American Elections | The American Task Force on Palestine

Iran is not an existential threat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Bruce Riedel - (Opinion) January 19, 2012 - 1:00am

The danger of war is growing again over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iran is rattling its sabers, the Republican presidential candidates and others are rattling theirs. But even if Iran gets the bomb, Israel will have overwhelming military superiority over Iran, a fact that should not be lost in all the heated rhetoric.

Rick Santorum’s Views on the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Arabiya
by Ali Younes - (Opinion) January 19, 2012 - 1:00am

In a town hall meeting during a recent campaign stop in Greenville, South Carolina, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said to me, in response to my questions, that he supports attacking Iran with missiles, rockets and other weapons in order to stop it from developing nuclear weapons. On the issue of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict he added that the issue is an internal Israeli matter and that Israel can do whatever it wants and no one should interfere in its internal affairs.

A Year for Elections, Not Mideast Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Elliott Abrams - (Opinion) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

Last week Israelis and Palestinians held talks for the first time since September 2010. Back then, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met at the White House, under bright lights and with great expectations, along with Jordanian King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In a matter of weeks the talks failed—and Mr. Mubarak didn't last much longer himself. What to expect this time?

Differences within parties – not just between them
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by David Makovsky - (Opinion) January 11, 2012 - 1:00am

After 16 months of no negotiations, Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Amman last week and again this week. Yet, the question remains whether these talks represent a new opening or if they are merely a tactical instrument for each side to perpetuate recriminations?

Israel remains the main priority
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Hussein Shobokshi - (Opinion) January 9, 2012 - 1:00am

It appears that US President Barack Obama is on his way to being re-elected. There are many positive indicators working strongly in his favour. There he is fulfilling his pledge and withdrawing "militarily" from Iraqi territories, reducing his military presence in Afghanistan, and re-structuring the US defense budget as a kind of economic belt-tightening measure which is required in practical terms to meet the problem of the budget deficit.

Rick Santorum’s claim that ‘no Palestinian’ lives in the West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Glenn Kessler - (Blog) January 5, 2012 - 1:00am

“All the people that live in the West Bank are Israelis. They are not Palestinians. There is no Palestinian. This is Israeli land.” — Former senator Rick Santorum, Nov. 21. 2011 A blog on The Jewish Week Web site highlighted this statement on Monday, which was also captured on tape and posted on YouTube. (See clip at the end of the column.) The statement is somewhat reminiscent of former House speaker Newt Gingrich’s comment that the Palestinians are an “invented people.”

Tibi: World beginning to understand Palestinians' hopes for state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Richmond Times Dispatch
by Ahmad Tibi - (Opinion) December 22, 2011 - 1:00am

The arrogance of some American politicians and presidential candidates toward the Palestinians and Palestinian national aspirations is breathtaking. Last week, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor stated, "If the Palestinians want to live in peace in a state of their own, they must demonstrate that they are worthy of a state." He appeared to hold all Palestinians responsible for the violence of a few.

Major Jewish donors stick with Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - December 21, 2011 - 1:00am

WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama is enjoying a 50% approval rate, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll published on Tuesday. The president should also be satisfied as top-level Jewish fundraisers from his 2008 campaign are sticking with him in 2012, Jewish newspaper Forward reported. According to the paper, despite reports that Obama faces a loss of Jewish funders due to his Middle East policy, analysis of a list of elite bundlers from his 2008 race shows no defections among the president’s top Jewish supporters in 2012.

Palestinian textbooks debate reaches US campaign
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh, Karin Laub - December 17, 2011 - 1:00am

Do Palestinian school textbooks "teach terrorism," as Newt Gingrich claimed in a recent debate among U.S. Republican presidential hopefuls? His example - that Palestinians "have text books that say, `If there are 13 Jews and nine Jews are killed, how many Jews are left?'" - is not in any of the texts, researchers say. As for Gingrich's broader claim, the textbooks don't directly encourage anti-Israeli violence, but they also don't really teach peace, studies say.

Gingrich’s lie reveals his bigotry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
by John. E. Sununu - (Opinion) December 16, 2011 - 1:00am

When bigots speak, their words have purpose. They intentionally choose phrases that inflame, denigrate, and marginalize other races, religions, or nationalities. They employ distortions and stereotypes to bolster false arguments. Which brings us to Newt Gingrich, who in an interview last week derided “an invented Palestinian people.’’ His comments were a calculated — but demonstrably false — slander, designed to curry favor with a constituency for which he cares by insulting one for which he does not.

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