November 8th

Encountering Peace: Let’s not talk?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am

Shortly before Binyamin Netanyahu began his first term of office as prime minister in 1996, the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed to create an environmental experts’ committee to undertake the planning and implementation of much needed cooperation on environmental issues. Committee members from both sides were dedicated scientists and environmentalists and were anxious to advance projects that would protect the land, clean up polluted wadis, develop sewage treatment plants and much more.

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Israel is trying to turn Abbas into Arafat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

The following story could provide material for a political comedy: About two weeks ago, a delegation from the One Voice peace organization paid a visit to the offices of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Among the guests was Jason Alexander, known to "Seinfeld" devotees as the neurotic George Costanza. They told Ayalon about the organization's extensive activity to prepare young Israeli and Palestinian leaderships who will spread the gospel of peace and reconciliation.

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Israel is trying to turn Abbas into Arafat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

The following story could provide material for a political comedy: About two weeks ago, a delegation from the One Voice peace organization paid a visit to the offices of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Among the guests was Jason Alexander, known to "Seinfeld" devotees as the neurotic George Costanza. They told Ayalon about the organization's extensive activity to prepare young Israeli and Palestinian leaderships who will spread the gospel of peace and reconciliation.

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Shalit saga was a defeat for Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

In those terrible days 10 years ago, when Palestinian terror was striking at Israeli civilians almost daily in the streets of the cities of Israel, there were those who argued that terror could not be defeated by military means, while some said that it could not be defeated by military means alone and others argued that terror can and should be defeated solely by military means.

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Fighting to make Israel into a military theocracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yagil Levy - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Is there a connection between the warning of the outgoing Judea and Samaria Division commander, Brig. Gen. Nitzan Alon - who said a "radical minority, marginal in quantity but not in influence, is liable to bring about extensive escalation through what are called 'price tag' acts but reach the level of terrorism" - and the separation of women at the army's Simhat Torah celebrations?

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Release Marwan Barghouti
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Avinoam Bar-Yosef - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently called on Israel to release more Palestinian prisoners in advance of any possible negotiations, he was setting a condition that he probably knew Israel would balk at. One of the prisoners on his list, Ahmed Saadat, is accused of killing an Israeli minister. More significantly, another one, if released, would most likely soon take Abbas’s place.

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The Last Jew in Zagare
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am

The last Jew in Zagare, a small Lithuanian town renowned for its cherries, died in September. His name was Aizikas Mendelsonai, born in 1922. He was not buried in either of the two Jewish cemeteries, with their lurching gravestones, faded inscriptions and advancing lichen. Nobody is any more, not even Jews.

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November 7th

NEWS:The US renews aid to the PA. Fatah officials say Israel withholding Palestinian tax revenue is “disastrous” for the region. Young Palestinian activists in Gaza are disillusioned with Hamas and other parties. A new study links Palestinian suicide bombing with personal economic distress. After the recent cyber attack on Palestinian cable-based systems, hackers bring down Israeli military websites. The Knesset has a heated debate on the “Jewish national homeland” bill. Reports suggest Pres. Abbas is considering new elections, but would not run. The Al-Saraya compound in Gaza has become a holiday mall. The BBC looks at the political impact of social change in Israel. Israel's UN ambassador says he mistakenly attended a lunch for an extremist French party. Israel reportedly will not promise to clear any attack on Iran in advance with the United States. COMMENTARY: Akiva Eldar says Pres. Obama must stop PM Netanyahu and DM Barak from attacking Iran, and Uri Bar-Yosef agrees the two are acting recklessly. Oudeh Basharat says Israel is still struggling to become a normal country. Chemi Shalev says the New Israel Fund has been unfairly maligned. Adel Safty says Israel and the Palestinians need a new paradigm for peace. Musa Keilani says Abbas should clarify what former Sec. Rice says about his negotiations with then-PM Olmert. Uri Avnery says Israel is not going to attack Iran. Graham Usher says US sanctions on UNESCO hurt itself more than the UN agency or the Palestinians. Jonathan Freedland says the current Israel is not the one he loves. David Frum says the Jerusalem passport lawsuit is the Israeli answer to Palestinian diplomatic pressure. Gershom Gorenberg asks if Israel planned to expel the Palestinians in 1948.

Olmert’s offer - ‘too good to be true’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) November 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said last week that prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace are far worse today than when she left office.

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The Mystery of 1948
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate
by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am

The most basic question about Israeli democracy has existed from before its birth: What would be the status of Arabs in a Jewish state? The answer is riddled with contradictions.

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