November 4th

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

Mahmoud Abbas' crucial message to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) November 2, 2011 - 12:00am Mahmoud Abbas has gradually made the transition from a relatively pale figure to a leader of stature. He has not only done this through his very serious negotiations with Ehud Olmert in 2007 and 2008, that came very close to reaching an agreement. He has also done this with two crucial statements that signal a sea change in the Palestinian narrative. » Read more

Is Hamas Moderating? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Eli Lake - November 4, 2011 - 12:00am Top Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath, a key member of the Fatah Party started by Yasser Arafat, says his rivals inside Hamas appear to be moderating their positions and could be moving toward a deal for a unified government. Shaath told The Daily Beast that the weakening of Syria’s government—long a source of support for Hamas—in the face of civil unrest has changed the dynamic for Palestinians still trying to create a unified government that could negotiate with Israel with one voice. » Read more

Israeli troops kill two Gaza militants-medics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 4, 2011 - 12:00am Israeli forces killed two Palestinian militants in a clash along the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday, Palestinian medical officials said. An Israeli military spokesman said soldiers were on patrol on the Israeli side of the border fence when they were fired upon from inside Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. The soldiers returned fire, the spokesman said, without giving further details. » Read more

Liberal, but still pro-Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Steven Cohen - (Opinion) November 4, 2011 - 12:00am Ask yourself the following: 1 ) What group of American Jews lobbied for a UN resolution calling for a Palestinian state? 2 ) Shortly after the Six-Day War, which Israeli leader advised his country to relinquish control of the territories? 3 ) Which American president called for establishing a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 boundaries? The answers: 1 ) U.S. Zionist leadership in 1947; 2 ) David Ben-Gurion; 3 ) every president since Lyndon Johnson. » Read more

A message Palestinians see in Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange: Hamas - 1, Abbas - 0 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Dawoud Abu Lebdeh - (Opinion) November 3, 2011 - 12:00am The Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange a couple weeks ago was a very emotional moment for thousands of Palestinians who were reunited with family members they had not seen for years. But it came at a diplomatic price. Some of the Palestinian public perceive the prisoner exchange deal (in which Israel released more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Hamas releasing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit) as an achievement for Hamas’s militant approach. They see it as a success story that Palestinian diplomatic efforts and negotiations with Israel have not yet been able to deliver. » Read more