Surprising Lessons From Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune
by Emily Schaeffer - January 7, 2008 - 6:12pm

Six years after Sept. 11th and the ensuing war on terror, what seemed a temporary situation has become a protracted conflict, with everyone from the Bush administration to competing presidential candidates offering recommendations for change. Proposals vary from withdrawing troops from Iraq to reforming the military commissions in Guantánamo. But amid an open-ended war on terror, would any of these comparatively small changes really matter?

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Bush's Mideast Mission
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) January 7, 2008 - 6:10pm

IN AN effort to bring about enormous changes at the last minute, President Bush will arrive in Israel Wednesday to begin an eight-day trip to a half-dozen countries in the Middle East. This will be his first state visit to all the countries on his itinerary except Egypt, and Americans must hope this belated trip to such a strategically vital region means Bush now recognizes the mistake he made in waiting so long.

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Substance, Not Smiles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Baltimore Sun
(Editorial) January 7, 2008 - 6:09pm

Jerusalem is draping itself in the flags of the city, Israel and the United States in honor of President Bush's visit this week, perfect for the essential photo op. And that's all this trip sounds like it's shaping up to be since neither the president nor his advisers have identified any policy or message that Mr. Bush will relay to advance the commitments made at the Annapolis peace summit. And that's just unacceptable.

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Straddling Cultures, Irreverently, In Life And Art
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 7, 2008 - 6:07pm

Being an Arab Israeli has always been a complex affair, at times almost a contradiction in terms. For Sayed Kashua, 32, an Israeli-born Arab journalist and author, it just got more complicated.

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As Bush Heads To Mideast, Renewed Questions On Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Michael Abramowitz, Ellen Knickmeyer - January 7, 2008 - 6:06pm

President Bush intends to use his first extended tour of the Middle East to rally support for international pressure against Iran, even as a recent U.S. intelligence report playing down Tehran's nuclear ambitions has left Israeli and Arab leaders rethinking their own approach toward Iran and questioning Washington's resolve, according to senior U.S. officials, diplomats and regional experts.

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Israel's False Friends
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by John J. Mearsheimer And Stephen M. Walt - (Opinion) January 7, 2008 - 6:05pm

Once again, as the presidential campaign season gets underway, the leading candidates are going to enormous lengths to demonstrate their devotion to the state of Israel and their steadfast commitment to its "special relationship" with the United States.

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Bush Faces Mideast Obstacles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - January 7, 2008 - 6:04pm

President Bush heads to Israel and the West Bank this week, hoping his first visit as U.S. leader will open the throttle on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. But in the six weeks since Bush declared at an international gathering in Annapolis, Md., that "the time is right" to make peace, two perennial obstacles to Mideast peacemaking have already reared up: Israeli settlements and violence.

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Just Going To Work, Palestinians And Israelis Travel Different Roads
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Dion Nissenbaum - January 7, 2008 - 6:03pm

Before they set out for work each morning, neighbors Naim Darwish, a Palestinian Muslim, and Jacob Steinmetz, an Israeli Jew, begin their days in quiet meditation. In the pre-dawn chill, Darwish sets his Muslim prayer rug on the floor facing Mecca. In the soft morning light, Steinmetz throws on his prayer shawl and turns toward Jerusalem. Then the lives of these West Bank neighbors diverge.

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McClatchey Newspapers contrasts the very different morning commutes for an Israeli and a Palestinian to illustrate how lack of Palestinian freedom of movement is one of the major obstacles to peace (1.) A Los Angeles Times opinion by Professors Walt of Harvard and Mearsheimer of Chicago University label as 'false friends of Israel' U.S. presidential candidates that facilitate self-destructive policies by offering unconditional political and financial support (3.) The Washington Post examines expectations in the Middle East regarding the visit of President Bush to the region this week (4.) Editorials in the Baltimore Sun (6) and Boston Globe (7) urge President Bush to use the influence of the U.S. to do all that is necessary to achieve progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations (6.) An Independent (UK) editorial faults the Bush administration for its belated engagement in Mideast peacemaking while acknowledging that an opportunity exists for it if serious effort is applied (10.) BBC (UK) looks at why the Har Homa settlement issue has become such a flash-point for Israeli-Palestinian relations and the future of peace negotiations (13.) Arab News (Saudi Arabia) examines how Israel's 'absentee law' is used to expropriate Palestinian land in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem for the building of the Har Homa settlement (15.) A Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Akiva Eldar is critical of the continuing Israeli settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territories as a danger to Israel's future existence (16.) Also in Haaretz, an opinion by Tel Aviv university senior political science lecturer Eyal Chowers suggests a new paradigm for Israelis and Palestinians to express their national identities through (18.)

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