July 13th

Israel's stupid and self-defeating new law ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph by Michael Weiss - (Blog) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am One of the more elegant ways pro-Israel activists used to be able to confront the absurdities of anti-Israeli activists was by referring to the tolerance and patience that Israel has for its many critics and enemies. An Islamist cleric whose answer to the Jewish Question is straight out of Torquemada? We’ll let him become mayor of an Arab village. A sinister campaign for the economic and cultural boycott of Israel? We’ll let the head campaigner work toward his doctorate at Tel Aviv University, where his oral defence will no doubt be an attack on his own academic viability. » Read more

No Arab renters: Right-wing Judaism and minority inclusion in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Masry Al-Youm by Roger Hercz - (Opinion) July 11, 2011 - 12:00am JAFFA - As a student at a college in Safed, a small city of 30,000 residents, Yusuf checked apartment after apartment, hoping to find a home close to his academic institution. Never did the 19-year old anticipate the reaction from Rabbi Schmuel Eliyahu, the local town rabbi. » Read more

Solid diplomatic foundations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Danny Ayalon - (Opinion) July 11, 2011 - 12:00am Last week could have proven very difficult for Israel. Our enemies and their provocateur partners were trying once again to damage our image and goad Israel into a confrontation. Thankfully, diligent behind-the-scenes work with our partners in Europe and beyond saw to it that a collision was averted. This is no simple task; individuals and small organizations are far more nimble than vast government infrastructures, and are extremely difficult to outmaneuver. » Read more

Killing chance for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Daniel Ben Simon - (Opinion) July 12, 2011 - 12:00am In the final moments of the vote on the Boycott Law, when it was clear that my opposition colleagues and myself are again about to be defeated, my thoughts wandered to the founders of this state. These well-known and unknown heroes who left their countries of birth, left families behind, and moved to the Land of Israel in order to build one of the 20th Century’s most ambitious projects. » Read more

Israel's boycott law: The quiet sound of going fascist ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Opinion) July 12, 2011 - 12:00am This is the one. Don't let what we like to call the relative calm here, fool you. When the Knesset passed the boycott law Monday night, it changed the history of the state of Israel. In real time, a tipping point of great magnitude can sound a lot like nothing at all. But if the Boycott Law makes it past challenges filed by human rights and pro-peace organizations in Israel's High Court of Justice, then anything goes, beginning with democracy itself. Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak and 10 other cabinet ministers already know this. That's why they failed to show up for the vote. » Read more

A Self-Defeating Boycott Bill ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am Supporters of Israel's settlement movement want to criminalize calls for boycotts, not only of Israel, but of products made in the settlements. The way to fight calls to boycott Israel itself is through argument; the way to fight calls to boycott settlements is to bring about the creation of a Palestinian state, and let the settlers become part of Palestine, or encourage them to come home to Israel proper. About the boycott-Israel movement I have no mixed feelings at all; it is a type of anti-Jewish discrimination campaign (as are these awful flotillas). » Read more

Israelis, Palestinians must unite to end occupation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yitzhak Laor - (Opinion) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the political right argues, has a solid parliamentary majority, so not accepting such a majority's decisions is undemocratic. Right-wing advocates use this argument widely. But of course, this argument harms Israel because it treats its colonialism as if it were part of its political structure. » Read more

Israeli groups to challenge boycott law in court ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Amy Teibel - July 12, 2011 - 12:00am A new law that seeks to impede boycotts against Jewish settlements in the West Bank sparked a ferocious debate Tuesday between supporters who praised it as a bulwark against efforts to isolate Israel and critics who warned it threatens the nation's democracy. Human rights groups said they would ask the Supreme Court within days to overturn the law, which allows settlers or settlement-based businesses to sue Israelis who promote settlement boycotts. Courts would determine whether a boycott caused financial harm and, if so, assess damages. » Read more

Palestinian envoy to UN: European states will recognize Palestine before September ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - July 13, 2011 - 12:00am The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, is in the forefront of the Palestinian diplomatic move ? now gaining momentum ? before the General Assembly meet in September. In the coming weeks, Mansour will submit to the UN secretary general an official request for Palestine to be accepted as a full member of the world body. Mansour hopes that September will see more than 130 countries voting in the General Assembly in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state, even if it does not receive full membership status. » Read more

Hamas: No Palestinian reconciliation if Fayyad remains PM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Associated Press - July 13, 2011 - 12:00am A senior Hamas official said a planned reconciliation with Fatah will be deeply threatened if the rival Palestinian movement insists Western-backed economist Salam Fayyad stays on as prime minister. President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah thinks keeping Fayyad as prime minister is key to maintaining the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars in Western aid. Hamas sees Fayyad as too close to the West. Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk was quoted Wednesday by the Palestinian daily Felesteen as saying Abbas' position is "unacceptable and unreasonable." » Read more