May 19th

Peace or poison ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by A.B. Yehoshua - May 19, 2010 - 12:00am Contrary to the hopes of many, the end of World War II and the shock of the Nazi atrocities did not mean the end of war and genocide. Indeed, the decades following it have been rife with bloody conflicts in which entire population groups have been murdered. Remember Angola’s civil war, the Khmer Rouge’s massacre of millions of Cambodians, Rwanda’s tribal wars, the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia, and the extermination of Christians in Southern Sudan. » Read more

Fayyad's peace plan has merit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by Sami Moubayed - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am What is new is that Fayyad pledged himself to non-violence, "an ironclad commitment, not a seasonal thing" he noted, based on the experience of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. A few days ago, a photo of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad feeding a wrinkled Palestinian farmer out of his hand appeared in the Palestinian press — behaviour common for the late Yasser Arafat, but certainly unexpected from a rigid economist like Fayyad. » Read more

Elvis Costello cancels concerts in Israel in protest at treatment of Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Rory McCarthy - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Elvis Costello has cancelled two concerts he was scheduled to play in Israel in protest at its treatment of Palestinians. Costello, one of the most gifted British songwriters of his generation, was due to play on 30 June and 1 July but says his "conscience" dictated that he pull out of the performances. He joins a list of performers who have decided not to play in Israel, including Gil Scott-Heron and Santana. » Read more

As non-violence takes root, so may a Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hussein Abdul Hussein - May 19, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinians, hard-headed realists that they are, have never much bought the idea of non-violence. The state of Israel was partly born out of violence and has been sustained mainly through violence. Turning the other cheek to people whose anatomical focus was your knees – and keeping you on them – never seemed especially wise, let alone effective. » Read more

Palestinians mark 'Nakba' with tears and questions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Paul Wood - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Claudette Habesch stood at the gate of what had once been her family house, tears in her eyes as she pointed to the garden shaded by a large date palm. "It was beautiful, a lot of fun, a lot of happiness," she said, recalling an Arab childhood spent in Jerusalem before her family fled in 1948. "(Then) there was the foundation of the state of Israel - on my own homeland, on my own home." As a little girl, she often used to wonder "who is sleeping in my bed, who is playing with my dog?" » Read more

Mitchell to launch proximity talks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Khaled Abu Toameh - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am US Middle East envoy George Mitchell is scheduled to hold talks in Ramallah on Wednesday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, marking the launch of the “proximity talks” with Israel, PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Monday. Mitchell is to arrive in Israel on Tuesday afternoon, and meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday. He is set to leave the region later that day. » Read more

Industrialists: Palestinians only hurting themselves ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Shmulik Grossman - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Major factory owners in Israel began to gird for battle against a Palestinian boycott of their products Tuesday, following the distribution of thousands of pamphlets to homes in the West Bank explaining which products were now off-limits. In a conversation with Ynet the factory owners called the boycott a "hate campaign" and said it was a political move that would "blow up in Salam Fayyad's face". Avi Elkayam, who represents 300 factory owners in the area of Mishor Adumim, the largest Israeli industrial zone in the West Bank, said the Palestinians were only hurting themselves. » Read more

Report: PA willing to have NATO forces in future state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Roee Nahmias - May 19, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intends on informing Special US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell that the Palestinian Authority would agree to have NATO forces stationed in future Palestine, London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi reported Wednesday. Abbas and Mitchell are scheduled to meet in Ramallah on Wednesday afternoon. » Read more

A country with no bosses: What we don't do ourselves, our foes will force from us ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - May 18, 2010 - 12:00am Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who has never lost his sense of humor or his optimism, returned last week from a short visit to Europe. And what do you think he discovered there? That Israel is in the worst situation it has ever been in. They despise Israel in Europe, and for the first time are questioning its very right to exist. Europe hates us, Ben-Eliezer found. » Read more

Strenger than Fiction / Israel is encouraging academic boycott by denying entry to Chomsky ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - May 17, 2010 - 12:00am Professor Noam Chomsky, the left-wing radical thinker and activist, is regularly voted the most influential public intellectual in the world. He has been highly critical of Israel’s policies for many years, particularly since the time of the first Lebanon war in 1982. On Sunday, Chomsky was denied entry at the Allenby Bridge on his way from Amman to Ramallah, where he was scheduled to lecture about American foreign policy at Bir Zeit University. » Read more