October 10th

A Palestinian AIPAC?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ben Smith - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, is coming to Washington later this month, a tricky international moment for the PA and amid always-tricky domestic politics, to speak to the gala of the American Task Force on Palestine, a nine-year old group which is roughly aligned with his technocratic, moderate approach to getting statehood.

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October 7th

NEWS: Israeli Arab Bedouins are angered by the torching of a mosque. Pres. Abbas urges more European support for Palestine. Former Pres. Carter says Pres. Obama should earn his Nobel Peace Prize by crafting Israeli-Palestinian peace. There is more cooperation between Israel and Hamas than either admits. The PA accuses Israeli occupation forces of protecting violent settlers, and the Israeli NGO B'Tselem agrees. COMMENTARY: Yoel Marcus says it's only a matter of time before PM Netanyahu looses power. Nehemia Shtrasler says Hanan Porat was the architect of a settlement strategy designed to make it impossible for any Israeli government to withdraw from the occupied territories. Yishai Rosen-Zvi says the near-lynching of leftists in Israel is alarming. Uri Savir says peace is the only way to avoid disaster in a changing Middle East. Larry Derfner says Congress' threat to cut aid to the PA would only reduce US influence. Joseph Dana and Omar Rahman look at what comes next following the Palestinian UN statehood bid. Amir Taheri says Palestine must decide if it wants to be a cause or a state. Ronen Bergman recounts the founding of Israel and the role of the UN. Colum Lynch looks at Congressional threats to defund UNESCO and other UN agencies that upgrade the status of Palestine. Zvika Krieger says Israel does not want the US to defund UN agencies that work with the Palestinians. Israeli reservists are summoned for a surprise drill. Swedish academics call for a boycott of Israeli institutions due to the occupation. Palestinians are already feeling the effect of cuts in US aid.

The long road ahead for Palestine's statehood aspiration
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Joseph Dana, Omar Rahman - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

On September 23, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman and PA president, officially submitted Palestine's application for full membership in the United Nations, with a bold speech delivered to the General Assembly. During the address, cities throughout the West Bank were alight with excitement. Young and old celebrated almost as if the UN had already granted Palestine full membership to the international governing body.

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Palestine: A Cause or a State?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Amir Taheri - October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Within days, the United Nations’ Security Council is expected to start debating the Palestinian Authority’s demand for recognition as a state. At first glance, this is a straightforward issue. Since its foundation after the Second World War, the UN has admitted as member over 150 countries. There is no reason why the Palestinian demand should pose problems.

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Congress Shows Lack of Leverage With Threat To Cut Off Aid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

As an Israeli who sees the occupation as a plague both on Palestinians and on Israelis, I think it’s a good thing that Congress just held back $200 million in economic aid to the Palestinians as punishment for their statehood bid at the United Nations. It’s a good thing, because now that the Republican Party (and much of the Democratic Party) is indistinguishable from Likud USA, American involvement only makes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict worse, so the less influence America has over here, the better.

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A State is Born in Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ronen Bergman - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Sixty-four years ago, in August 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine presented to the General Assembly a startling and unexpected report, calling for an end to the British Mandate of Palestine and division of most of the territory into two independent states, with the Jewish state occupying the majority of the land. What came next, of course, is well known — a vote in the General Assembly on Nov. 29, 1947, in favor of partition, and the war that immediately followed.

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It’s about peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Uri Savir - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

We are inundated with analysis in these days of soul-searching, regarding all the important issues that determine our well-being as a country in crisis in a tumultuous Middle East. Everyone seems to have a recipe for a better tomorrow. For Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu the magic wand is better hasbara – if we would just succeed to tell the world the “truth,” we would convince it to support Israel, except for Muslims and anti-Semites of course. From foreign policy to speechology.

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Standing up for the Palestinians just got a lot more expensive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Colum Lynch - (Blog) October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's 58 member executive board voted on Wednesday to recommend the Palestinians as a new member, setting the stage for a high-stakes vote on the Palestinians admission later this month. But U.S. law prohibits funding for U.N. bodies that grant membership to entities without "internationally recognized attributes of statehood."

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Standing up for the Palestinians just got a lot more expensive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Colum Lynch - (Blog) October 6, 2011 - 12:00am

The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's 58 member executive board voted on Wednesday to recommend the Palestinians as a new member, setting the stage for a high-stakes vote on the Palestinians admission later this month. But U.S. law prohibits funding for U.N. bodies that grant membership to entities without "internationally recognized attributes of statehood."

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Lynch the leftists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yishai Rosen-Zvi - (Opinion) October 7, 2011 - 12:00am

So what happened around here this past week? Tnuva’s chairwoman quit, Merkel was insulted, the Quartet is nagging, and, oh yeah, some leftists were beaten up. No big deal. How easy it is to get used to it. And how much they help us get used to it.

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