December 5th

U.S. Jews, use your influence to stop Israeli incitement ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am An uproar in the "holy city" of New York. An Israeli Absorption Ministry campaign - using the slogan "Before Hanukkah turns into Christmas, it's time to return to Israel" - has convulsed the offices of Jewish professionals in the city. How dare those Israeli beggars patronize us? Who has ever heard of such chutzpah: delegitimizing Jews in America? » Read more

Panetta is right to criticise Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News (Editorial) December 5, 2011 - 1:00am It is rare for a US Secretary of Defence to rebuke Israel in any way at all, and even rarer to do so publicly. So it was very welcome to hear Leon Panetta criticise Benjamin Netanyahu's government for its increasing isolation in the Arab world, and its failure to do more to restart peace talks. We have to hope that this new tone from the Defence Department is also reflected in the thinking of the State Department, but that remains unlikely, since the White House rarely succeeds in getting these two behemoths to coordinate their ideas. » Read more

Panetta: Israel should ‘just get to the damn table’ with Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Ignatius - (Opinion) December 2, 2011 - 1:00am Obama administration officials often seem to be walking on eggshells when they talk about issues involving Israel. So it was interesting Friday night to hear Defense Secretary Leon Panetta forcefully caution a U.S.-Israeli audience about the dangers of bombing Iran and tell Israel to “just get to the damn table” in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. » Read more

Panetta: Israel should ‘just get to the damn table’ with Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by David Ignatius - (Opinion) December 2, 2011 - 1:00am Obama administration officials often seem to be walking on eggshells when they talk about issues involving Israel. So it was interesting Friday night to hear Defense Secretary Leon Panetta forcefully caution a U.S.-Israeli audience about the dangers of bombing Iran and tell Israel to “just get to the damn table” in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. » Read more

December 2nd

Too much to lose ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ephraim Sneh - (Opinion) December 2, 2011 - 1:00am During my visit to Jordan this week, I spoke to several people who said King Abdullah's comments about Syrian President Bashar Assad - "If I were in his shoes, I would step down" - were a reflection of the Jordanian ruler's style of governing. King Abdullah, according to the Jordanians with whom I conversed, does not belong to the culture of former Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Assad: He would never order his soldiers to open fire on his people. If the disquiet in his kingdom turned into violent rioting, he would simply get up and leave. » Read more

Israel Faces $250 Million Slash in Aid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - December 2, 2011 - 1:00am Washington — The failure of the supercommittee appointed by Congress to reach a deficit-reduction deal on the federal budget could cost Israel a cool $250 million a year. For the first time in decades, Israel could be facing a reduction in United States aid, due to automatic across-the-board budget cuts scheduled to take effect in January 2013 as a result of the supercommittee’s failure. » Read more

Israel faces legal challenge over block on Palestinians exiting Gaza to sue state ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - December 1, 2011 - 1:00am An Israeli human rights organisation has launched a legal challenge to the state's policy of denying Palestinians permission to leave Gaza to pursue claims for damages resulting from military action, which has led to dozens of cases being dismissed by the Israeli courts. The petition follows a supreme court ruling in 2006 that Palestinians were entitled to sue the state of Israel for compensation for damages caused to civilians by the military outside of "acts of war". Lawsuits were filed for death, injury, house demolitions, torture and cruel or inhumane treatment. » Read more

Hamas: Palestine is Palestine, Jordan is Jordan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post December 2, 2011 - 1:00am The Jordanian government understands that Hamas does not consider the possibility of Jordan as an alternative "homeland" for the Palestinian people, a member of Hamas's political bureau told pan-Arab daily Al Hayat in an interview published Friday. "[Our] brothers in Jordan know very well that we reject the idea of a surrogate homeland, an option still carried by some Israeli leaders," Izzt Al-Rishq told Al Hayat. "We do not accept any substitute for Palestine despite our appreciation and pride for Jordan." "Palestine is Palestine, and Jordan is Jordan," Rishq clarified. » Read more

Netanyahu Government Suggests Israelis Avoid Marrying American Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) November 30, 2011 - 1:00am The Netanyahu government's Ministry of Immigrant Absorption is sponsoring advertisements in at least five American communities that warn Israeli expatriates that they will lose their identities if they don't return home. » Read more

'PA won't 'back down' from UN statehood bid' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post December 2, 2011 - 1:00am The Palestinian Authority "will not back down" from their efforts to become a member of the United Nations, even though the PA has acknowledged that they would not succeed were the Security Council to vote today, senior PA negotiator Saeb Erekat told Ma'an News Agency Thursday. Erekat said the PA would persist even if the request fails to pass in the Security Council, adding that the PA leadership knew from the outset that United States would use its veto on the initiative. » Read more