August 19th

Palestinians turn to educational reform ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service by Hussein Ibish - August 19, 2010 - 12:00am In an important new move, the Palestinian Authority has recently begun highlighting education as one of the main centrepieces in the next phase of the state and institution building programme. Under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, the PA understands that an effective and progressive educational system is essential for economic and social development, building a functional state, and laying the groundwork for peace with Israel. » Read more

Raja Shehadeh’s Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Neil Berry - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am “Lawrence of Arabia” was typical of the British imperial class in expecting that they would “make the desert bloom”. He was typical of it, too, for all his romanticizing of the Arab world, in nursing no such expectation of Palestine’s “existing inhabitants”. » Read more

Editorial: Not enough ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News August 19, 2010 - 12:00am Palestinians remain barred from working for the government and in the professions, including law and medicine. They are also still forbidden from owning property and taking advantage of government health and welfare provisions. » Read more

IDF soldiers suspected of theft from Gaza flotilla ship ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz August 18, 2010 - 12:00am Military Police arrested an Israel Defense Forces officer suspected of stealing laptop computers from activists aboard the Gaza-bound aid ship raided by Israeli commandos in May and selling them to other officers. The officer allegedly sold the computers to a friend, who in turn sold them to friends of his. Three officers who are suspected of having bought the computers have also been detained for questioning. » Read more

Settlement rabbi arrested on suspicion of incitement to racism ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - August 19, 2010 - 12:00am Rabbi Yosef Elitzur, from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, was detained by police on Thursday and questioned by investigators from the international crimes unit on suspicions of incitement to racism. Elitzur and Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira wrote a book "The King's Torah" which condones the murder of non-Jews if they threaten the welfare of Jews, citing Jewish law to support the argument. » Read more

Israel, muscular and a perpetual victim ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Rami Khouri - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am The capacity of Zionism and the leaders of Israel to be both heroic to the Jewish people and compulsive liars to the rest of the world is one of the great tragedies of our time – and it is on display again these days in the ongoing media campaign to prepare American public opinion for a possible Israeli military strike against Iran. » Read more

Public Diplomat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Gal Beckerman - August 19, 2010 - 12:00am A week after Israel’s fatal raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, which left nine dead, Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, appeared on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.” It was not an easy assignment. Stephen Colbert plays a satirical version of a right-wing television host who regularly and mercilessly mocks his guests. In introducing Oren, he had already feigned sympathy for the raid by saying that it was tragic, but “you can’t make a challah without breaking a few eggs.” » Read more

UN releases Israeli, PA responses to Goldstone; no input from Hamas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press August 19, 2010 - 12:00am United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday released the results of Israeli and Palestinian investigations into alleged war crimes during the conflict in Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009, which did not appear to include any input from Gaza's Hamas rulers. » Read more

New Israel Fund Considering Red Lines ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - August 18, 2010 - 12:00am The New Israel Fund, the target of attacks by right-wing organizations accusing it of supporting anti-Zionist groups, is discussing the possibility of specifying in its guidelines that grants will be given only to groups that accept the idea of Israel as a Jewish homeland. The discussions have been taking place in recent months in Israel and in the United States, where NIF’s headquarters are located and most of the group’s donors reside. » Read more

Settlers and Palestinians remember 2005 Gaza pullout ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News by Paul Wood - August 17, 2010 - 12:00am Neve Dekalim was once the largest Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip. Now it is mostly sand and rubble. Palestinian trucks are taking away the last of what remains of the Jewish homes, to use as building material. The evictions from Neve Dekalim took place five years ago today under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan. In all, some 9,000 Israelis were evacuated from 21 Jewish settlements. Celia Goldstein, a British-born settler, was one of the last to leave Neve Dekalim. » Read more