A President's badge of honor ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Stuart E. Eizenstat - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am President Obama has demonstrated his unshakeable commitment to Israel's security in countless ways: enhancing security cooperation, passing unprecedented sanctions against Iran, and defending Israel against the Palestinian statehood bid, to name a few. While every single US president over the past six decades has had disagreements with Israel, some of President Obama's critics have completely ignored his pro-Israel record and labeled him anti-Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth. » Read more

Obama on the fence ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yoaz Hendal - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am In Hebrew there is a slight difference between in the pronunciation and spelling of "obligation" and "commitment." There is a big difference when it comes to the nuclear threat. The Obama administration has said everything it had to say in order to convince us that it is committed to Israel's security. But what it isn’t saying is that it is obligated – because it isn't. » Read more

Bedouin kids' school of hard knocks ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Khaled Diab - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am In the twilight of the early morning, as the rising sun turns a nearby mountain a striking pinkish-red, Nujood emerges from the family shack ready for her first day back to school after the long summer holiday. The teenager is a member of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe which has been based in the West Bank since they were forcibly evicted from the Negev shortly after Israel’s creation in 1948. » Read more

US official: Shapiro, Netanyahu had 'sharp confrontation' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews September 7, 2012 - 12:00am The White House issued denials – but a senior US official confirmed a report published earlier this week in Yedioth Ahronoth which claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticized the Obama administration for not doing enough vis-à-vis the Iranian issue. » Read more

Israeli Oil Firm Seeks to Extend Drilling Beyond Green Line ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Amir Ben-David - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am The controversial permits for further exploratory oil drilling in Israel that the Givot Olam Oil Exploration Limited Partnership is currently seeking may be another cause for headache for the State of Israel. The Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth's financial supplement Mammon has learned that the partnership intends to apply to the Palestinian Authority and ask for a permit for drilling on the Palestinian side of the oil field — that is, on the other side of the Green Line. » Read more

A lynch could happen in the bubble of Tel Aviv ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ithmar Handelman-Smith - (Analysis) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am It is easy for Tel Avivians to file the attempted lynch in Zion Square, in which dozens of Jewish youths attacked three Palestinians in broad daylight, almost killing one, under the category of “that will never happen here." That filing tag has become worn out from overuse, but it is still there, trying to do its job. And what is its job? Autosuggestion. » Read more

Most Jews see rosy future, Israeli Arabs cite prejudice: poll ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 7, 2012 - 12:00am A new poll released Thursday found most Israelis optimistic about the future, however, the Israeli Arabs -- some 20 percent of the state's 7.8 million residents -- feel less proud of their societal status than in 2011, and cite discrimination, The Jerusalem Post reported. The annual Israeli Democracy Index poll, conducted by Prof. Tamar Hermann of the Israel Democratic Institute, sketches a portrait of public opinion on core issues connected to the country 's democratic values. » Read more

Egypt's President meets Palestinian President Abbas ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi met Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Egyptian presidency headquarters, official news agency MENA reported. They discussed latest developments in the Palestinian reconciliation, ways to unify the Palestinian sides, and the Egyptian efforts to alleviate the Palestinian people's misery. The meeting was also attended by the Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, Palestinian ambassador to Egypt Barakat al- Farra, and members of Fatah central committee Saeb Oraikat and Azzam al-Ahmed. » Read more

Israel reserves right to decide on military strike on Iran: DM ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday said that although the Iranian nuclear threat is within Washington's main concerns, Israel and the United States are not on the same page regarding the time for a military strike, according to local media. "The Iranian challenge is a mutual one, however, Israel and the United States' clocks are ticking at different times," Barak said at a toast for the Jewish New Year. » Read more

U.S. congressman confirms high-level U.S.-Israel spat over Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tabassum Zakaria - September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blew up at the U.S. ambassador last month because he was "at wits' end" over what he sees as the Obama administration's lack of clarity on Iran's nuclear program, a U.S. congressman who was at the meeting said. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican, made his first public comments about the late August meeting in Israel in an interview with Michigan's WJR radio on Tuesday. » Read more