Signs of Israel's changing neighborhood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Saleh Abdel Jawad - (Opinion) December 8, 2011 - 1:00am Some saw as surprising Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman's remarks before the Knesset Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security in which he said that Jordan is a sovereign and independent country, and that talk about it being a substitute for Palestine was negative and destabilizing. Lieberman belongs to an ideological camp within the Israeli right that is opposed to Palestinian statehood in the West Bank and Gaza. » Read more

Jerusalem orders ramp to Temple Mount and Al Aqsa Mosque closed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Batsheva Sobelman - December 8, 2011 - 1:00am REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- Jerusalem officials have ordered a ramp leading from the Western Wall plaza up to Temple Mount and Al Aqsa mosque closed immediately, a controversial move in an area of competing religious and political claims. The Mughrabi Ramp, which is used mostly by tourists and Israeli security personnel, is a temporary structure built after the previous bridge partially collapsed during the stormy winter of 2004. » Read more

Gutman in Trouble for Diagnosing Disease ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) December 8, 2011 - 1:00am I think it’s time we faced up to the hard truth about Louis Pasteur. The famed 19th century French scientist was a rank bigot. He’s been getting a free ride for too long, and it’s got to stop. » Read more

In Plain Language: Halachic terrorism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Stewart Weiss - (Opinion) December 9, 2011 - 1:00am Halachic terrorists harm three different groups: Their victims, the haredi community, and the Jewish People and the Jewish state in general. » Read more

Nationalism is isolating Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) December 9, 2011 - 1:00am The growing nationalist and religious extremism in Israel is not just a domestic problem. Over the last week, it has become clear that the efforts of the Netanyahu-Lieberman coalition to suppress freedom of expression, left-wing organizations and the Arab community, combined with growing religious coercion in the public arena and the Israel Defense Forces, are also endangering Israel's relations with its supporters in the West, and especially the American political establishment and Jewish community. » Read more

Does Israel have no alternative to Netanyahu? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) December 9, 2011 - 1:00am The more Israel's image in the world deteriorates, the more Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flourishing. It's hard not to notice that his hair is groomed daily and perfectly combed. The color ranges from gray to light blue, and every hair is in place. It's no coincidence that they cleared out a room in the Prime Minister's Residence that contained communications equipment and turned it into a hairdressing salon. Not only for Sara, but for Bibi too. This is not the same arrogant Bibi we recall from his first term, but a man who is playing the role of leader. » Read more

More rockets hit Israel after spike in violence in the Gaza Strip ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press December 9, 2011 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Palestinian militants fired three rockets into Israel on Friday, the Israeli military said, hours after an airstrike against a Hamas target in Gaza killed a Palestinian civilian. The rockets landed in Israeli territory but caused no casualties, the military said. Air-raid sirens and bomb shelters have helped keep civilian casualties low in southern Israel over years of rocket fire from Gaza. The latest exchange followed several days of violence in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. » Read more

Israeli Planes Attack Gaza Targets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Israel carried out more airstrikes in Gaza early Friday, killing one Palestinian, as militants fired more rockets into southern Israel. Tensions flared after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Thursday killed two Palestinians whom the military described as terrorists involved in a plot to attack Israelis. » Read more

US 'disappointed' by new Israeli settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Google News December 8, 2011 - 1:00am WASHINGTON — The United States expressed disappointment Thursday over Israeli settlement activity after the approval of construction of a new Jewish enclave in annexed east Jerusalem. However, the US State Department also said that it opposed a call by the Palestinians to take the issue to the UN Security Council, where Washington vetoed in February a resolution condemning Israeli settlements. » Read more