This Israel Independence Day, I’m buying Palestinian
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) April 24, 2012 - 12:00am

On this anniversary of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, you’re likely to encounter no end of negativity - grousing from the boiling blood extremists, grumbling from heartbroken moderates, resignation from those whose dreams have been dashed and trashed and ground into sand, year after soul-crushing year. Not a small group. A group which often includes me. But not this year. Not me. This year, for Israel Independence Day, I’m buying Palestinian.

»

Portraying Inner Conflict of Israeli-Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Ranen Omer-Sherman - (Opinion) April 24, 2012 - 12:00am

Sayed Kashua has built an impressive career exposing the porous and impenetrable, farcical and tragic demarcations between Israel’s Jews and Arabs. Readers of his weekend column for Haaretz may recall a caustic fable titled “Cinderella (Herzl Disappears at Midnight)” in which the hapless protagonist bears the burden of the answered prayer of a hitherto childless woman who “begged God for a son, even if he was born half Arab.” As an adult, Herzl Haliwa’s nocturnal metamorphosis causes endless angst.

»

Israel bans a textbook promoting Arab rights as 'unbalanced'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ben Lynfield - April 23, 2012 - 12:00am

The right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has banned a high school civics textbook as "unbalanced," a move critics say is part of a broader bid to shift Israel's values in a direction that is more nationalistic and less democratic. Officials cited factual errors in the book as the main factor in the decision. But liberal educators say the errors could easily be corrected and that the larger issue is a national struggle to define Israel's identity.

»

Danish Protester: ‘No One Would Care if a Palestinian was hit with a Rifle’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - April 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Without the video, all Andreas Ias would have to show for his weekend bicycle ride in the Jordan valley would be two stitches and a slightly swollen lower lip – plus a hardening anger about the treatment by Israeli soldiers of Palestinians. But a few seconds of footage uploaded to YouTube catapulted the 20-year-old Danish activist into the media spotlight, drew statements from the Israeli prime minister, president and chief of staff, led to the disciplining of an Israeli army officer, and prompted debate over the use of video cameras as a weapon of modern warfare.

»

Medics: Palestinian Teen Shot During Israeli Military Training
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 20, 2012 - 12:00am

TUBAS (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers shot an 18-year-old shepherd in the chest on Thursday evening during military training exercises in the northern West Bank, medics said. Yasir Suleiman Nijad Kaabnah was shot while herding sheep and camels near Wadi al-Maleh in the northern Jordan Valley, medics told Ma'an. Salem Kaabneh, the victim's uncle who was with him when he was shot, told Ma'an that Israeli troops who were training in the area fired at Suleiman injuring him in the chest.

»

Police: Israeli Wounded in Stabbing Attack by Arab
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
April 19, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Police say an Israeli has been stabbed in an attack by an Arab in Jerusalem. The ultra-Orthodox Jewish man was seriously wounded and was taken to a hospital. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says two suspects were arrested following the incident Thursday. It took place near a Jewish prayer site in a predominantly Arab area. The attack is the latest in a series of politically-motivated stabbings in Jerusalem. Last month, an Israeli soldier was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack on Jerusalem's light rail line.

»

Israel Cracks Down on Hunger-Striking Prisoners
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
April 18, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The PA Ministry of Detainee Affairs said Wednesday that Israel has tightened procedures against prisoners on a mass hunger-strike launched a day earlier. The ministry said in a statement that Israel's prison administration put detainees in solitary confinement without electricity. Prisoners in Ashkelon jail said detainees were threatened with transfer to a new section, and banned family visits.

»

Raed Salah’s return
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) April 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch and an Israeli Arab convicted Hamas collaborator, arrived back to a hero’s welcome Monday after 10 months under restrictive bail conditions in the UK, during which he fought and defeated a deportation order. Some 300 supporters hailed him at Ben-Gurion Airport with earsplitting chants of “Allahu Akhbar.”

»

A Response to Daniel Levy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Benny Morris - (Opinion) April 17, 2012 - 12:00am

The number of distortions and misrepresentations in Daniel Levy's piece (April 16, "Of Herrings and Elephants: Benny Morris and 'Palestinian Rejectionism'") is mind-boggling (and saddening) and reflects poorly on the honesty and integrity of the "peaceniks" who he may, in some way, represent.

»

‘One-State’ Idea Gains Support of Some Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from National Public Radio (NPR)
by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - April 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians are at a standstill and have been for almost two years. The stated aim of those negotiations is what is known as the "two-state solution," which means the establishment of a viable, independent Palestinian state existing in peace alongside Israel. But as hopes for an agreement diminish, Palestinians — and even some Israelis — are now talking about other solutions to the conflict. Among them, the so-called "one-state solution."

»


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