appeared in the press,” the official said.


Israel rights group attacks government for curbing freedon of speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - December 5, 2011 - 1:00am


TEL AVIV // Israel's biggest civil rights group yesterday blasted the country for curbing the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for Jews and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. A report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said the country was stepping up action to stifle dissent. It claimed the government has warned political activists not to participate in protests and allowed local authorities to repress demonstrations.


Netanyahu calls for Likud vote in move linked to US outlook
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Reuters - December 5, 2011 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a snap Likud party leadership vote, officials said on Monday, a contest he is expected to win and which could pave the way for an early national election in Israel. Some commentators said Netanyahu was quietly preparing for the possibility that US President Barack Obama, with whom he has had a testy relationship, will win a second term in November, a year before Israel's currently scheduled ballot.


Iran threatening to cut Hamas funds, arms supply if it flees Syria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - December 5, 2011 - 1:00am


Iran had applied intense pressure to Hamas in an effort to persuade it not to leave Damascus, threatening even to cut off funds to the organization if it did so, Palestinian sources have told Haaretz. The Iranian pressure also included an unprecedented ultimatum - namely, an explicit threat to stop supplying Hamas with arms and suspend the training of its military activists.


Diplomats: Hamas quietly scaling back Syria presence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi - December 5, 2011 - 1:00am


GAZA CITY (Reuters) -- Dozens of Hamas operatives have quietly returned to Gaza from Damascus as the ruling party in the coastal strip scales back its presence in Syria and gauges the uncertain future of President Bashar Assad, diplomats said on Sunday. Hamas leaders deny they plan to quit the Syrian capital, where the group keeps its main headquarters outside the Gaza Strip. But diplomats and regional sources said the Hamas delegation in Damascus, which once numbered hundreds of Palestinian officials and their relatives, had shrunk to a few dozen.


Fatah, Hamas discuss reconciliation in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 5, 2011 - 1:00am


GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas and Fatah leaders met in the Gaza Strip on Sunday to discuss the results of last week's summit between party chiefs, officials said. Describing the Gaza meeting of top officials from the rival movements as "significant," Fatah national relations commissioner Diab al-Loh said both Hamas and Fatah reaffirmed their commitment to the reconciliation deal. Al-Loh told Ma'an the parties discussed mechanisms to implement agreements between Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal in Cairo.


After American Jewish Outcry, Israel Ends Ad Campaign Aimed at Expatriates
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - December 2, 2011 - 1:00am


JERUSALEM — One video advertisement shows a Jewish elderly couple distraught that their Israeli granddaughter in the United States thinks Hanukkah is Christmas. Another shows a clueless American boyfriend who does not get why his Israeli expatriate girlfriend is saddened on Israel’s memorial day. A third shows a toddler calling “Daddy! Daddy!” to his napping Israeli expatriate father, who finally awakens when the child switches to Hebrew: “Abba!”



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