The refugee issue in the API: contradictory or complementary ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Mati Steinberg - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am The Arab Peace Initiative comprises two main references to the Palestinian refugee issue that seem to be mutually contradictory. On the one hand, the API stipulates the need for "a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with United National General Assembly Resolution 194". On the other, it indicates "the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation ["tawtin"] which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries". » Read more

US rhetoric on settlements tested at the UN ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National February 18, 2011 - 1:00am A good tongue lashing hurts, but it rarely stings. American criticism of Israeli policy offers a case in point. As much of the rest of the world has stood up at the United Nations to ink its displeasure with Israel for decades, one nation has proven the reliable spoiler. All of which makes America’s support for a new Security Council statement condemning Israel’s settlement construction encouraging. The US Ambassador to the UN has reportedly expressed interest in a measure that, in part, “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity”. » Read more

Top Genocide Scholars Battle Over How To Characterize Israel’s Actions ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Gal Beckerman - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am Did Jews commit genocide in 1948? The question is provocative, and the answer for most people is an unequivocal no. But a debate over this idea has formed the crux of a heated argument among the most eminent genocide scholars in the world, and led recently to the censure of an Israeli professor by the field’s leading academic association. It’s also one more reminder of the growing divide between European scholars and their American and Israeli counterparts when it comes to how they view Israel, both historically and in the present moment. » Read more

Jewish Groups Scramble To Adjust to New Mideast Reality ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - February 16, 2011 - 1:00am The Egyptian revolution has kicked open the door to a vast Arab population that, for the first time, is poised to influence the course of its country’s policies directly. For Israel’s supporters, this could mean a new frontier for public diplomacy and a chance to reach out to Arab masses. » Read more

Obama taps Rudman, Grossman for key diplomatic spots ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) February 17, 2011 - 1:00am The Obama administration has tapped veteran Jewish diplomats Mara Rudman and Marc Grossman for senior posts. President Obama said Wednesday that he is nominating Rudman to the top State Department post administering assistance to the Middle East through the U.S. Agency for International Development. Rudman, who has served in senior posts on both the Clinton and Obama National Security Councils, has been involved in a number of groups promoting peace talks in the Middle East and was a senior official with the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims. » Read more

Dutch museum to lend Picasso for display in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News February 17, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian art lovers are to get a rare chance to view a Picasso when the painting goes on display in April, on loan from a Dutch museum. Eindhoven's Van Abbe Museum is lending the 1943 canvas Buste de Femme to the Ramallah international art academy, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports. A film is due to be made of the painting's journey, including the Israeli border and other checkpoints. A special, temperature-controlled room is being prepared to house it. It is believed to be the first time a Picasso masterpiece will go on display in the Palestinian territories. » Read more

Dutch museum to lend Picasso for display in West Bank ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News February 17, 2011 - 1:00am Palestinian art lovers are to get a rare chance to view a Picasso when the painting goes on display in April, on loan from a Dutch museum. Eindhoven's Van Abbe Museum is lending the 1943 canvas Buste de Femme to the Ramallah international art academy, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reports. A film is due to be made of the painting's journey, including the Israeli border and other checkpoints. A special, temperature-controlled room is being prepared to house it. It is believed to be the first time a Picasso masterpiece will go on display in the Palestinian territories. » Read more

Israel to World: Don’t Be So Fast to Push Democracy on Middle East ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Arieh O'Sullivan - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am While touting its own democratic credentials, Israel has been warning the world not to let experiments in democracy spread across the Middle East, lest Islamic fundamentalists are voted in. “We don’t want to stay the only democracy in the Middle East. We would love to live in a neighborhood where all countries are democratic. But is it feasible now?” Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor said in an interview with The Media Line. » Read more

'Jordanian-Israeli ties solid despite inflammatory words' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by David Miller - February 17, 2011 - 1:00am A call by Jordan’s justice minister to free the jailed killer of seven Israeli girls has soured the Hashemite Kingdom’s relations with Israel, but experts said they expect the ties to weather the diplomatic storm. The minister, Hussein Mjali, a well known oppositionist, was appointed to the post just last week and immediately began making inflammatory remarks. On Wednesday he called Israel a “terrorist state” and an “enemy of the kingdom.” » Read more

Israel Supreme Court rules Hebron Jews can't reclaim lands lost after 1948 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Chaim Levinson - February 18, 2011 - 1:00am The Jewish community in Hebron celebrated this week the decision of Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar to fund Jewish heritage trips for students to the city’s Tomb of the Patriarchs. But last week, the community suffered a setback when the Supreme Court ruled that Jews could not be given property which belonged to them in the city before 1948, and that they are also not entitled to be given any compensation for it. » Read more