January 13th

The Future of Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) January 11, 2011 - 1:00am

My in-box is filled with e-mails and press releases asserting that East Jerusalem, including and especially the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, and including and especially the site on which the Shepherd Hotel stood until this past weekend, when it was bulldozed to make way for apartments for Jewish Israelis, is holy Jewish territory, part of the holiest city in Judaism, and therefore a place where Jews have a perfect right to build and live.

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US must rejoin international community by recognizing the state of Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by John V. Whitbeck - (Opinion) January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

On Jan. 7, Chile extended diplomatic recognition to the state of Palestine as a free, independent, and sovereign state. This comes soon after the recent recognitions by Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador. (In each of those cases, the state of Palestine was recognized explicitly within the full pre-1967 borders, encompassing all of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.) Chile’s recognition brought to 109 the number of UN member states recognizing the state of Palestine, whose independence was proclaimed on Nov. 15, 1988.

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East Jerusalem housing project will stay Jewish-only
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Maher Abukhater - January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

Bondholders of a troubled Israeli real estate company that is building Jewish housing in Arab-dominated East Jerusalem have rejected an offer from a Palestinian American entrepreneur to buy the firm, officials said Wednesday. Bashar Masri, a wealthy West Bank-born businessman, said in a telephone interview that he was disappointed at the decision of bondholders to instead accept a last-minute bid from an Israeli tycoon.

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January 12th

An “Islamic Jihad”operative is killed in new Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Jackson Diehl looks at why more Palestinian Jerusalemites are opting for Israeli citizenship. Alastair Crooke says the “demise” of the peace process may be a good thing. Israel demolishes an unauthorized settlement. A senior Israeli rabbi says Jewish women should never become pregnant by non-Jewish men. Sec. Clinton says women can be a force for Middle East peace. Occupation forces destroy a Palestinian school in Hebron. The Jordanian PM warns of the dangers of no peace agreement. The Israeli military warns that Tel Aviv will be a target in another war. Israel blacklists 163 charities. Arab villagers struggle to be accepted as Israelis. Eitan Haber says Israel has gone mad. Chilean Jewish leaders are not opposed to recognition of Palestine. A leader of nonviolent Palestinian protests has his jail term extended. British authorities are investigating a Palestinian ad that does not seem to recognize Israel. Palestinian and Jewish business interests vie for control of a real estate company. Pro-Palestinian activists in the US are being subpoenaed. Mainstream Jewish American groups are defending Israel by also critiquing it. The National says Israel never apologizes and tries to confuse issues. Joschka Fischer says the two-state solution must be salvaged. George Hishmeh says a settlement freeze is essential for negotiations.

Colony freeze a must for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

Hillary Rodham Clinton was quick to rebuke Israel for its demolition of part of the historic Shepherd Hotel in occupied Arab East Jerusalem where Jewish colonists are hoping to build 20 housing units.

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Exiting the Mideast labyrinth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Joschka Fischer - January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

Two years have passed since Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. Much to his credit - and in contrast to his immediate predecessor - Obama tried, from his first day in office, to work towards a resolution of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

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Israel's public relations policy: never apologise, always confuse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jesse Rosenfeld - (Opinion) January 12, 2011 - 1:00am

Never believe the Israeli army killed an unarmed civilian until it's officially denied. This paraphrasing of Mark Twain's "never believe anything until it has officially been denied," should become a mantra for journalists operating in the Middle East. It is a point reinforced recently by the death of a West Bank Palestinian resident, Jawaher abu Rahmah, who died from tear gas exposure during the recent demonstration against Israel's separation wall and land annexation in the village of Bil'in.

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Toward defending Israel, mainstream U.S. Jewish groups critique it
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - January 11, 2011 - 1:00am

Enmeshed in the battle against Israel’s delegitimization, mainstream American Jewish organizations are embracing a strategy of acknowledging what’s wrong about Israel as a way of getting across what’s right about the nation.

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Pro-Palestinian Activists Slapped With Subpoenas, Sparking Free Speech Concerns
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Josh Nathan-Kazis - January 11, 2011 - 1:00am

If an American communist website publishes a statement issued by a Palestinian terrorist group, has the communist website committed a crime?

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Arab bid for housing at risk from Jewish rivals
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Catrina Stewart - January 11, 2011 - 1:00am

A Palestinian businessman bidding to buy a failing Jewish housing estate in East Jerusalem is battling to fend off counter-bids from national religious groups determined to keep the project in Israeli hands. Bashar al-Masri was "outed" by an Israeli newspaper last month as the preferred bidder to buy the debt of troubled Digal real estate. It runs the flagship Nof Zion estate in the heart of an Arab area.

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American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017