Is Israel's Nuclear Ambiguity Worth Preserving?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Adam Raz - October 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Since the 1960s, Israel has maintained a "nuclear ambiguity policy" under which it will not be the first nation to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East. This policy, according to which Israel refrains from declaring what it does and doesn't have is a "diplomatic fiction," and it isn't for nothing that it was deemed by some to deserve the Israel Defense Prize. It is a "fiction" since it is no secret that, according to foreign sources, Israel is a nuclear state, as even a child can discover reading Wikipedia.

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NEWS: Israeli officials say Iran is pulling back from military aspects of its nuclear program. Palestinians are pressing forward with a renewed effort at greater recognition at the UN. French investigators say they will exhume the body of the late Pres. Arafat next month. PM Netanyahu is in France, pushing for tougher sanctions against Iran. Syrian rebels attack Palestinian factions aligned with Pres. Assad. Sudan dismisses Israeli allegations about arms shipments. Analysts say the Israeli right is uniting while the center and left remain in disarray. Peace Now says two new “unauthorized” outposts have been established by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Israel announces 180 new settlement housing units in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli forces arrest 24 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu claims Arabs would not be upset about an Israeli attack against Iran. A long-serving PLO official says a Palestinian confederation with Jordan might be an option. The Church of Scotland owns a luxury hotel in the Galilee. Jewish-American groups are increasingly discussing how to deal with the new Egyptian government. Knesset Speaker Rivlin says the reelection of Pres. Obama would be bad for the settlement project. COMMENTARY: Amira Hass says Israel cannot forever rely on military prowess for its future and security. Zvi Bar'el says Israel is starting to resemble Turkey, a democratic system in effect ruled by a single party. Alan Dershowitz says he thinks Obama deserves to be reelected. The Daily Star says Arab states talk about Palestine, while Israel acts. Danny Rubinstein says the Palestinian economy is teetering on the brink of collapse. Adam Raz says it might be time for Israel to abandon its policy of nuclear ambiguity. Michael Koplow says the Netanyahu-Lieberman joint list could be a disaster for both of them.

Bibi's Mistake
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Michael Koplow - (Opinion) October 30, 2012 - 12:00am

In an announcement last Thursday that shocked the Israeli political establishment, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated their intention to merge Netanyahu's Likud Party with Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu. Despite the contention made by some -- notably Haaretz editor Aluf Benn -- that this move creates a war cabinet that will make it easier for Israel to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, it's more likely the two men had domestic politics at the forefront of their minds.

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Palestinian Economy Is Teetering On Brink of Collapse, Study Finds
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Danny Rubenstein - (Analysis) October 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Last Saturday [Oct. 13], I visited a folk festival in the [West Bank Palestinian] Christian village of Taybeh, east of Ramallah — not to be confused with the Arab city [of Tayibeh] within the Green Line. The village of Taybeh is known primarily thanks to the beer-producing Taybeh Brewery, which is marketing to Israel as well and is quite popular in some of the pubs in the country.

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Virtual debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) October 31, 2012 - 12:00am

Arab officials and politicians are fond of spending an inordinate amount of time talking about the Palestine issue. They engage in the most Byzantine discussions of the need to support the Palestinian people in their struggle, how to offer this support, and who deserves “traitor” status for taking a given position.

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The case for President Obama’s reelection
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Alan Dershowitz - (Opinion) October 30, 2012 - 12:00am

The case for the reelection of President Barack Obama is compelling for several important reasons.

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A party in denial
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) October 31, 2012 - 12:00am

It took some effort to get worked up about the jubilant fanfare with which the Likud Central Committee welcomed the product of Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman's fusion. One might mistakenly suppose that two noble metals had just blended in the blistering crucible of the right wing.

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Never mind the settlements, it's the absurdity
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) October 31, 2012 - 12:00am

Compared to the value of the security technology Israel sells overseas, the value of European imports from the settlements are mere pocket money. Israel's economy won't be hurt even if European governments adopt the measures proposed by a group of nongovernmental organizations in order to shrink trade with the settlements and reduce the contradiction between European pronouncements ("the settlements are illegal" ) and imported dates from the Jordan Valley.

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Obama reelection would be bad for Jerusalem, Rivlin says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times of Israel
by Ilan Ben Zion - October 30, 2012 - 12:00am

A week before Americans head to the polls, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday said that US President Barack Obama’s reelection would bode ill for the State of Israel.

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As Morsi and Brotherhood spur alarm, what to do about Egypt?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - October 30, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON (JTA) – Jewish groups looking for signals from Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi regarding his views were appalled when one finally came -- in the form of a nod and what appeared to be a muttered “amen” to an imam’s call for God to “deal harshly” with the Jews.

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