Trudy Rubin: Little settled by Israeli vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Philadelphia Inquirer
by Trudy Rubin - (Opinion) January 29, 2013 - 1:00am

Here's a pop quiz for those who have been too busy to notice the surprising results of Tuesday's Israeli election: Was the key issue (1) Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu's testy relationship with President Barack Obama; (2) whether Israel should bomb Iran's nuclear sites; or (3) whether to revive the mummified peace process?

»

Israel's New Kingmaker
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Neri Zilber - (Opinion) January 29, 2013 - 1:00am

Though one of Israel's best known public figures, Yair Lapid, the surprise star of the Jan. 22 election, is a mystery abroad. He now finds himself in the unexpected position of kingmaker, free to dictate terms to a badly weakened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

»

Israeli Secularlists Appear to Find Their Voice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Speaking to a group of ultra-Orthodox men shortly before he officially entered politics, Yair Lapid, a proudly secular talk-show host, declared that in a century-long competition to define Israel’s character, “we lost and you won.”

»

Sitting Down With Amos Oz
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Interview) January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

AMOS Oz, the novelist whose stories and tales have probed the soul of Israel with an intimate insistence, greeted me to his book-lined apartment with a quick Hebrew lesson. I must understand that the key word, Yiddish really, is “fraiers” — or suckers.

»

In the end we're left with Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Aluf Benn - (Opinion) January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

The elections are over, the votes have been counted, the banners folded away. Benjamin Netanyahu will continue as prime minister. His messages have changed slightly. During the campaign, Netanyahu wanted "a strong prime minister and a big party." Now he talks about "a broad and stable government." All the rest is as it was. It's the same Bibi, with the same worldview, the same experience and the same objectives.

»

Will Yair Lapid divide Jerusalem?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

Throughout his election campaign Yair Lapid insisted on his adamant opposition to the partition of Jerusalem under any future peace agreement with the Palestinians. Back in February 2012, when he first began communicating with potential voters, he declared that Jerusalem "belongs to the people of Israel and no one else." Months later, giving a campaign speech in the West Bank city of Ariel in October 2012, he underlined the message:

»

Yair Lapid Should Call Abu Mazen
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Shlomi Eldar - (Opinion) January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

Below is the transcript of a phone call that has not yet taken place: “Hello?” “Hello Mr. Lapid, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas speaking.” “Who?” “Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen.” “Ah-ha, shalom.” “Apropos of peace, do you feel like dropping by me for coffee? I am here in Ramallah, a 50-minute ride from Tel Aviv.” “Give me a minute to check …”

»

Israelis who hoped for peace progress should expect to be disappointed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Adrian Daniels - (Opinion) January 28, 2013 - 1:00am

To the same degree that the campaign itself was lifeless and predictable, the results of Israel's general election have invigorated and excited Israel's center and Zionist Left.

»

Abbas waiting for Yair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Smadar Peri - (Opinion) January 27, 2013 - 1:00am

The easiest thing to do is to recite "Abbas is not a partner" and talk about his interview over the weekend with a restless Lebanese interviewer who did all he could to get an anti-Israel headline out of the Palestinian leader.

»

A shift to Israel’s center? Think again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) January 26, 2013 - 1:00am

All that can be said with certainty now about the Israeli election results is that the deck of political cards in the Knesset has been dramatically reshuffled: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with Avigdor Lieberman won 31 seats (much less than expected, and down from the 41 seats it held before) and remains the single largest group; the extreme right Bayit Yehudi party of Naftali Bennett took 11 seats; and Yair Lapid’s new Yesh Atid party made the biggest splash with its 19 seats (m

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017