July 30th, 2012

Romney: US, Israel differences embolden enemies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
July 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Mitt Romney says any public differences between the United States and Israel only embolden adversaries. The U.S. presidential candidate says it is a "basic truth" that the United States and Israel will always stand together. Without mentioning the tensions between President Barack Obama and Israel's leaders, Romney suggested in a Jerusalem speech Sunday that the diplomatic differences only encourage Israel's enemies.

»

Romney to Israel Hayom: Israel deserves better treatment than it's getting from Obama
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Hayom
by Boaz Bismuth, Amos Regev - (Interview) July 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Israel deserves better treatment than it received during the term of U.S. President Barack Obama, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney told Israel Hayom in a special interview this week. "I would treat Israel like the friend and ally it is. We share not only common interests, but also common values." "I cannot imagine going to the United Nations, as Obama did, and criticizing Israel in front of the world," he said. "You don't criticize your allies in public to achieve the applause of your foes."

»

In Israel, Romney declares Jerusalem to be capital
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Kasie Hunt - July 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Standing on Israeli soil, U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday declared Jerusalem to be the capital of the Jewish state and said the United States has "a solemn duty and a moral imperative" to block Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability. "Make no mistake, the ayatollahs in Iran are testing our moral defenses. They want to know who will object and who will look the other way," he said. "We will not look away nor will our country ever look away from our passion and commitment to Israel."

»

Romney comments at fundraiser outrage Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Kasie Hunt - July 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Mitt Romney told Jewish donors Monday that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the Palestinians, outraging Palestinian leaders who called his comments racist and out of touch.

»

Panetta Sidesteps Issue of Israel’s Plans on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Elisabeth Bumiller - July 29, 2012 - 12:00am

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Sunday that he did not think Israel had yet made a decision to strike Iran, but that his goal in meeting with the Israeli leadership this week was to strengthen ties with the United States “so that we can be fully prepared to deal with any contingency that may happen.”

»

West Bank’s Emerging Silicon Valley Evades Issues of Borders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - July 29, 2012 - 12:00am

The spotless cafeteria is fashionably furnished with fluorescent orange and lime green tables, and there are table tennis and foosball tables in the basement. What else could it be but a tech start-up, even here?

»

July 27th

NEWS: Israel's Supreme Court delays by three weeks the court-ordered evacuation of an “unauthorized” settlement outpost. Palestinian refugees in Syria are being sucked into the conflict there, as most factions retain a presence in that country. The PA Finance Minister says its fiscal crisis is growing more acute. Pres. Morsy meets Hamas leader Hanniyeh in Cairo. US counterterrorism chief Brennan is visiting Israel. Hamas claims that the Arab uprisings have not spread to the West Bank because of Israel. A PA investigation into violence against protesters in Ramallah says police chiefs should be questioned about the incident. Pres. Obama authorizes expanded military cooperation with Israel. Israel bans 5 Palestinian woman from Gaza from studying in the West Bank. An advisor to Pres. Abbas visits Auschwitz. Gaza Christians and Hamas are at odds over purported forced conversions to Islam. Some Palestinian protests are focusing on Abbas, not Israel. COMMENTARY: Hussein Ibish says both Israelis and Palestinians are avoiding their urgent national debates. Ha'aretz interviews Mitt Romney. Hirsh Goodman says Israeli society is now divided between unilateralists and annexationists, neither of whom have a workable long-term vision. Jay Bushinski says it's only the occupation that's keeping the Israeli right in power. Rachel Cohen compares her very different trips to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories under the Birthright program and J Street U. Michael Sharnoff interviews Mohammed Dajani. Lara Friedman responds to Dani Dayan's recent New York Times commentary. A new book outlines the bureaucracy of Israel's occupation. CNN interviews a survivor of the attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The Economist asks what would happen to Hebron in a two-state solution.

Not so easy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
(Editorial) July 28, 2012 - 12:00am

EVEN if an Israeli government were determined to remove Jewish settlements in the West Bank in order to make way for a Palestinian state, it would now be exceptionally hard to remove Jews living in the settlement of Kiryat Arba and in the nearby ancient city of Hebron, which has sites that are holy both to Jews and Muslims.

»

The Munich massacre: A survivor's story
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by James Montague - (Interview) July 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Professor Shaul Ladany has a busy schedule to keep these days but lays down one important condition before agreeing to speak to CNN. "Every morning I roll up the carpet and do my exercises," he explains.

»

Probing the bureaucracy of occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Vered Lee - (Book Review) July 26, 2012 - 12:00am

"The Bureaucracy of Occupation: The Permit Regime in the West Bank 2000–2006," by Yael Berda, allows us to peek “over the shoulder of the military bureaucrat,” as Max Weber, one of the founders of modern sociology, put it. Berda, a practicing lawyer, specializes in administrative and constitutional law and is a research student at Princeton University.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017