Sharansky's Hypocrisy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) November 1, 2012 - 12:00am The Middle East has more than its share of outrageous hypocrites, but since his arrival in the region, Russian émigré to Israel Natan Sharansky has fought valiantly to secure a place among them. In a recent op-ed in the Washington Post, Sharansky again lectures Arabs about human rights and democracy, expressing relief that Israel did not conclude a peace agreement with the odious regime in Syria. » Read more

A Strategy Of Procrastination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Nathan J. Brown - (Opinion) November 1, 2012 - 12:00am The many Israelis already prone to swings between despair and complacency regarding Palestinians will likely have been particularly confused by events of the past two weeks. A rich Arab ruler turned up in Gaza bestowing cash gifts and breaking the diplomatic blockade on Hamas; rocket fire from the narrow strip resumed; and Israel’s nominal diplomatic partner, the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, sank deeper into insolvency and aimlessness.  » Read more

Demonizing Israel Will Get Us Nowhere ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv by Ben-Dror Yemini - (Opinion) October 30, 2012 - 12:00am After it became clear that the apartheid headline was a canard, Gideon Levy has chosen to explain that even if he made a mistake, he was still correct in essence. Yesterday [Oct. 29], Haaretz published a clarification with regard to a headline that claimed Israel was an apartheid state. This was not an apology; barely a clarification. It was on the bottom of the fifth page. Yesterday came the turn of the guest of honor [the apartheid article's author, Gideon Levy]. » Read more

Israel’s nuclear weapons ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Jonathan Power - (Editorial) November 1, 2012 - 12:00am The story of Israel’s nuclear bomb is rarely told. But we hear a lot about the possible Iranian bomb and the dangerous bombs of Pakistan that perhaps militant Islamists could grab — although that is unlikely, given that the US has supplied state-of-the-art locks to Pakistan. » Read more

A two-state solution is the most practical route for Israel and Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by David Wearing - (Opinion) November 2, 2012 - 12:00am Obituaries for the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are appearing with increasing regularity, with examples including recent pieces in the Guardian by Rachel Shabi and Ghada Karmi. Among supporters of the Palestinian national struggle, those now calling for a single bi-national state are clearly in the ascendency, but the view is not unanimous. People such as Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky continue to advocate the establishment of two states along the 1967 borders "subject to very minor and mutual adjustments". » Read more

Savir's Corner: Center-Left and extreme Right ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Uri Savir - (Opinion) November 1, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not bomb Iran, but last week he threw a political bombshell at our political system. There are pragmatic self-interest considerations to the unholy alliance between “Bibi” Netanyahu and Avigdor “Yvette” Liberman. The ideological motivations for it go deeper, they relate to the perception of political power and leadership – a crude right-wing view of a strong national leader with total disrespect for opposition and minorities. » Read more

The inevitable post-elections U.S.-Israel crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eric H. Yoffie - (Opinion) November 1, 2012 - 12:00am First, the good news from America: This has been a great election for Israel and American Jews. The voting is still a week away, and it is pretty much a dead heat. But whoever wins, Jews have reason to be happy. » Read more

Obama and the Hearts of the Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat by Zuheir Kseibati - (Opinion) November 1, 2012 - 12:00am Even hurricane Sandy and its storms intervened at the level of Barack Obama's chances in the presidential elections. Indeed, it did not constitute good news to his opponent, Republican Candidate Mitt Romney, whose blunders and drowning in general talk about the United States' economic relief did not help him come ahead in the polls. » Read more

Weakness invites provocations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Manfred Gerstenfeld - (Opinion) November 2, 2012 - 12:00am President Obama is not popular among Israeli Jews. A few days ago, a poll asked which presidential candidate would be preferable concerning Israel's interests. Fifty-seven percent of Israeli Jews preferred Romney, while 22% said Obama. Among Israeli Arabs, Obama was the preferred candidate. » Read more

Israel backs Romney but Palestinians indifferent ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Jonah Mandel - (Analysis) November 2, 2012 - 12:00am   Israel may be openly hoping that Republican challenger Mitt Romney will end up stealing the presidency from Barack Obama, but for the Palestinians it makes little difference who takes over the White House. With the US presidential race drawing to a close, Israelis have come out strongly in favour of the Republican nominee who they believe is likely to be a better friend to the Jewish state than President Obama. » Read more