November 8th

Barak Still Bears The Scars From Camp David ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Tobias Buck - November 8, 2007 - 3:37pm Even by the volatile standards of Israeli politics, the comeback of Ehud Barak has been a remarkable one. Ousted as prime minister in 2001 after the acrimonious failure of the Camp David peace talks, Mr Barak left the political stage for almost six years to pursue a career in business. Yet in June, Israel's most decorated soldier and former chief of staff was back, taking the helm of his centre-left Labour party and assuming the post of defence minister in the coalition government headed by Ehud Olmert. » Read more

Push For Annapolis Summit Triggers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - November 8, 2007 - 3:36pm The buildup to the U.S.-backed Israeli-Palestinian summit to be convened later this month in Annapolis, Md., has set off a flurry of lobbying efforts throughout the Jewish community. A newly formed coalition of Orthodox and right-wing organizations dedicated to preserving Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem held meetings last week in Washington with White House officials and members of both houses of Congress. » Read more

Palestinian Mayors Lobby For Christian Support ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - November 8, 2007 - 3:35pm Facing the growing influence of Christian Zionists in the United States, the dwindling Christian minority in the Palestinian territories is making a renewed push to capture American hearts and minds. A delegation of Palestinian Christian mayors came to Washington last week on a lobbying mission, during which they argued the Palestinian cause. It was the first such mission ever. » Read more

Last Call For A Two-state Solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Immanuel Wallerstein - (Opinion) November 8, 2007 - 3:32pm The prevailing worldwide view of how to resolve politically the conflict of two nationalisms in Israel/Palestine is the so-called two-state solution - the creation of two states, Israel and Palestine, within the boundaries of the onetime British Mandate of Palestine. Actually, this position is not at all new. One might argue that it was the prevailing worldwide position throughout the 20th century. » Read more

Analysis: Rice's Shuttle Diplomacy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from World Peace Herald by Claude Salhani - (Blog) November 8, 2007 - 3:30pm U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has borrowed a chapter or two from Henry Kissinger's book of applied negotiations as she headed back out to the Middle East for her eighth visit to the region in the last six months.  » Read more

'failure Risks Devastating Consequences' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Lee Hamilton , Carla Hills , Nancy Kassebaum-baker , Thomas R. Pickering, Brent Scowcroft - (Commentary) November 8, 2007 - 3:27pm The following letter on the Middle East peace conference scheduled for Annapolis, Maryland, in late November, was sent by its signers on October 10 to President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The statement is a joint initiative of the US/Middle East Project, Inc. (General Brent Scowcroft, chairman, International Board, and Henry Siegman, president), the International Crisis Group (Gareth Evans, president), and the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program (Steven Clemons, director). » Read more

Mideast Religious Leaders Say They Vital To Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Deborah Charles - November 8, 2007 - 3:22pm In an unusual joint appearance, senior Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders said on Wednesday they were not a roadblock to peace in the Middle East but a vital part of the process. Dressed in traditional religious garb, the chief rabbis of Israel sat alongside Muslim leaders and Christian patriarchs and said they had agreed on steps to help resolve the conflict. » Read more

Gaza’s Reflection In A Foul Threat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - November 8, 2007 - 3:20pm Fahmi al-Abrak, 70, was at home on March 27 when a lagoon of human waste broke through its sand embankment and hurtled downhill, inundating this poor village of Bedouins in northern Gaza. “It rose to here in 15 seconds,” he said, pointing to a discolored line on the walls, four feet above ground. Five people were drowned when the overflow pool for a lake of water and human waste failed in March. Residents of Umm al Nasser pulled belongings from their homes after the wave of sewage struck their village in March. » Read more

Israeli Settlements Burden Peace Push ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - November 8, 2007 - 3:18pm The pounding chatter of jackhammers echoes over a wind-swept West Bank hilltop as workers lay bricks at a new apartment building rising in this sprawling Jewish settlement. The Israeli government says it's ready to make a deal that would give Palestinians their own state. But realities on the ground — outlined in a report Wednesday showing vigorous Israeli construction in the West Bank — hold important implications for the latest U.S. peace push. » Read more

November 6th

Yigal Amir's Thousands Of Sons ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) November 6, 2007 - 1:01pm It is no coincidence that the Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies stands deserted, while on the soccer fields, the murderer is cheered and the victim is booed. » Read more