Britain, France to abstain from UN vote on Palestinian state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz November 4, 2011 - 12:00am A United Nations diplomat said that Britain, France and Colombia have decided to abstain during a vote on the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition by the UN Security Council. The vote on the matter is expected to be held next week. Neither Britain, France nor Colombia have officially announced their positions on the matter. The diplomat told the BBC that the decision was made during discussions at the UN Security Council. » Read more

The UNESCO cuts: What’s next on the U.S. chopping block? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Colum Lynch - (Blog) November 3, 2011 - 12:00am The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has admitted the Palestinians as a full member, prompting the Obama administration to impose millions of dollars in congressionally mandated cuts. Meanwhile, the Palestinian U.N. envoy in Geneva, Ibrahim Khraishi, said the Palestinians were now studying the prospects of joining 16 other U.N. agencies, raising the possibility of further U.S. funding cuts. » Read more

Israel: positive and negative ramifications ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Itamar Rabinovich - (Opinion) November 4, 2011 - 12:00am The impact of the "Arab spring" on Israel has so far been mixed. Like other actors observing this series of events and being affected by it, Israel understands that this is just the beginning of a lengthy process whose repercussions for its interests will keep changing over time. » Read more

'Spring-less' Palestine? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Ibrahim Shikaki - (Opinion) November 3, 2011 - 12:00am In recent years, and for various ecological reasons, Palestinians have been witnessing a "two-seasoned" year. Each year more noticeably than the one before, two seasons prevail: a colder-than-average winter and hotter-than-average summer. This means that two lovely seasons have begun to disappear. This brings us to the questions posed in this article, i.e. is there really "no Palestinian spring", and if so, will we need to import our spring from neighboring Arab countries? » Read more

An Ill-Timed Move ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward (Editorial) November 4, 2011 - 12:00am What were they thinking? The Palestinians, we mean. While there may be heart-thrumming symbolic value to achieving full membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as they did October 31, it comes at great cost to all concerned, including the very people the agency aims to help. » Read more

A new friend for Unesco in the UAE ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) November 4, 2011 - 12:00am The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says that it exists "to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information". » Read more

Mideast Conflict as Zero-Sum Game ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) November 3, 2011 - 12:00am Several readers have written in to protest my last column, which dissected conservative responses to the recent summons to Jewish unity issued by the Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee. Reader complaints are nothing unusual, but this time some good points were raised that forced me to rethink. In the process I’ve come across some new information, which I’d like to share. » Read more

A Palestinian Group Creates a Generation of Inventors ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Chronicle of Higher Education November 4, 2011 - 12:00am In 2001, to the distress of his family, Aref F. Husseini resigned from his jobs as a senior engineer with Intel and as an adjunct professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He bought a bag and filled it with some tools and electronic components—pliers, a soldering iron, transistors, and the breadboards used as bases for electrical circuits. He began to visit schools to teach science and engineering in a most practical way. » Read more

The Russell Tribunal on Palestine can promote peace, truth and reconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Michael Mansfield, Desmond Tutu - (Opinion) November 3, 2011 - 12:00am Opportunities to break seemingly intractable and deadlocked situations are rare – especially on a scale which has rapidly developed this year from the beleaguered cries of citizenry across North Africa and the Middle East. There is a palpable consensus that the provenance of this movement is lodged firmly in the fundamental prerequisite for meaningful democracy: self-determination. All conventions on human rights have this tenet as a core rationale. Where it is repeatedly denied and suppressed there will never be peace or justice, let alone stability. » Read more

In the West Bank, a woman's struggle for change ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - November 4, 2011 - 12:00am When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas returned home to a hero’s welcome after applying for United Nations membership for a Palestinian state, Hurriyah Ziada was not moved to join the celebration. » Read more