The refugee issue in the API: contradictory or complementary
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Mati Steinberg - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am


The Arab Peace Initiative comprises two main references to the Palestinian refugee issue that seem to be mutually contradictory. On the one hand, the API stipulates the need for "a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with United National General Assembly Resolution 194". On the other, it indicates "the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation ["tawtin"] which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries".


Pres. Obama telephones Pres. Abbas. Hamas seeks to capitalize on Egyptian unrest. Walter Rogers looks at Israeli anxieties but analysts say they may see benefits as well. Abbas says Palestinian elections must include Gaza. Palestinians say the US has new ideas for peace talks. The US is still expected to veto a UN resolution on settlements, and The National says it will be a test of American rhetoric on the issue. The Israeli Supreme Court rules that Jews cannot reclaim land lost in Hebron after 1948. Gideon Levy says Israeli school trips to Hebron resemble visits to Auschwitz. Israeli-Jordanian relations are seen as solid. Israeli leaders continue to warn against a rapid spread of Arab democracy. An important Picaso painting will be displayed in the West Bank. Mara Rudman and Marc Grossman are named to senior administration posts. Jewish American organizations scramble to react to a changing Arab world. Genocide scholars argue about Israel's conduct in 1948. Matti Steinberg looks at how the Arab Peace Initiative deals with the refugee issue.

US rhetoric on settlements tested at the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
February 18, 2011 - 1:00am


A good tongue lashing hurts, but it rarely stings. American criticism of Israeli policy offers a case in point. As much of the rest of the world has stood up at the United Nations to ink its displeasure with Israel for decades, one nation has proven the reliable spoiler. All of which makes America’s support for a new Security Council statement condemning Israel’s settlement construction encouraging. The US Ambassador to the UN has reportedly expressed interest in a measure that, in part, “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity”.


Top Genocide Scholars Battle Over How To Characterize Israel’s Actions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Gal Beckerman - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am


Did Jews commit genocide in 1948? The question is provocative, and the answer for most people is an unequivocal no. But a debate over this idea has formed the crux of a heated argument among the most eminent genocide scholars in the world, and led recently to the censure of an Israeli professor by the field’s leading academic association. It’s also one more reminder of the growing divide between European scholars and their American and Israeli counterparts when it comes to how they view Israel, both historically and in the present moment.


Jewish Groups Scramble To Adjust to New Mideast Reality
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am


The Egyptian revolution has kicked open the door to a vast Arab population that, for the first time, is poised to influence the course of its country’s policies directly. For Israel’s supporters, this could mean a new frontier for public diplomacy and a chance to reach out to Arab masses.


Obama taps Rudman, Grossman for key diplomatic spots
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
February 17, 2011 - 1:00am


The Obama administration has tapped veteran Jewish diplomats Mara Rudman and Marc Grossman for senior posts. President Obama said Wednesday that he is nominating Rudman to the top State Department post administering assistance to the Middle East through the U.S. Agency for International Development. Rudman, who has served in senior posts on both the Clinton and Obama National Security Councils, has been involved in a number of groups promoting peace talks in the Middle East and was a senior official with the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims.


Dutch museum to lend Picasso for display in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
February 17, 2011 - 1:00am


Palestinian art lovers are to get a rare chance to view a Picasso when the painting goes on display in April, on loan from a Dutch museum. Eindhoven's Van Abbe Museum is lending the 1943 canvas Buste de Femme to the Ramallah international art academy, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports. A film is due to be made of the painting's journey, including the Israeli border and other checkpoints. A special, temperature-controlled room is being prepared to house it. It is believed to be the first time a Picasso masterpiece will go on display in the Palestinian territories.


Dutch museum to lend Picasso for display in West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
February 17, 2011 - 1:00am


Palestinian art lovers are to get a rare chance to view a Picasso when the painting goes on display in April, on loan from a Dutch museum. Eindhoven's Van Abbe Museum is lending the 1943 canvas Buste de Femme to the Ramallah international art academy, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports. A film is due to be made of the painting's journey, including the Israeli border and other checkpoints. A special, temperature-controlled room is being prepared to house it. It is believed to be the first time a Picasso masterpiece will go on display in the Palestinian territories.


Israel to World: Don’t Be So Fast to Push Democracy on Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Arieh O'Sullivan - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am


While touting its own democratic credentials, Israel has been warning the world not to let experiments in democracy spread across the Middle East, lest Islamic fundamentalists are voted in. “We don’t want to stay the only democracy in the Middle East. We would love to live in a neighborhood where all countries are democratic. But is it feasible now?” Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor said in an interview with The Media Line.


'Jordanian-Israeli ties solid despite inflammatory words'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Miller - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am


A call by Jordan’s justice minister to free the jailed killer of seven Israeli girls has soured the Hashemite Kingdom’s relations with Israel, but experts said they expect the ties to weather the diplomatic storm. The minister, Hussein Mjali, a well known oppositionist, was appointed to the post just last week and immediately began making inflammatory remarks. On Wednesday he called Israel a “terrorist state” and an “enemy of the kingdom.”



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