November 23rd

Rabbis at secret meet: Soldiers who refuse orders are 'heroes' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am Dozens of religious Zionist rabbis held a secret meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday to discuss ways of bolstering the hesder yeshivas, the halachic argument for refusing to obey military orders to evacuate settlements, and the campaign against having the army evacuate Jews from their homes. The rabbis in attendance included Zalman Baruch Melamed, rabbi of Beit El and head of the yeshiva there; Shmuel Eliyahu, rabbi of Safed; and Yaakov Yosef, son of Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef. » Read more

Jerusalem Syndrome ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am Sometimes tourists show up at Jerusalem's mental health centers, convinced that a voice from the heavens told them they were the messiah. The illness, commonly known as Jerusalem Syndrome, usually passes once they have left the city. However, Israelis, mostly public figures, have been afflicted with this syndrome for the past 42 years, affecting their ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Jerusalem has become the Disneyland of the Jewish people. » Read more

Peres: Netanyahu can and must make peace with Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 23, 2009 - 1:00am President Shimon Peres said Monday that just peace between Israel and the Palestinians was just a "step away," and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to do everything necessary to ensure an end to the conflict during its tenure. "Today, there is just one step left between us and the end of this conflict," said Peres. "The current government can and must do it. The painful solution of dividing the land, two states for two peoples, was something the [Israel's first prime minister] David Ben-Gurion took on himself, and today it is accepted by the majority of the nation. » Read more

Tribute to Kahane planned by Israeli legislators ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency by Jonathan Cook - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am A plan by right-wing legislators in Israel to commemorate the anniversary this month of the death of Meir Kahane, whose banned anti-Arab movement is classified as a terrorist organization, risks further damaging the prospects for talks between Israel and the Palestinians, US officials have warned. A move to stage the commemoration in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is being led by Michael Ben-Ari, who was elected this year and is the first self-declared former member of Kahane's party, Kach, to become a legislator since the movement was banned 15 years ago. » Read more

Fayyad: We won't accept fragmented state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 23, 2009 - 1:00am “We will not accept a fragmented state, and we refuse all interim and transitional solutions. The eastern border of the state of Palestine is Jordan," said caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday. Fayyad's comments follow former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz's initiative to announce a Palestinian state on temporary borders, a proposal staunchly rejected by Palestinians officials. » Read more

Israeli expert: World would recognize Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency November 23, 2009 - 1:00am More than 130 United Nations member states would recognize a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, Israeli international law expert Moshe Hersh told Israeli TV on Saturday evening. According to Hersh, “Mahmoud Abbas can declare a Palestinian state nowadays because 100 countries will certainly support his decision, in addition to 30 others who are likely to vote for the decision. “Furthermore, there will be European support, even though it will not be overwhelming. The US intends to oppose the Palestinian decision, yet the limited European support will be embarrassing to the US.” » Read more

Israel air strikes in Gaza: Will Hamas rocket truce hold? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Erin Cunningham - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes against targets across the Gaza Strip Sunday morning, just one day after Hamas announced it had reached an agreement with all Gaza-based militant factions to halt rocket fire into the Jewish state. » Read more

Palestinian panel to sidestep vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am To keep the Palestinian Authority government working after its term expires in January, Palestinians are turning to an unelected group of political insiders instead of holding new elections, according to Palestinian officials and outside analysts. » Read more

Israeli bombs follow Palestinian rockets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press November 23, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli aircraft attacked two suspected weapons-making factories and a smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire into southern Israel. The airstrikes wounded at least seven people, including one seriously, and came despite an announcement by Gaza's Hamas rulers that the territory's military factions had agreed to stop firing rockets. The Hamas announcement came late Saturday, after the rocket attack. » Read more

Palestinians looking to U.S.-style suburban housing, financing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider - November 23, 2009 - 1:00am The hills around this city have seen plenty of construction, often the distinctive red-roofed homes favored by Israeli settlers. But the bulldozers and laborers active here recently are laying foundations and building roads for a different type of development -- planned communities targeted to middle-income Palestinians, including one billed as the first "new city" for Palestinians in modern memory. » Read more