November 8th

Fighting to make Israel into a military theocracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Yagil Levy - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am Is there a connection between the warning of the outgoing Judea and Samaria Division commander, Brig. Gen. Nitzan Alon - who said a "radical minority, marginal in quantity but not in influence, is liable to bring about extensive escalation through what are called 'price tag' acts but reach the level of terrorism" - and the separation of women at the army's Simhat Torah celebrations? » Read more

Release Marwan Barghouti ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Avinoam Bar-Yosef - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently called on Israel to release more Palestinian prisoners in advance of any possible negotiations, he was setting a condition that he probably knew Israel would balk at. One of the prisoners on his list, Ahmed Saadat, is accused of killing an Israeli minister. More significantly, another one, if released, would most likely soon take Abbas’s place. » Read more

The Last Jew in Zagare ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am The last Jew in Zagare, a small Lithuanian town renowned for its cherries, died in September. His name was Aizikas Mendelsonai, born in 1922. He was not buried in either of the two Jewish cemeteries, with their lurching gravestones, faded inscriptions and advancing lichen. Nobody is any more, not even Jews. » Read more

November 7th

Olmert’s offer - ‘too good to be true’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Musa Keilani - (Opinion) November 6, 2011 - 12:00am Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said last week that prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace are far worse today than when she left office. » Read more

The Mystery of 1948 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Slate by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am The most basic question about Israeli democracy has existed from before its birth: What would be the status of Arabs in a Jewish state? The answer is riddled with contradictions. » Read more

U.S. renews financial aid to Palestinians after UN statehood row ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Associated Press - (Analysis) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinians are slated to receive some 200 million dollars in U.S. security assistance after a top House Republican ended her hold on the money. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, informed the Obama administration in recent weeks that she no longer would block 50 million dollars in economic support funds for the Palestinian Security Forces and 148 million dollars in other assistance. » Read more

Fighting for Jerusalem, passport by passport ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by David Frum - (Opinion) November 5, 2011 - 12:00am Two can play at this game. Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority have abandoned negotiations with Israel. They are seeking UN recognition of Palestinian statehood: statehood without peace. Already they have gained one victory: acceptance as a full member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Yet this victory may be their last. The United States has cut off its support for UNESCO, a warning to other UN agencies to take care. » Read more

This is Israel? Not the one I love ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Chronicle by Jonathan Freedland - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am All credit to Israel's friends in the British Jewish community: they are nothing if not energetic. A matter of months after they gathered for BICOM's We Believe in Israel rally in London, they are now erecting a Big Tent for Israel in Manchester. According to an ad for a spin-off event, once again the focus will be the "delegitimisation of Israel". » Read more

Extracting a price ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ahram by Graham Usher - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinians scored a victory on 31 October when UNESCO (the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation) admitted them into its ranks as a full member, despite an immediate cut of $60 million in American dues, or 22 per cent of the organisation's budget. Membership will enable the Palestinian Authority (PA) to register as its heritage such sites as the Nativity Church in Bethlehem and the Ibrahimi Mosque (or Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hebron, both encircled by the Israeli occupation. » Read more

Israel won’t commit to clearing Iran op with U.S. ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) (Analysis) November 6, 2011 - 12:00am U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reportedly failed in his bid to have Israel clear any attack on Iranian nuclear facilities with the United States. Panetta in a visit to Israel last month tried to get a commitment from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak that Israel would clear any operation on Iranian nuclear facilities, Haaretz reported Sunday. » Read more