May 27th

David Makovsky and Ghaith al-Omari debate the Israel-Palestine conflict and discuss creating mutual respect and dialogue Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In Daily Bruin - May 27, 2011 - 12:00am Political analysts David Makovsky and Ghaith al-Omari had a simple message when they spoke to a room of about 172 people about the Israel-Palestine conflict. “If Jews and Arabs can talk to each other in the (Middle) East, why can’t they talk to each other in the Midwest?” Makovsky said during their debate Wednesday night. The event, organized by the Olive Tree Initiative in coordination with the Campus Events Commission, aimed to foster cooperation between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine student groups. » Read more

Washington Watch: Paging Dale Carnegie ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by D. Bloomfield - (Opinion) May 25, 2011 - 12:00am US-Israel strategic relations may be stronger than ever, but politically the alliance took an unnecessary body blow over the past week as the prime minister of Israel sat in the Oval Office on live TV lecturing the US president in a tone Atlantic blogger Jeffrey Goldberg said “suggested he was speaking to an ignoramus.” » Read more

Poll: 12% of Israeli Jews consider Obama to be pro-Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gil Hoffman - May 27, 2011 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama’s attempt to portray himself as pro-Israel in a high-profile speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Sunday did not succeed, according to a Smith Research poll sponsored by The Jerusalem Post. The speech was intended to correct impressions that he was hostile toward Israel, which may have been reinforced by a landmark address about the Middle East that he delivered at the State Department last Thursday, and by a tense press conference at the White House on Friday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. » Read more

Above the Fray: PM's stance jeopardized Israel's security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Alon Ben-meir - (Opinion) May 27, 2011 - 12:00am The supposed controversy over President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East, manufactured by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and enabled by the media, has been disgraceful and dishonest. Obama said nothing new about borders, just the facts – no border will ever be acceptable to the Palestinians that does not carve out a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, the two territories carved out of the “1967 lines.” And no border will ever be acceptable to Israel that does not include the major settlement blocs. » Read more

Fragile stability of aid-dependent Palestinian economy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Jon Donnison - May 27, 2011 - 12:00am "I've done nothing wrong," pleads the young offender, in a suspiciously hammed up fashion, as he is handcuffed and patted down. As he is bundled into the back of a police car, the would-be criminal flashes me a wink and a toothy smile. This is a training exercise. "I used to be an actor," he laughs, "before I joined the police." These are Palestinian police receiving training by officers from the European Union. The project was originally set up five years ago by the British government and has since been taken over by the EU. » Read more

In helping Palestinians, IDF paramedics defy stereotypes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Linda Gradstein - May 26, 2011 - 12:00am Yana Kisluk tosses her long ponytail over one shoulder and adjusts her M-16 over the other. The pretty 21-year-old, who wears diamond stud earrings and perfect eye makeup, looks like any other young Israeli doing her compulsory military service. As a paramedic in the Israel Defense Forces, however, Kisluk belongs to a small group of Israeli soldiers whose job is to provide care for Palestinians rather than simply defend against them. » Read more

Israel's PM and his US supporters engage in mutual back-slapping ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Omar Karmi - May 27, 2011 - 12:00am As the first of what would be five protesters heckling the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at a banquet in Washington on Monday night was summarily ejected from the Walter E Washington Convention Centre into a balmy night, the chant erupted in a deep baritone, echoing through the massive hall. "Bibi, Bibi, Bibi", the crowd bayed. » Read more

US wilts under Israel pressure ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) May 27, 2011 - 12:00am US President Barack Obama's failure to stand up to Israel's land-hungry Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has bitterly disappointed opinion in the Arab and Muslim world. It has confirmed the belief that Washington has sold out to Israeli interests. Heralded as an attempt to extend a hand of friendship to the democratic wave in the Arab world, Obama's speech on May 19 was met in the region with indifference or derision. The Arab-Israeli peace process is now thought to be all but dead. » Read more

Obama’s half step ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) May 27, 2011 - 12:00am Why is Benjamin Netanyahu, the right-wing Israeli prime minister, so ungracious to the United Nations, which helped create the state of Israel, and to Barack Obama, the American president who is eager to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and who declared that time may not be on the side of Israel, especially when the Arab Spring is still sweeping the Middle East? » Read more

Netanyahu and the US congressional yo-yos ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) May 27, 2011 - 12:00am It was all rather disgusting. There they were, the members of the highest legislative bodies of the world's only superpower, flying up and down like so many yo-yos, applauding wildly, every few minutes or seconds, the most outrageous lies and distortions of Benjamin Netanyahu. » Read more