July 8th

In Israel, the Noble vs. The Ugly ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Nicholas D. Kristof - (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am Israel goes out of its way to display its ugliest side to the world by tearing down Palestinian homes or allowing rapacious settlers to steal Palestinian land. Yet there’s also another Israel as well, one that I mightily admire. This is the democracy that tolerates a far greater range of opinions than America. It’s a citadel of civil society. And, crazily, it’s the place where some of the most courageous and effective voices on behalf of oppressed Palestinians belong to Israeli rabbis — like Arik Ascherman, the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights. » Read more

Netanyahu hints at flexibility on Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Uriel Heilman - July 8, 2010 - 12:00am It was an otherwise wholly unremarkable stump speech before a friendly audience in New York. On Wednesday evening at Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel, the Israeli prime minister addressed a roomful of about 200 Jews on the subjects of Iran, his government’s eagerness for direct peace talks with the Palestinians and the swell meeting he had just had with President Obama at the White House. » Read more

The Israeli-Palestinian Confluence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Bernard Avishai - (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am Is the two-state solution passé? Serious people, with democratic instincts, are asking this now, but it is hard to think of a more frivolous question. » Read more

Obama ignores the obvious by backing Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am In observing Israeli leaders and their much-touted peace overtures over the years, it has always been wise to hew to the maxim: “Watch what they do, not what they say.” The reason, of course, is that Israeli officials are marvellously adept at telling outsiders keen on a just and fair settlement with the Palestinians exactly what they want to hear – even as they condone and carry out measures that undermine such a settlement. » Read more

For peace to succeed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is in the US doing his best impression of a statesman. All it would take for peace to happen, he keeps on saying, is for the Palestinians to sit down across the table from him and talk directly. » Read more

Do U.S. Donors Drive Israeli Politics? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Naomi Chazan, Daniel Gordis, Ori Nir, Benjamin N. Schiff, Yossi Shain, Stephen Spector - (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am The Diaspora’s Influence Yossi Shain is a professor of political science and the director of the Aba Eben Program of Diplomacy at Tel Aviv University and a professor of comparative government at Georgetown University. He is the author of “Kinship and Diasporas in International Affairs.” » Read more

Editorial: Fading hopes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News (Editorial) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am The mood music was noticeably different after President Barack Obama's latest meeting with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and it is worth wondering why. The Tuesday encounter was widely expected to be as rancorous as its predecessor. Not only had the two leaders not previously hit it off but the Israelis had done little if anything to ease Obama’s frustration at their obdurate policies. » Read more

More on conversation with Ibish ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Meretz USA Blog by Ralph Seliger - (Blog) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am The Web editor of In These Times required a 2,500 word limitation for the online article. The ISRAEL HORIZONS version, pending for the fall, will include almost all of my discussion with Hussein Ibish. What I particularly regret having had to exclude from the ITT piece is the following further response from Hussein Ibish to my question on how he felt about the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state: » Read more

July 7th

Netanyahu hears no discouraging words from Obama ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Dana Milbank - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am A blue-and-white Israeli flag hung from Blair House. Across Pennsylvania Avenue, the Stars and Stripes was in its usual place atop the White House. But to capture the real significance of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's visit with President Obama, White House officials might have instead flown the white flag of surrender. » Read more

Poll: 2/3 of Palestinians against rocket attacks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews July 7, 2010 - 12:00am Some 68% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza do not want Hamas to resume its rocket attacks on Israel, while 25.5% believe the attacks against Israel's southern communities should be resumed, according to a survey conducted by the Ramallah-based Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD) organization. The poll's findings, which are based on answers by 1,200 respondents, indicate that 35.4% of Palestinians residing in Hamas-ruled Gaza are interested in resuming the attacks, while only 19.5% of Palestinians in the West Bank share this opinion. » Read more