June 4th

The peace process comes to an end
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Adel Safty - (Opinion) June 4, 2012 - 12:00am


One of the most remarkable talents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is his ability to “influence” American public opinion as he once bragged to a family of colonists, unaware that he was being filmed.


Isn’t Israel Already a ‘Jewish State’?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Forward
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) June 3, 2012 - 12:00am


A leading Palestinian negotiator says that for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state would “adversely impact the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel.” Not at all, say Yosef Kuperwasser, director general of Israel’s ministry of strategic affairs and Shalom Lipner, special coordinator for public diplomacy in the Prime Minister’s Office. This, they insist, “is a baseless argument, since Israel will continue to guarantee the full and equal civil rights of all its citizens.”


Israel is new South Africa as boycott calls increase
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Jonathan Owen - (Opinion) June 3, 2012 - 12:00am


Some of the world's biggest stars – from Madonna to the Red Hot Chili Peppers – are being accused of putting profit before principle in a growing backlash against artists performing in Israel.


The importance of history
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Susan Hattis Rolef - (Opinion) June 3, 2012 - 12:00am


Last Tuesday Channel 10’s investigative TV program Hamakor (The Source) broadcast a report on the syllabi being taught in the national school system, with a special emphasis on history.


King Bibi the First
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
(Opinion) May 21, 2012 - 12:00am


Kings, an American journalist who recently returned from a tour of several Middle Eastern states told me. Kings, this is what survives in the Arab world. The republican regimes fall, one after another. Look at what happened in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Libya. Look at what’s happening in Syria. At the oil emirates. On the other hand, the royal regimes are hanging in there. In Saudi Arabia too. In Morocco, the king adapted himself to the new winds and is surviving. Even in Jordan. The present belongs to the kings.


Israelis and Palestinians make very different movies about water
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nirit Anderman - (Film Review) June 3, 2012 - 12:00am


Nine jointly made films show the eyes of beholders can see very different things.


The fight over West Bank neighborhood: Who's minding the store, Bibi or Feiglin?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) June 4, 2012 - 12:00am


On January 31 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trounced Moshe Feiglin in the Likud primary. The rematch could take place this week in the Knesset plenum, if the dangerous and scandalous bill to legitimize settlements built on private Palestinian land is put to a vote, against Netanyahu's wishes. Then we'll know who's really minding this store, a.k.a. Likud: the PM, or Feiglin & Co.


Adding insult to injury
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) June 4, 2012 - 12:00am


High-ranking politicians' fear of the political might of the settlers, and of their patrons in Likud and other right-wing parties, has exposed a treasure trove of creativity. Their latest invention, to which we can credit the threat of a proposal aimed at legitimizing the theft of private property in the territories, recommends relocating the five homes slated for demolition in the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El to a site that is next to the settlement. According to cautious estimates, the move can be expected to cost NIS 5 million - for each house.


Optimism reigns in most notorious refugee camp
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Mirella Hodeib, Mohammed Zaatari - June 4, 2012 - 12:00am


A peculiar, indiscernible smell reigns in the Middle East’s most notorious Palestinian refugee camp: the odor of deep sorrow mixed with devastating poverty. But the residents of Ain al-Hilweh are known for a rare kind of optimism and a smile that never abandons their faces. Wearing the typical Palestinian outfit, a linen abaya and the legendary keffiyeh on the head, Hajj Abu Mahmoud laments the camp’s deplorable situation, which he blames on the dominant factions. “The situation in Lebanon now is no better,” he adds.


Meshaal's U-turn a setback for Hamas hardliners critical of his reforms
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - June 4, 2012 - 12:00am


Khaled Meshaal is standing for re-election to lead Hamas four months after announcing he would step down. The decision is a setback for hardliners in the Islamist movement who have criticised Mr Meshaal's recent reforms, which include dismantling Hamas's headquarters in Damascus, reconciling with its Palestinian rival Fatah and tentatively embracing unarmed struggle against Israel. Hamas' senior leadership refused to accept Mr Meshaal's decision in January not to seek another term as the group's Political Bureau head, sources say.



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