September 7th

Peel back time: Should Israelis revisit the partition plan of 1937? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eyal Chowers - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am In the summer of 1937, the Yishuv − the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine − was in uproar over the Peel Commission’s publication of its conclusions concerning the Arab-Jewish dispute in the country. For several decades the Zionist movement’s political vision remained vague, with the very revival of Jewish nationalism still in doubt. However, in the 1930s, Jews fleeing Europe’s darkening skies reached Palestine in increasing numbers and the Yishuv stepped up its land purchases. » Read more

Barak now opposes Israeli strike on Iran, sources say ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) September 7, 2012 - 12:00am Word is that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is no longer as gung ho about an attack on Iran as his media interviews suggest. Haaretz's Amir Oren reported this week that Barak opposes launching an attack on the eve of the U.S. elections, and that he may be aiming to join a party headed by Tzipi Livni and to become defense minister in a Livni government. » Read more

The Democrats' misstep on Jerusalem and Israel's place in the US election ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Chris McGreal - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Just off the main road through West Jerusalem toward Bethlehem sits a prime but barren piece of real estate surrounded by luxury flats. It's the site of a future American embassy to Israel that, for nearly two decades, the US Congress has demanded be built immediately. But once American presidents begin navigating the minefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they quickly realise they don't need to add to their problems by shifting the US embassy from Tel Aviv - a unilateral statement on the status of Jerusalem. » Read more

More Than Disgrace, 'Price-Tag' Violence Is Israeli Security Threat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Yedioth Ahronoth - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am Considering the Israeli public’s hesitation with regard to the acts of atrocious violence committed by “price-tag” perpetrators, it may be fitting to open an article dealing with this group of thugs with a few decisive statements: “Price-tag” crimes are a mark of disgrace on Israeli society. Beating a 67-year-old shepherd with sticks and a razor simply because he is Arab is a shameful act that contradicts all the basic values of Judaism. » Read more

The Obama gut test ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Lester Crown - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am For the majority of my adult life, I have been privileged to call Chicago my home. It is a beautiful city with a large and active Jewish community. It is also where, several decades ago, many of my friends and I had the good fortune to know a lawyer who became a local community organizer and would, in fairly short time, become the most powerful man in the world. » Read more

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