November 19th

Terror Expert Emerson Feels His Own Heat Over Finances ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am Steven Emerson has made his reputation by scrutinizing American Muslim organizations and individuals, trying to uncover their possible ties to terror groups. But lately he is being scrutinized himself, by a Nashville, Tenn., daily newspaper digging into the finances of his operation. Emerson: ‘All of this was approved by outside legal and accounting experts.’ » Read more

AIPAC Gets Down and Dirty in Pushback vs. Defamation Suit Read more: http://www.forward.com/articles/133172/#ixzz15kcvW9Fh ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am The espionage case against two senior officials of the pro-Israel lobby in Washington was dropped last year. But it has not been forgotten, and it’s now threatening to draw the lobby into new depths of mudslinging. » Read more

Palestine aid models must change ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Kieron Monks - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am "Peace Starts Here" is the slogan adopted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to promote its work in the Palestinian territories. But why does peace "start here"? Why not 60 years ago when UNRWA began its work with Palestinian refugees? Or 60 years in the future, when we will still be debating the same problems if the aid models do not change. » Read more

Israelis insist they have US backing to build in East Jerusalem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian November 19, 2010 - 1:00am Israel yesterday insisted it would keep building homes in the disputed East Jerusalem area, threatening to stall a US-proposed building moratorium aimed at reviving peace efforts. Despite Washington having agreed to exclude the eastern part of the city from the 90-day moratorium, according to Israeli officials, it had still not sent a detailed letter on the understanding. Palestinians want building to halt in the West Bank and in Jerusalem, which they claim as their state. The US hopes a renewed moratorium will let Israel and the Palestinians work towards a deal on their future borders. » Read more

Stealth Power ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am When the gray-haired man entered the Lockheed Martin aircraft assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas, last May, the workers thought he was just another corporate executive. His suit, tie and slightly British accent seemed to fit the mold. The man was then given the opportunity to do something that most visitors do not have when visiting the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) assembly line – sign his name inside the cockpit of a plane. » Read more

An unholy battle in a holy city ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am By pure coincidence, the main opposing forces in Safed’s latest anti-Arab flare-up are next-door neighbors. One is Eli Zvieli, 89, who became a target of threats and public denunciations after he rented an apartment to three Beduin college students last month. The other is Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliahu, who vehemently repeated his decade-old call on Jews to refuse to rent to Arabs. They live in adjoining stone houses in the heart of the Old City and even share a rooftop balcony, divided by a low gate. » Read more

Editors Notes: Didn’t we used to be on the same side? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz - (Opinion) November 19, 2010 - 1:00am Earlier this month, in an op-ed for The New York Times marking the 15th anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, former US president Bill Clinton told the tie story. Again. The story, often repeated, that shows a Rabin so focused on the important things of life, so “utterly without pretense” as Clinton put it, that he never quite came to terms with this merely decorative article of clothing. » Read more

Nationalists are turning Zionism into a childish religion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Doron Rosenblum - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am The crowds of ministers and deputy ministers who surround Benjamin Netanyahu in their multitudes under the overall name "the government of Israel" sometimes seem like participants in a cantata or review: Every now and then, one of them gets up from among the semi-anonymous heads to make his voice heard - one with a trill in favor of annexation, another in a racist etude, yet another in an ethnocentric sermon, and another with a rational chirp. When one sits down, the next soloist gets up, while the Chorus of the Rock of our Existence follows him with background humming. » Read more

Fired AIPAC staffer tells Haaretz: I had no choice but to sue for defamation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am A former AIPAC staffer who was dismissed for allegedly "mishandling classified information" told Haaretz on Wednesday that he had been left with no choice but to see the pro-Israel lobby for defamation. The U.S. Jewish community has been scandalized by the details of the increasingly dirty lawsuit, brought forth by Steve Rosen. Rosen was sacked by the America Israel Public Affairs Committee in 2005 after he and fellow staffer Keith Weissman were charged with "mishandling classified information" and passing sensitive information to Israeli diplomats and journalists. » Read more

Gaza militants fire Grad rocket, barrage of mortar shells at western Negev ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yanir Yagna - November 19, 2010 - 1:00am Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a long-range Grad rocket and seven mortar shells at western Negev on Friday, following a night-long barrage of Qassam rockets fired from the coastal enclave. Eshkol Regional Council was hit by 3 mortar shells Friday afternoon. Another 4 bombs hit Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. No injuries or damages were reported. Earlier on Friday Gaza militants fired a long-range Grad rocket into the western Negev. » Read more