April 5th

Oppose church divestment from Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Noam E. Marans - (Opinion) April 3, 2012 - 12:00am NEW YORK (JTA) -- As Christians and Jews gather during their respective Easter and Passover holidays, we should recall all that Jews and liberal Protestants in America share and have accomplished together. But pride in the past should not blind us to the danger that this relationship could be derailed by pernicious responses to the Arab-Israeli conflict within certain churches. » Read more

Playing the Holocaust card ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu waved copies of the 1944 exchange of letters between the World Jewish Congress and the Roosevelt State Department and said the United States rejected Jewish pleas to bomb Auschwitz, he was drawing a parallel between the Islamists who rule Iran and the Nazis who controlled Germany seven decades ago. He wanted to leave no doubt about his willingness to attack Iranian nuclear facilities because he is convinced that country is building weapons to carry out its threat to wipe the Jewish state off the map, and he doesn’t care what anyone says. » Read more

Of bondage and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jonathan Rosen - (Opinion) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am After 130 years of Zionist activism, 64 years of statehood, 45 years of occupation, more than 20 years of failed negotiations with the PLO and seven years of disengagement; after seven wars, two intifadas, the rise of Hamas and the specter of anti-Semitic Islamist sentiment sweeping the region, many Israelis have come to the conclusion that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is simply intractable. » Read more

Norman Finkelstein bids farewell to Israel bashing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Interview) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am In June, Norman Finkelstein will mark 30 years of criticizing Israel. He remembers the exact day - the beginning of the Lebanon war, which ended his indifference to the Middle East's troubles. He'll have a new book coming out - "Knowing Too Much: Why the American Jewish Romance with Israel Is Coming to an End" - that focuses on Jewish public figures who represent, in his view, the narrative of beautiful Israel that's coming to an end. He is sure to make a lot of people mad again. » Read more

Netanyahu did the right thing by clearing Hebron outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) April 5, 2012 - 12:00am Another attempt by the settlers to bend the law in the West Bank to their extremist ideology failed on Wednesday, with the evacuation of the so-called Machpela House. The eviction came after Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that delaying the execution of the Civil Administration's eviction order could ignite the area, in addition to constituting contempt of court and undermining the authority of the military commander and the defense minister. This was an important reminder that the West Bank is not the settlers' state. » Read more

Springwater flows in the West Bank, but who controls it? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Zafrir Rinat - April 4, 2012 - 12:00am The settlers have been investing special efforts of late to persuade the Israeli public to make its way to numerous tourism sites on the other side of the Green Line. Internet sites of regional councils in the territories and advertisements placed by various nonprofit groups are replete with stories about the wonders of gourmet restaurants, boutique wineries, farms producing high-quality cheeses, and especially the many springs in the region. » Read more

AP Interview: Prosecutor says Palestinians could join ICC as a UN non-member observer state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press (Interview) April 4, 2012 - 12:00am UNITED NATIONS — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said Wednesday the war crimes tribunal would allow the Palestinians to sign up if the U.N. General Assembly approves a resolution recognizing Palestine as a non-member observer state. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo ruled Tuesday that only internationally recognized states can join the court, and therefore the Palestinian Authority’s bid for membership could not be accepted. » Read more

Mishal sole candidate for Hamas presidency –sources ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat April 4, 2012 - 12:00am Occupied Jerusalem, Asharq Al-Awsat – A well-informed source within the Hamas movement informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the internal elections for the Hamas Shura Council and Political Bureau are expected to take place within the next two weeks. The source revealed that in the first phase, members of local Consultative Councils are selected, who in turn vote for the Hamas Shura Council, which ultimately elects the movement’s administrative leadership, the Hamas Political Bureau. » Read more

PM looks to convert three outposts to settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Tovah Lazaroff, Joanna Paraszczuck - April 5, 2012 - 12:00am In a move likely to be condemned by the international community, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that his government planned to transform three West Bank Jewish outposts – Bruchin, Rehalim and Sansana – into new settlements. All three communities were created on state land over a decade ago, Rehalim in 1991, Sansana in 1997 and Bruchin in 1999, but were never authorized as settlements by the government. The government last authorized a settlement, Negahot, in 1999. » Read more

Israel asks US for $700 million in military aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Ron Ben-Yishai - April 4, 2012 - 12:00am Israel has asked the United States for assistance estimated at $700 million in order to produce more Iron Dome and Magic Wand missile and rocket defense batteries, sources told Ynet on Wednesday. The Iron Dome is designed to intercept rockets fired from a relatively short range, while the Magic Wand intercepts missiles fired from a range of at least 70km, including cruise missiles and missiles with ballistic warheads such as the Squd, Shihab and Sejil. » Read more