An Unworthy Oath ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward (Editorial) October 13, 2010 - 12:00am The Declaration of Independence approved on May 14, 1948, heralds the new nation of Israel as a “Jewish state” but never defines what that actually means. There’s no mention of religion, indeed no mention of God. » Read more

Should Israel Abandon Policy of Nuclear Ambiguity? A New Book Argues Yes ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - October 13, 2010 - 12:00am It’s a policy that has been around for so long that most Israelis and Americans cannot imagine a world without it. For the past four decades, Israel has adhered, almost religiously, to the idea of nuclear ambiguity, or opacity. It has refused to either confirm or deny it has the bomb, and it has repeated the same vague mantra that “Israel will not be the first country to use nuclear weapons” in the Middle East. » Read more

Israeli forces train for Arab transfer riots ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Jonathan Cook - October 14, 2010 - 12:00am Israel secretly staged a training exercise last week to test its ability to quell any civil unrest that might result from a peace deal that calls for the forcible transfer of many Arab citizens, the Israeli media has reported. The drill was intended to test the readiness of the civil defence units, police, army and prison service to contain large-scale riots by Israel's Arab minority in response to such a deal. » Read more

Why Not Just Submit to Netanyahu? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Osman Mirghani - (Opinion) October 13, 2010 - 12:00am Those who predicted that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was serious in his pursuit of peace should now engage in some self-reflection. Netanyahu is a manipulative and deceitful man of the highest order, and it is a fact that he does not want to achieve a genuine peace settlement, which would lead to a viable Palestinian state. Instead, he has demanded complete Palestinian and Arab submission, to all his prohibitive conditions, and provocative maneuvers. » Read more

Israel doesn't know what it wants ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) October 14, 2010 - 12:00am It is generally recognised that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), now a 100,000-member pro-Israeli lobbying group, has had an impressive record since the ‘50s in advocating pro-Israel policies mostly to Congress. But of late several key officials, all American Jews in sensitive government positions, have outpaced this lobbying group established in 1950. » Read more

Rattling the Cage: Any more doubts about Bibi? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) October 13, 2010 - 12:00am Until this week, the question posed by “neutral observers” about Binyamin Netanyahu was whether he was going to follow the examples of Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, or that of Yitzhak Shamir. Would he transform himself into a peacemaker like Begin and Sharon by uprooting settlements and relinquishing occupied territory, or would he be an immovable object like Shamir, aiming only to keep things “quiet” so he could build more settlements and close the door on Palestinian statehood? » Read more

Israel is taking a dangerous direction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Michael Jansen - (Opinion) October 14, 2010 - 12:00am The adoption by Israel of a loyalty oath to be applied to non-Jews seeking naturalisation was inevitable. It was inevitable because Israel is a “Jewish state” founded by Zionist Jews for Zionist Jews. » Read more

Danger of Israel’s racist demands ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) October 14, 2010 - 12:00am Without any reason, the Israeli government has created a totally artificial problem for all future persons wishing to get citizenship: they will have to pledge allegiance to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Once again the Israelis are trying to push their internal problems and their hesitation to pay the needed price for peace onto others. » Read more

No to a third intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Common Ground News Service by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) October 14, 2010 - 12:00am Whether or not a solution to the crisis over settlements is achieved in the coming days, it's becoming increasingly clear that the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are in serious trouble. The Israeli daily Ha’aretz quoted unnamed Western officials as saying the talks are “going nowhere.” And the most cautious, sober and measured of the senior PLO leadership, Yasser Abed Rabbo who is a member of the negotiating team, has been moved to declare that, “there will be no serious political process with Netanyahu's government.” » Read more

Demolition, clashes and 'price tag' at West Bank outpost ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yair Altman - October 13, 2010 - 12:00am Some 50 youngsters, some of them hooded, blocked the entrance of security forces to Ramat Migron on Wednesday. Soldiers and police officers arrived at the West Bank outpost to demolish five illegal structures. During the ensuing clashes, which involved settlers, Palestinians and security forces, at least four people were lightly hurt by pepper spray and stones thrown by Palestinians. Some of the settlers hurled rocks at security forces and set tires on fire at the entrance to the outpost. » Read more