February 3rd, 2012

A foul smell is rising from Hebron, and it’s here to stay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

What did you learn in school today, dear little child of ours? Well, dear parents, I learned a lot, and you should learn, too. This tour was a real eye-opener. Someone should be ashamed of all the lies we've been fed. And we're considered a good school, the Hebrew University high school, better known as Leyada. So, yada yada, just imagine what's happening in other schools, where they don't know anything this country from a hole in the ground.

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Viral photo of Abusive Israeli Soldier Called a Fake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- A controversial photograph that has been circulating on the Web in recent weeks is challenging such pre-Internet truisms as "seeing is believing" or "sharing is everything." About six months ago, @madlamin tweeted a picture with a message in French encouraging users to spread it around the world in 48 hours. The photograph of a soldier pointing a rifle at a little girl on the ground with his boot on her was marked with a #Syria hashtag, suggesting to users it was related to the bloody riots that have been occurring in that country in recent months.

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Politicians can fight all day, Netanyahu is here to stay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

If we keep using letters in every sex scandal or quasi-scandal, we run the risk of using up the alphabet. Did N. harass R.? And what was P.'s mobile phone doing near R.'s skirt? And suppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office is being run scandalously, and the bureau chief, with everything on his plate, has to update Sara about what's happening in our little world and our big world. So what?

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Ban Says ‘Time Running’ for Israel, Palestinian Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 3, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said Thursday Israel and the Palestinians were running out of time to solve their conflict and ought to give "highest priority" to resuming stalled peace talks. Ban, wrapping up a two-day visit to the region, said he had pushed for faster progress in separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Protesters in Gaza Throw Shoes and Sticks at U.N. Chief
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Fares Akram - February 2, 2012 - 1:00am

GAZA — A convoy carrying Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations was pelted with shoes and sticks by Palestinian protesters when it entered the Gaza Strip from Israel on Thursday, witnesses said. About 100 men and women who said their family members were being held in Israeli prisons had arrived in buses near a checkpoint in Gaza, a few hundred yards from the Erez crossing, blocking traffic and complaining that Mr. Ban, on his third visit to Gaza, had no plans to meet with them.

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February 2nd

NEWS: A new poll finds a majority of Palestinian youth in favor of a two-state solution. UNSG Ban says that a Palestinian state is long overdue. Israelis and Palestinians bitterly dispute the propriety of a TV show that included interviews with family members of convicted murderers. Israel's Supreme Court again orders the evacuation of the largest “unauthorized” settlement outpost. Analysts speculate that Hamas' policy shifts are designed to gain ascendancy. Palestinian security services detain two journalists on suspicion of mocking the leadership. Germany upgrades Palestine's diplomatic status. Israel may renege on designating 70 settlements as “national priority” areas. Israel asks the US to prompt the Palestinians into continuing low-level negotiations. Israeli military leaders warn against attacking Iran. Changes in Hamas' policies may be connected to a financial crisis. COMMENTARY: Chuck Freilich says Israel faces a momentous choice on Iran. Israeli Maj.-Gen. Kochavi says the Arab world is rediscovering its power through the uprisings. Ray Hanania says it's easier to be caught up in emotions than to make the hard choices for peace. George Hishmeh says Israel appears to be systematically undermining all hopes for peace. Leila Hilal looks at potential options dealing with the Palestinian refugee question. Steven White and P.J. Dermer ask if “hypocrisy is becoming the norm at the Jerusalem Post?” The Forward looks at the depiction of the Israeli occupation at the Sundance Film Festival. Victor Kotsev blames Israel largely for the failure of recent negotiations. Amira Hass asks if helping Palestinians serves as cover for the occupation.

Does helping Palestinians beautify the occupation?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) January 30, 2012 - 1:00am

There is a thorn in the side of the Israeli prohibitions industry, in the guise of several stubborn and persistent women of retirement age. In a word: nudniks. They are the MachsomWatch volunteers, who during the past seven years have been offering their persistence in order to appeal the travel ban that the Shin Bet security service imposes on Palestinians who seek work in Israel."

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Theatrical failure of peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asia Times Online
by Victor Kotsov - (Opinion) January 31, 2012 - 1:00am

The Palestinians demand a clear Israeli position on borders (the borders of a prospective Palestinian state). Against all odds, the Palestinians receive a clear Israeli position on borders. The Palestinians then abandon the negotiations, blaming Israel.

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Images of Occupation at Sundance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Abra Cohen - (Film Review) January 31, 2012 - 1:00am

Selling out a screening or getting a standing ovation at Sundance is hard enough for a seasoned filmmaker, let alone for a farmer from the West Bank. But director Emad Burnat, from the village of Bil’in, brought Park City, Utah, to its feet with his debut documentary about his family’s life beyond the security barrier and amid Israeli settlements.

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Hypocrisy Becoming the Norm at the Jerusalem Post?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by PJ Dermer, Steve White - (Opinion) February 1, 2012 - 1:00am

Jerusalem Post Editor Steve Linde's "revelation," followed by his near instantaneous retraction that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him "the two main enemies facing Israel are the New York Times and Israeli newspaper Haaretz," only add to the hypocrisy of the mini-saga surrounding our unsuccessful effort to publish a reasoned response to the slanderous attack Jerusalem Post commentator Carolyn Glick levied against the person and character of Major General Nitzan Alon in her editorial, "Our World: Netanyahu's misleading lessons in governance."

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