August 19th

Israelis awakening to the power of grass-roots activism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by David Borowich Ya'ari - (Opinion) August 17, 2011 - 12:00am

On a recent Saturday night, my wife and I waded into a sea of 6,000 protesters in Modiin as part of 12 other similarly staged rallies across Israel to demand social justice and greater accountability from our elected officials in Israel. This was Modiin, the newly created suburban retreat of the middle class -- a far cry from the social challenges facing the country. Amid a wave of upwardly mobile suburbanites, we found common cause with the hundreds of thousands of protestors who believe that Israel must provide greater social mobility and opportunity.

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NEWS: Israel and militants in Gaza exchange attacks. At least five Egyptians are killed in the fighting. Israel blames "poor security" in Sinai for the attacks. Israeli attacks strike a refugee camp in central Gaza. Reuters looks at the group blamed for the attacks in southern Israel. The Media Line looks at the state of Egyptian security in Sinai. The US urges Egypt to do more to control Sinai. Israel opens a light rail service linking West Jerusalem with occupied East Jerusalem. Pres. Abbas says the PLO will not accept observer status at the UN. The battle intensifies in Congress over how to react to a Palestinian UN initiative. COMMENTARY: Akiva Eldar says Israel no longer looks like a Goliath in the region. Avi Issacharoff says the Egyptian revolution has left a vacuum in Sinai. David Borowich Ya’ari says Israelis are awakening to "social justice" issues. Roi Ben-Yehuda says the protests may lead to a new era of Jewish-Arab cooperation, but Yisrael Harel says they are indifferent to the Palestinians. Abir Kopty explains how Palestinians in Israel are trying to involve themselves in the protests. The Daily Star says the exchange of attacks shows the status quo is untenable and peace is the only option. Shane Farrell and Mona Alami say Abbas achieved much in his trip to Lebanon.

Palestinians on statehood
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Mona Alami - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Mahmoud Abbas most likely left Lebanon Thursday a satisfied man. With high-level talks—most notably with President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri—as well as the inauguration of the Palestinian Embassy in Lebanon on his itinerary, the Palestinian president has laid some important diplomatic groundwork in preparation of an event next month that has the potential to define his career.

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Deadly direction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

When attacks and counterattacks erupted Thursday in Gaza, it might have been expected to hear analysts and the media talk about a sudden outbreak of violence – in fact, the developments of the last few months represent an instance of deliberately laying the groundwork for such an explosion.

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The boundaries of July 14
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Abir Kopty - (Opinion) August 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Although some Israelis are calling for making a clear connection to Israel's occupation, the July 14 movement for "social justice" is far from endorsing a position on this, for many reasons.

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The Israeli protest is indifferent to the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Yisrael Harel - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Until Barack Obama entered the White House, Abu Mazen (PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas) was obliged, under pressure from the United States and the Quartet, to negotiate with Israel. But his goal was never to reach agreement. This was graphically illustrated in late 2008 by his refusal to accept the most generous set of principles ever proposed by an Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert.

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Semites unite! You’ve nothing to lose but your pain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Roi Ben-Yehuda - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

On July 15 a small bit of history was made in Jerusalem. Around 3,000 Jews and Arabs marched from the Jaffa Gate in the Old City to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem calling for Palestinian independence, freedom and dignity. The demonstration was organized by the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement and leaders of the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood committees. We, an Israeli from Tel Aviv and a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem, were among those who joined and made our voices heard.

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The Egyptian revolution has created a vacuum in Sinai
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Thursday's attack, in which eight Israelis were killed and some 30 wounded, was one of the worst terror attacks Israel has experienced in recent years. Israeli defense sources said the cell, belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees, left the Gaza Strip through the tunnels and entered Israel from Sinai to carry out a suicide attack combined with an abduction. Seven of the terrorists who carried out the attack were killed by the IDF and special police forces, as well as by fire from the Egyptian army.

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The myth of Israel's Goliath image has been slain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

The planning, time, place and methodology of the attacks in the south indicate that the intention was not just to kill Israelis, avenge Palestinian deaths, or speed up the end of occupation. Whoever sent the terrorists is no friend of President Mahmoud Abbas and his people, who are scurrying around trying to lobby support for a UN General Assembly vote for a Palestinian state next month.

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Hill fight simmers over Palestinian statehood vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Marin Cogan, Jake Sherman - August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill will spend much of the fall warring over budget deficits and the national debt, but a mass excursion by lawmakers to Israel this month offers a glimpse into a simmering foreign policy fight that could unify the two parties and cause headaches for the White House.

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