Ujc Sees Fund For Israeli Arabs As Fresh Start In Fund Raising ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Jacob Berkman - January 31, 2008 - 6:03pm As part of a move to revamp its fund-raising strategy, the United Jewish Communities has started a joint venture fund to raise significant dollars to help Israeli Arabs. The organization, which serves as the umbrella of the North American federation system, is raising $750,000 from 15 private donors, foundations, federations and service organizations to start the UJC Venture Fund for Jewish-Arab Equality and Coexistence. » Read more

Methodist Church Renews Drive For Divestment From Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - January 31, 2008 - 6:02pm Tensions are re-emerging between Jewish organizations and some mainline Protestant churches in the wake of a renewed drive for churches to divest from companies doing business with Israel. » Read more

No Progress On Gaza Border Breach ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman - January 31, 2008 - 6:01pm Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday underscored the complexity of resolving the Gaza Strip crisis when he insisted anew that his administration alone should be responsible for the coastal enclave's border crossings. Speaking to reporters after meeting here with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas said he would not negotiate with Hamas, the militant party that controls the Gaza Strip, to end a security breach that has allowed more than 500,000 Palestinians to cross into Egypt through the Rafah post in the last week. » Read more

Abbas Sets Conditions For Gaza Talks With Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Alaa Shahine - January 31, 2008 - 6:00pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected demands on Wednesday by Hamas rivals for control of the breached Gaza-Egypt border and told the Islamist group to "end its coup in Gaza." Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June after routing Abbas's more secular Fatah forces, blasted open the Egyptian border last week in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade, letting Gazans pour into Egypt to stock up on goods. » Read more

High Court Affirms Plan To Reduce Power To Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Ellen Knickmeyer - January 31, 2008 - 5:58pm srael's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the government's decision to reduce fuel and electricity deliveries to the Gaza Strip as a form of "economic warfare" against the armed Hamas group in control there. In doing so, the three-judge panel rejected the arguments of Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups that the blackouts and shortages caused by the cuts represent a form of collective punishment against Gaza's 1.5 million residents. » Read more

Bush Has Little Credibility Among Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Angus Reid Global Monitor January 31, 2008 - 5:57pm Few residents of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank believe George W. Bush actually intends to assist in the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of this year, according to a poll by An-Najah National University. 80.3 per cent of respondents think the United States president is not faithful in his promise. » Read more

Palestinians Feud, But Egypt And Hamas Working More Closely ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Dan Murphy - January 31, 2008 - 5:54pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dug in his heels Wednesday after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to address the crisis over the Gaza border, publicly refusing to work with his Palestinian rival Hamas and calling for forces loyal to his government to take control of the border. While his defiant tone favors the status quo – he called the Hamas seizure of the Gaza Strip last June "a coup" – it came in the face of changing realities on the ground. » Read more

January 30th

Obama And The Jewish Question ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) January 30, 2008 - 5:57pm Not a year has passed since Danny Ayalon completed his term as Israel's ambassador in Washington, but he has already seen fit to criticize Barack Obama, who may well be the next U.S. president or vice president. In an article published in The Jerusalem Post, Ayalon wrote that during his two meetings with Obama, he got the impression that the Democratic candidate was "not entirely forthright" regarding Israel. Similar and even worse smears can be found in abundance in American blogs and e-mail chain letters. » Read more

Finally, A Popular Uprising ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) January 30, 2008 - 5:56pm The fall of the Rafah wall was a fitting combination of planning and the precise reading of the social and political map by the Hamas government, mixed with a mass response to the dictates of the overlord, Israel. » Read more

Un Envoy: Women In Gaza Feel Coerced To Cover Heads ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - January 30, 2008 - 5:55pm The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief says women in the Gaza Strip have recently felt coerced into covering their heads, while Christians there have faced rising intolerance. The UN envoy, Asma Jahangir, visited Israel and the Palestinian Authority last week and published a report on her eight-day trip. "Women seem to be in a particularly vulnerable situation and bear the brunt of religious zeal. I was informed about cases of honor killings carried out with impunity in the name of religion," she added. » Read more