Bret Stephens' Crisis of Empathy
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Sometimes crude binaries can be instructive, and it's possible to distinguish two different types of people: those who seek out generous and universalist empathy with others, and those who prefer the warm cocoon of tribal solidarity.

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NEWS: At an ATFP/Carnegie event in Washington, a panel of experts warns the international community must act quickly to avert a "crisis" in Palestine. PM Netanyahu and DM Barak unite on the issue of Iran. Mofaz defeats Livni in the Kadima leadership contest. Israel may allow absentee ballots for citizens living abroad. Two 'infiltrators" are killed near Egypt's border with Israel. The Palestinian Constitutional Court refuses to rule on whether the president may also serve as the PM. The PA and Egypt sign a gas deal to end the Gaza energy crisis. Pro-Palestinian activists prepare for Land Day events, but organizers fear violence. Palestinians in Jerusalem describe being attacked by masses of Israeli football hooligans. A Brooklyn food co-op has decided not to boycott Israeli products. The PA extends the detention of a Palestinian journalist. Palestinian entrepreneurs are trying to move into the high-tech field. COMMENTARY: The New York Times says the Israeli government must obey a court ruling on evacuating the largest “unauthorized” settlement outpost. Salman Masalha says Israel's occupation is playing into the hands of regional demagogues like Iran. Bradley Burston says Israelis will have to consider the possibility of a bi-ethnic, but not unitary single, state. The Jerusalem Post says Land Day this year could be violent. Jane Eisner says Peter Beinart's idea for a pro-Israel settlement goods boycott is unworkable. Philologos says Israel's national anthem should be rewritten to include Arab aspirations. Bilal Hassan says Israel is comfortable with the status quo. Gershon Baskin says Netanyahu is the man who can make peace with the Palestinians. Samir Abdullah outlines the consequences of a collapse of the PA. Hussein Ibish says Bret Stephens has shown a total inability and unwillingness to empathize with Palestinians.

Brooklyn Food Co-op Voted Against Boycott of Israeli Products
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Associated Press - March 28, 2012 - 12:00am

A New York food co-op, servicing thousands of Brooklyn residents of varying ethnicities and backgrounds, voted against a proposed boycott of Israeli goods and produce on Tuesday night. With upwards of 15,000 members, of various ethnic and religious backgrounds, including many Jews, the Park Slope Food Co-op, established in 1973, has become a meeting point of sorts for Jews of different backgrounds and religious denominations. The idea of an ideological boycott was not new to the co-op, as a general boycott of South African goods and products was held during the 1970's.

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PA extends remand of detained journalist
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
March 28, 2012 - 12:00am

A Palestinian Authority court on Wednesday extended the remand of Palestinian journalist Yousef al-Shayeb, who was detained after writing an article about corruption in the Palestinian diplomatic mission in France, official PA news agency WAFA reported. Shayeb, who works as a correspondent for the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad, was originally detained following a complaint by the head of the diplomatic mission, Hayel Fahoum and his wife and deputy. The PA Foreign Ministry had also filed a complaint against Shayeb.

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Arab Attacked by Israel Soccer Fans: There Were Hundreds, We Had No Chance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Oz Rosenberg - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Over a week after the violent incident in which fans of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team ran amok in the Malha mall, accused of physically assaulting Arab workers in the mall, one of the workers provides a firsthand account of what occurred that night. “I’ve been working here for a year and a half, and my brother for two years,” said N., 20 years old, an East Jerusalem resident. “We’re used to the Beitar fans coming to the mall after the games, singing and getting wild, but we’ve never seen anything like what happened last week. That was the worst.”

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Joining Start-Up Nation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by David Rosenberg - March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Living and working on the edges of Israel’s Start-Up Nation, Palestinian and Israeli Arab high tech entrepreneurs are trying their hand getting companies aloft by leveraging their closeness to Israel’s technology juggernaut and the low cost of Palestinian engineers. “There’s a great opportunity in Palestine to create a start-up with a great cost structure,” Tareq Maayah, chief executive officer of Shopzooky, a maker of social shopping apps, which was set up in Ramallah last year. “You couldn’t beat it without going to India,” said his partner Sam Taha, chief technology officer.

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Organizers Fear Palestinian Land Day Protests Could Turn Violent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - March 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Organizers of international protest marches scheduled for Friday to mark Land Day have expressed concern that the demonstrations could get out of control due to the involvement of outside activists, some from as far away as East Asia. Land Day marks the anniversary of protests in the Israeli Arab community in 1976 over government land policy in which security forces killed six demonstrators.

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Bret Stephens' Crisis of Empathy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Sometimes crude binaries can be instructive, and it's possible to distinguish two different types of people: those who seek out generous and universalist empathy with others, and those who prefer the warm cocoon of tribal solidarity.

»

International Pro-Palestinian Activists Descend on Lebanon Ahead of Land Day Protest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - March 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Dozens of international delegations comprising hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists began arriving in Lebanon on Wednesday, ahead of massive demonstrations planned for Land Day, which commemorates the 1976 deaths of six Israeli Arabs protesting Israeli government land policies.

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Rewriting 'Hatikvah' as Anthem for All
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Philologos - (Opinion) March 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Back in 1998, I wrote a column about “Hatikvah.” It was occasioned by a European Cup soccer game between Israel and Austria, before which, as usual on such occasions, the national anthems of both countries were played. When the band struck up the Israeli anthem, the whole Israeli team joined in singing it except for a talented young Arab player named Walid Badir, who stood in silence.

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