October 18th, 2007

In the American Prospect, Gershom Gorenberg analyzes how archaeology is used at the Haram Sharif/Temple Mount to underline claims of sovereignty and draws an important lesson from the 2001 Camp David talks (2.) Reuters examines the many challenges facing Secretary Rice in bringing Israelis and Palestinians to agree on a joint document for the fall meeting as well as on entering formal statehood talks after that (4.) In the Middle East Times, Claude Salhani reports on the ATFP's DC gala at which Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns reiterated Secretary Rice's assertion that the time for establishing a Palestinian state was now (6.) A Forward editorial urges Israel seize the opportunity for peace between Israel and Syria and the Palestinians, warning of the consequences for Israel in not doing so (7.) In Israel Policy Forum, MJ Rosenberg lays out why the right-wing Israeli and Jewish American claims that Jerusalem is in danger of being 'divided' are in reality a scare tactic meant to oppose peace efforts (9.) The Financial Times (UK) looks at Palestinian indifference on the street regarding the fall meeting for reasons relating to both internal division and Israel actions on the ground (11.) A Jordan Times (Jordan) opinion by George Hishmeh argues for an Israeli commitment to the Non-Proliferation treaty (14.) A Jerusalem Post (Israel) opinion by former Israeli Foreign Ministry director-general David Kimche urges Israel to capitalize on the current opportunity to achieve a two-state solution before its time passes and the one-state solution becomes the default option (15.)

Bitter Olive Harvest / Justice Falls Short In The West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:48pm

Abed Al-Fatah Al-Hindi, a resident of the Nablus-area village of Tal, reaches the main highway between the Hawara and Git junctions, near the Gilad Farm. An International Red Cross crew stands waiting for him. He is bleeding from a large scalp wound, and his left eye is swollen. A paramedic bandages his head, and a volunteer from Rabbis for Human Rights cleans his face. "Every year there's a mess," the villager tells Haaretz. "It's just the first day of the olive harvest, and six settlers attacked me. There wasn't much we could do."

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Joint Israeli, Palestinian Statement Will Address 'core Issues,' Sources Say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:47pm

Israel is prepared to make a joint declaration with the Palestinians at the international peace conference scheduled to take place next month in Annapolis that will address the core issues of Jerusalem, refugees and permanent borders, a senior government official told Haaretz yesterday. Palestinian officials demanded Israel commit to a timetable for negotiations.

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Time To Intervene, Frankly
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
(Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:44pm

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is right to say that, “frankly, it’s time for a Palestinian state”. She’s also right to go visit the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. She’s going to need all the help she can get.

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For Lebanon, Caring About Palestinians Means Protecting Its Own
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
(Editorial) October 18, 2007 - 5:43pm

A new report by Amnesty International has rightly placed blame for the especially onerous plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon on several doorsteps. Apart from the consistent inadequacy of the Lebanese approach, it also points out the failure of the international community in general - and of Israel in particular - to find acceptable solutions. It should be noted, too, that for decades Lebanese policies on this issue (like those in countless other areas) were constricted and/or dictated by the Syrian overlords who held sway over Beirut.

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Lessons From Camp David
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Moshe Amirav - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:40pm

Next month the US president George W. Bush proposes to host an international conference in Annapolis, near Washington, in the hope of advancing a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The failure of previous attempts – in Madrid in 1991, in Oslo in 1993 and at Camp David in 2000 – highlights the difficulties. What have we learnt from these failures so that the same errors in judgment do not recur?

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Rice Wins No Firm Mid-east Vows
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bbc News
October 18, 2007 - 5:38pm

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has ended a Middle East tour without firm commitments to a conference on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. But she said the talks, due to be held in the US by the end of the year, still had a "reasonable chance of success". Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of holding up a joint document with the Palestinians. He said time was running out and the Palestinians could opt out of the conference without the document. The Israelis are pushing for a more general framework.

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Gates In The Lion’s Den
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Jim Lobe - (Blog) October 18, 2007 - 5:35pm

Monday night’s speech by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to the ultra-hawkish Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) must have deeply disappointed most of his audience, particularly when it came to his brief discussion of Iran. While Gates repeated the adminstration’s mantra that “all options are on the table,” the degree to which he emphasized diplomacy and omitted any mention of the growing list of charges by other U.S. military and administration officials regarding Tehran’s alleged “proxy war” against U.S.

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Rice Upbeat On Mideast, Heading Back Soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Arshad Mohammed - October 18, 2007 - 5:33pm

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday she was encouraged by her talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories this week and a U.S. official said she planned to return in about two weeks. White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley plans to visit the region next week to prepare for a U.S.-hosted peace conference later this year, said the U.S. official who spoke on condition that he was not identified.

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Breaking The Taboo: Why We Took On The Israel Lobby
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Alternet
by Eric Chinski - (Opinion) October 18, 2007 - 5:30pm

Why did your article "The Israel Lobby," which was published in the London Review of Books in 2006, provoke such heated discussion around the world? James Traub wrote in The New York Times Magazine: " 'The Israel Lobby' slammed into the opinion-making world with a Category 5 force." How would you describe the reaction?

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