March 11th, 2013

Racism widespread in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Smadar Shir - (Opinion) March 10, 2013 - 1:00am

The racism disease has been living within us from time immemorial. Its roots may be found as early as the days of Torah, when the Creator of the universe defined us as the "chosen people," and we were foolish enough not to interpret the definition as a mission but rather as a fact. Already then we saw ourselves as superior and put on airs, and therefore the Torah preached that we should love those who are foreigners.

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CEC: Final electoral register to be published April 10
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
March 11, 2013 - 12:00am

The Central Elections Commission on Sunday completed the transfer of voter registry forms from Gaza to Ramallah and will publish the final registry on April 10, the CEC said. In February, Palestinian officials told Ma'an that Israel was impeding the delivery of the electoral registers. Head of the Central Elections Committee Hanna Nasser said the CEC used scanners to digitally transfer the data as Israeli prevented the transfer of the registration applications to a West Bank processing center.

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The Pro-Palestinian Left's Hamas Blindspot
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Peter Beinart - (Analysis) March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

Earlier this week, news that Hamas had barred women from participating in a marathon in the Gaza Strip scrolled across my twitter feed. Instantly, I knew two things. First, that “Pro-Israel” hawks would lambast the Islamist group without ever considering the way in which Israel and America’s policy of isolating Gaza makes it easier for Hamas to practice the very misogyny the hawks rightly condemn. Second, that the anti-Zionist left would say nothing at all.

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On Questioning the Jewish State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Joseph Levine - (Opinion) March 9, 2013 - 1:00am

I was raised in a religious Jewish environment, and though we were not strongly Zionist, I always took it to be self-evident that “Israel has a right to exist.” Now anyone who has debated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will have encountered this phrase often. Defenders of Israeli policies routinely accuse Israel’s critics of denying her right to exist, while the critics (outside of a small group on the left, where I now find myself) bend over backward to insist that, despite their criticisms, of course they affirm it.

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March 8th

NEWS: Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian worshipers clash at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem. (Reuters/AP) Israel has begun construction on the extension of a freeway that would divide a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, as villagers seek a court order to prevent this. (Los Angeles Times) Pres. Obama is downplaying expectations for his trip to Israel and Palestine. (AP) Obama meets with Jewish-American leaders in advance of his trip, saying peace is essential but the prospects are bleak. (Reuters/JTA) Young Israelis are asking if Obama's visit is too little, too late. (The Media Line) The Israeli military is preparing for the next conflict with Hezbollah. (AP) Hamas denies the Egyptian government has asked it to abandon "armed struggle." (Ma'an) Israel issues hundreds of arrest warrants for ultra-Orthodox Jews dodging military service. (Xinhua) Palestinians complain about Canadian official comments about the prospect of suing Israel at the ICC. (Xinhua) Palestinians at a large refugee camp in the occupied West Bank rally in support of prisoners. (Ma'an) The Palestinian statistics bureau says women constitute 49.2% of the population. (PNN) A new Palestinian poll confirms the public demand for elections and continued greater support for Fatah and consistently low numbers for Hamas. (PNN) Violence and crime are on the rise in Gaza. (Al Monitor) Israeli politicians suggest a new government may be announced next week. (Ha'aretz) Carl Levin, a leader on Middle East issues in the Senate, says he will not seek reelection in 2014. (JTA) The Netherlands may instruct retail stores to clearly label settlement products. (YNet) The State Department says it has decided to defer presenting an award to an Egyptian activist because of alleged anti-Semitic tweets. (Jerusalem Post) An Israeli court has found the PA indirectly responsible for the murder of an Israeli in 2003. (Jerusalem Post) Attacks on Palestinians and anti-Arab bigotry are becoming more common and acceptable in Jewish Israeli society. (The National)

COMMENTARY: Ami Ayalon says Obama's trip should initiate the creation of a clear process towards a two state solution. (Los Angeles Times) Yisrael Medad asks if Obama can overcome low expectations about his visit in Israel. (Los Angeles Times) Uri Savir says Obama will have to move past rhetoric to difficult decisions in order to move the process forward. (Jerusalem Post) Noah Feldman remembers Rabbi Menachem Froman. (Bloomberg) Reza Nasri says US and Israeli threats of force against Iran are counterproductive and harm chances for an agreement. (CSM) Anshel Pfeffer says the debate on Zionism in Britain is empty of content. (Ha'aretz) Ranan Hartman says all citizens, Zionist or not, should be included in the Israeli identity. (YNet) Patrick Seale says the EU could play a major role in promoting Middle East peace if it wanted to. (Gulf News) Naela Khalil says Israeli authorities mainly ignore attacks by settlers on Palestinian villages and villagers. (Al Monitor) Raja Shehadeh interviews Mustafa Barghouti. (Daily Beast/Open Zion) Aaron David Miller interviews Uri Savir and Ahmed Qurei. (Foreign Policy) S. Daniel Abraham says soon Israel will no longer be a Jewish-majority state. (The Atlantic)

Attacks and anti-Arab bigotry 'more acceptable' in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

A spate of epithet-laced attacks by young Israeli Jews against Arabs indicates anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry is becoming more acceptable in many sectors of Israeli society, according to rights workers. Police have arrested four people, including two minors, over the bludgeoning on Saturday of an Arab Israeli citizen on holiday with his wife in the Israeli city of Tiberius, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported this week.

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Court: PA liable for terror attack by teen in ‘03
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Yonah Jeremy Bob - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

The Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday held the Palestinian Authority liable for NIS 1.3 million in damages for training and indirectly encouraging a 15-and-ahalf- year-old Palestinian to murder Amit Amos Monitin on June 26, 2003. The boy murdered Monitin while he was on the job as a technician for the Bezek telephone company in Baka al- Gharbiya, east of Hadera. The killer was caught, tried, convicted and is serving his sentence in Israel.

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US defers activist's award amid anti-Semitic tweets
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - March 8, 2013 - 1:00am

The US State Department is holding off on presenting a prestigious award to Egyptian activist Samira Ibrahim after anti-US and anti- Semitic tweets from her Twitter account were uncovered. “After careful consideration, we’ve decided we should defer presenting this award to Ms. Ibrahim this year so that we have a chance to look further into these statements,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Thursday.

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Holland to label settlement goods?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

The Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday that it has obtained unofficial information regarding a Dutch directive instructing retail chains in Holland to state the origin of products from settlements.

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Carl Levin won’t run again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
March 7, 2013 - 1:00am

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a veteran Jewish lawmaker who had major influence on defense policy, will not seek reelection. Levin, 78, was quoted Thursday by The Associated Press as saying that his decision was "extremely difficult" but that he wanted to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2014, without "distraction." Levin heads the Senate's Armed Services Committee, and in that capacity has been influential in defense policy, helping to maintain record levels of defense assistance for Israel.

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