December 20th

Analysis: Palestinian Aid And Politics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News by Jeremy Bowen - December 20, 2007 - 4:50pm If delegates to the Palestinian donors' conference in Paris felt like a little light shopping after their work was done it was a mere step from their meeting hall to the Champs Elysees. If they had worked up an appetite, there are restaurants where a modest piece of grilled fish can cost more than 60 Euros (US $86). » Read more

Bush To Make First Presidential Visit To Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Ewen Macaskill - December 20, 2007 - 4:48pm President George Bush is to embark on a week-long tour of the Middle East in the new year to nudge Israelis and Palestinians towards an end to their decades-long conflict and to bolster an Arab coalition against Iran. It will be the first time in his seven years as president that Bush will have visited Israel, the West Bank, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Elaborate security planning is already under way in Israel and the Arab countries for the visit, which begins on January 8, given the level of hostility towards Bush in the Middle East over the Iraq war. » Read more

Israeli Operations In Gaza Meet Little Resistance In Washington ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - December 20, 2007 - 4:46pm As Israel stepped up air attacks on Gaza this week, the Bush administration refrained from blocking any measures or criticizing Israel’s activity. The Israeli Air Force last week renewed the practice known as “targeted killing” against members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza. Israeli officials have said in recent weeks that if rocket fire against Israeli towns is not stopped, further escalation might be imminent, including a full-scale ground incursion into the Hamas-controlled strip. » Read more

The Israel Lobby Revisited ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy In Focus by Stephen Zunes - December 20, 2007 - 4:45pm It has been 21 months since John Mearsheimer and Steve Walt published their article “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” in The London Review of Books and four months since their publication of a book by the same name. Their main arguments are that unconditional U.S. support for the Israeli government has harmed U.S. interests in the Middle East and that American organizations allied with the Israeli government have been the primary influence regarding the orientation of U.S. Middle East policy. » Read more

For Israel's Arab Citizens, Isolation And Exclusion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Scott Wilson - December 20, 2007 - 4:44pm Fatina and Ahmad Zubeidat, young Arab citizens of Israel, met on the first day of class at the prestigious Bezalel arts and architecture academy in Jerusalem. Married last year, the couple rents an airy house here in the Galilee filled with stylish furniture and other modern grace notes. » Read more

Hamas Calls For Truce With Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Sarah El Deeb - December 20, 2007 - 4:43pm On Islam's most important holiday, the leader of Gaza's Hamas government appealed Wednesday for a cease-fire with Israel and said his people — battered by Israeli military strikes and international sanctions — are greeting this year's feast with "tears in our eyes." Hamas until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel, though one Cabinet minister said Israel might consider outside mediation with the Islamic militants. » Read more

Israelis Cool To An Offer From Hamas On A Truce ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - December 20, 2007 - 4:42pm Officials in the Israeli prime minister’s office reacted coolly on Wednesday to an indirect approach by the Hamas leader in Gaza offering talks on a truce. The offer was relayed through an Israeli reporter, Sleman al-Shafhe, of Channel 2 television. On a news broadcast on Tuesday night, Mr. Shafhe said Ismail Haniya, the leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, had called him earlier in the day to convey a message to the Israelis. » Read more

December 19th

Speaking Truth For Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Michael Felsen - (Opinion) December 19, 2007 - 4:08pm For years, countless synagogues and other Jewish institutions in the United States have flown the banner declaring "We Support Israel in Her Quest for Peace." » Read more

Looking For A Home In Pisgat Ze'ev ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Danny Rubenstein - December 19, 2007 - 4:07pm The separation fence surrounding eastern Jerusalem winds north of the city among the crowded houses of the Dahit al-Barid neighborhood. The wall is not finished and, in a few places, there are openings enabling passage (which confirms the graffiti drawn nearby by an Israeli tagger, "Yoram Arbel was right," i.e., this is not how you build a wall). » Read more

So What Have We Done To Them ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Nehemia Shtrasler - December 19, 2007 - 4:06pm An old Jewish joke tells of a devoted mother who briefs her son before he sets out to battle: "Kill a Turk and rest," she advises. But the son asks: "And what happens if in fact the Turk tries to kill me?" She opens her eyes wide in surprise: "Why would he want to kill you? What have you done to him?" » Read more