The Israel Litmus Test
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) March 10, 2008 - 5:30pm

'You're nothing but a self-hating Jew, and your boss is an anti-Semite." It was the spring of 1990. I was an advisor to then-Secretary of State James Baker, and I was briefing a Jewish group from Atlanta -- and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Baker was tough on Israel when he needed to be, but he was no anti-Semite. I told Mr. Atlanta that if he wanted to argue about policy, fine; otherwise, we should keep the ad hominem out of it.

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Annapolis's Fading Hope
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
(Opinion) March 10, 2008 - 5:29pm

The Annapolis peace conference last November was a good moment for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She seemed to be getting serious, finally, about using American diplomacy to push for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement whose basic parameters are understood by everyone -- but which requires U.S. follow-through to make it happen.

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Talk, But No Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) March 10, 2008 - 5:25pm

There are a few certainties when it comes to the Middle East. One is that Hamas militants will do anything to sabotage Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. Another is that Israel will retaliate against serious assaults on its people. And a third is that without measurable improvements in the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians, a few spectacular acts of terrorism can derail even the best-intentioned peace talks.

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Dr. Asali speaks at Brookings Conference
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - March 10, 2008 - 12:00am

On Monday, March 10th, Dr. Ziad Asali gave a presentation at The Brookings Institution entitled “Daily Life in the West Bank and Gaza: Implications for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement.” The presentation was part of the three-day Brookings conference, “Inside the Middle East.” A link to event agenda and its impressive panelists can be found here: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Course/Agenda/middle_east.pdf.


An opinion by David Ignatius in the Washington Post examines the fading hope of Annapolis (2) while an opinion by Aaron David Miller in the Los Angeles Times discusses the American Jewish communities commitment to Israel (3). An opinion in the Telegraph cautions that the halting of peace talks will only be a victory for the militants (7). BBC News reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has approved a plan to build up to 750 new homes in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank (8). In the Daily Star, Mouin Rabbani warns that Fatah must reinvent itself or risk irrelevance (10). An editorial in the Middle East Times analyzes a recent Policy Focus by the American Task Force on Palestine (12).

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