May 10th

For Israel’s Arabs, sense of disenfranchisement as Israel marks 63rd birthday ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Dina Kraft - May 8, 2011 - 12:00am In an elegant limestone building in a Jerusalem neighborhood that before 1948 was home to the city’s Palestinian elite, a group of Jewish and Arab Israeli academics recently tried to untangle one of Israel’s most complex and charged questions: the status of its Arab minority. » Read more

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s leftist daughter, Adina Bar Shalom, talks about meeting Mahmoud Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Noam Sheizaf - May 9, 2011 - 12:00am The delegation of Israelis who traveled last week to the West Bank headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, the Mukata in Ramallah, consisted mostly of the usual suspects. There were a few newcomers, such as Israeli tycoon Idan Ofer, but for the most part they were Israeli former officials, academics and activists who often talk about the need to advance the peace process and move toward a two-state solution. » Read more

Tony Kushner to receive CUNY honorary degree after all ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) May 10, 2011 - 12:00am Trustees of the City University of New York approved an honorary degree for playwright Tony Kushner, reversing an earlier decision. The executive committee of the CUNY board of trustees voted Monday night to award Kushner an honorary doctorate during commencement ceremonies next month. The committee can reverse decisions of the full board. CUNY's board on May 2 had struck the playwright's name from a list of those scheduled to receive honorary degrees at CUNY's John Jay College of Criminal Justice after a university trustee, Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, attacked Kushner as anti-Israel. » Read more

UN chief presses Israel to release Palestinian funds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - May 8, 2011 - 12:00am Israel is under pressure to release tax revenues belonging to the Palestinian Authority (PA) which it has blocked in response to the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and an umbrella group of countries that make donations to the PA have urged the Israeli government to hand over a sum of around 300m shekels (£53.1m). The income is used to pay the salaries of PA employees and to provide services. » Read more

Budrus: A West Bank village's emblematic struggle for its land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - (Blog) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am I'm finally back in Jerusalem after almost two months away, much of it in Tripoli, which was weird and fascinating. But it's great to be back, and I intend to resume regular blogposts from this week, getting out and seeing what's happening on the ground in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Today sees the DVD release of Budrus, a documentary film about a Palestinian village's struggle against the route of Israel's separation barrier. Budrus has deservedly won many awards and if you didn't get a chance to see it at the cinema, now's your chance to catch up. » Read more

Independence Day and the ‘Nakba Law’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Issa Boursheh - (Opinion) May 8, 2011 - 12:00am ‘We appeal – in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months – to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the state on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.” This is what the founders of the State of Israel guaranteed to the family of nations and its own people. Full and equal citizenship; and this is what I, as a Palestinian-Israeli, am anticipating, with fairly low expectations. » Read more

Arab League chief: Hamas not a terror group ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 10, 2011 - 12:00am Arab League Secretary-General and one of Egypt's leading presidential candidates Amr Moussa does not believe Hamas is a terrorist organization. In an interview with the Washington Post, Moussa said: "The view that Hamas is a terrorist organization is a view that pertains to a minority of countries, not a majority. Being a terrorist is not a stigma forever." » Read more

Obama sends Israel Independence Day greetings ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yitzhak Benhorin - May 10, 2011 - 12:00am United States President Barack Obama sent his greetings Tuesday to the people of Israel as they celebrate their 63rd Independence Day. Obama congratulated the State of Israel on its "remarkable achievements over the past six decades." "Our two nations share a unique and unbreakable bond of friendship that is anchored in common interests and shared values, and the United States’ unwavering commitment to Israel’s security," he reaffirmed the American support of Israel. » Read more

Israel is a country evading reality ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) May 9, 2011 - 12:00am On the eve of the 63rd anniversary of its independence, more than ever Israel ostensibly appears like the "villa in the jungle" that Defense Minister Ehud Barak referred to. It enjoys stable governance, strong democracy, economic power and relative quiet on the security front. » Read more

U.S.: Israel's decision to withhold PA funds 'premature' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - May 9, 2011 - 12:00am The United States slammed Monday Israel’s decision to withhold Palestinian Authority funds saying "any decision following the Hamas-Fatah agreement is premature.” U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner admitted that the Israelis “have their concerns,” but stressed that that the U.S. government's position is that “we believe that we need to wait and see. We believe it's premature to make any decisions. What's important now is that the Palestinians ensure implementation in a way that advances the prospects of peace." » Read more