June 27th

Caterpillar pulled from social indexes over company’s use in Palestinian territories
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — A U.S. investment firm has removed Caterpillar Inc. from three of its popular indexes that track socially responsible investments, citing concerns about the Israeli military’s use of company bulldozers in the Palestinian territories.

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Israel slams Iranian allegation of "Jews behind drug trade"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday slammed remarks by a senior Iranian official alleging that Jews control international drug trade.

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Questions For One-Staters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Ziad Asali - (Opinion) June 26, 2012 - 12:00am

Supporters of the two-state solution are often told that this vision is unrealistic and has become unachievable. Young, idealistic seekers of justice and equality are increasingly offering what they claim is a more "realistic" solution: a single state for all Israelis and Palestinians, including refugees. Here are ten questions that might help these single-staters think through the feasibility of the project they have in mind:

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Israeli rectors oppose academic upgrade of West Bank college
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Senior Israeli academics are urging the government not to grant university status to an state college located in a city in the West Bank. The Academic Center in Ariel has been seeking to upgrade its ranking to a university for years. The center, established three decades ago, has 12,500 students, including Israeli Arabs and Palestinians.

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Traditional Gaza drawn to old alternative therapy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Ibrahim Barzak - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — In a Gaza shop, a group of men sit with glass jars attached to their legs, their backs, their faces, sucking at the skin as blood slowly seeps out. It's the latest craze in the isolated coastal strip — cupping therapy. Cupping is an ancient form of alternative medicine whose advocates believe it improves blood flow and helps relieve a range of ailments from headaches to arthritis. It is perhaps best known in the West as part of traditional Chinese medicine.

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Israeli, Palestinian leaders may meet next week
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli and Palestinian officials say they expect Israel's new deputy prime minister to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas early next week in a bid to restart peace talks. Negotiations have been frozen for nearly four years. The Palestinians want Israel to halt settlement construction on occupied lands before talks can resume. Israel wants negotiations to start without any preconditions.

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June 26th

Questions For One-Staters
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - June 26, 2012 - 12:00am

Supporters of the two-state solution are often told that this vision is unrealistic and has become unachievable. Young, idealistic seekers of justice and equality are increasingly offering what they claim is a more "realistic" solution: a single state for all Israelis and Palestinians, including refugees. Here are ten questions that might help these single-staters think through the feasibility of the project they have in mind:

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NEWS: Israeli settlers begin evacuating a tiny “unauthorized” outpost. Pres. Putin visits the West Bank. Israel arrests 3 ultra-Orthodox Jewish suspects in a vandalism attack on its Holocaust Memorial. Pres. Abbas reiterates that negotiations are the only path to peace with Israel. Mohammed Morsy's presidential victory in Egypt causes alarm in Israel, and Hamas claims it will help win them international recognition. Senior Fatah leaders in Gaza resign. Sami Michael, head of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, says it is “the most racist state in the developed world.” Palestinian road accident victims are caught between competing authorities in “Area C.” Israel demolishes a Bedouin village for the 39th time. Palestinians say Israel is preventing some 300 couples split between Gaza and the West Bank from reuniting. The New York Times looks at the threatened West Bank village of Battir. COMMENTARY: ATFP Executive Director Ghaith Al-Omari asks what “pro-Palestinian” American activists, totally alienated from their country's political system, have achieved. Adam Gonn says Israel is not a priority for Egypt's new Islamist president. Eric Yoffie says Israel's settlement project is undermining its relationship with Jewish Americans. Tom Segev profiles David Ben-Gurion. Uri Pasovsky says Israel could be a big loser in the emerging new global order. Bernard Avishai asks why, if Israel is really interested in creating the basis for a Palestinian state, it continues to prevent Palestinians educated in major Western universities from returning to the occupied territories. Elisheva Goldberg looks at left and right wing state party votes in the United States that undermine a two-state solution. Karin Laub and Ibrahim Barzak say the Muslim Brotherhood victory in Egypt's presidential election offers no quick fixes for Gaza or Hamas. Brian Levin says Jewish Americans should repudiate Islamophobia.

Jews Must Repudiate All Hatred, Especially From One of Their Own
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post
by Brian Levin - (Blog) June 25, 2012 - 12:00am

Pamela Geller, an outspoken Islamophobe who spins wild hateful conspiracy theories about Muslims, as well as President Obama, had a speaking event entitled "Islamic Jew Hatred: The Root Cause of the Failure to Achieve Peace" cancelled in Los Angeles over the weekend following condemnation by a number of local advocacy groups. The speech sponsored by the Zionist Organization of America was terminated after the venue owner, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, intervened to prevent its tenant from hosting the controversial speaker.

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A Palestinian Village Tries to Protect a Terraced Ancient Wonder of Agriculture
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 25, 2012 - 12:00am

BATTIR, West Bank — In this scenic Palestinian village in the West Bank hills near Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem, a week is said to last eight days, not seven. That is because Battir’s eight extended families take daily turns watering their crops from the natural springs that feed their ancient agricultural terraces, a practice they say has wor

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