Israel-Iran History, Holocaust Perverted in Grass’s Poem ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am Guenter Grass, the German writer and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, brought forth last week an odious little poem that focuses on the threat to world peace posed by the Jewish state, and congratulates its author for the courage to point out this truth. The poem, published in the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and elsewhere, was titled “What Must Be Said,” which is quite a vainglorious title. There is very little in the world that is safer (or less novel) than criticizing Israel in a European newspaper. About Jeffrey Goldberg » Read more

Günter Grass, Israel and the crime of poetry ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English by Hamid Dabashi - (Opinion) April 10, 2012 - 12:00am New York, NY - On Wednesday, April 4, 2012, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung published Nobel laureate Günter Grass’ poem (the German original) that has created quite a stir not only in Germany, Israel and Iran, but also across the globe. As a result Israeli interior minister Eli Yishai has banned the Nobel laureate from entering Israel. » Read more

How Amr Moussa Became Israel's Dream Candidate ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Smadar Peri - (Analysis) April 3, 2012 - 12:00am When it comes to dictators, it’s always best to keep your eye on Number Two. The ruler is at the front, all wrapped up in honorifics and princely manners, careful to maintain sycophancy in his inner circle — people who tell him what he wants to hear. He never takes his eyes off of his deputy, the one who does the dirty work far away from the limelight. That is what is happening now in Egypt as it teeters between the (temporary?) military council and the Muslim Brotherhood, which controls most of the seats in parliament. » Read more

Is it Finally Time for Dialogue Between the US and Hamas? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor by Khaled Elgindy - (Analysis) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am This week’s visit to Washington by members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, demonstrated just how much has changed in US-Arab relations in the wake of the Arab uprisings. The high-profile Egyptian delegation coincides with visits by representatives of other Islamist parties from Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and Libya also in town this week for various meetings and conferences. » Read more

Israel endangers region by willfully courting trouble ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Linda Heard - (Opinion) April 10, 2012 - 12:00am The Middle East is evolving into an ever more dangerous neighborhood largely due to Israel’s increasing belligerence and intransigence. Rather than attempt to mend diplomatic fences with its former “friends” Egypt and Turkey it is using its cash and US leverage to make new regional alliances. Israel is also flexing its muscles and openly making threats toward Iran, Lebanon and Egypt. » Read more

The economics of Palestine ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am Over the past couple of weeks I have been spending a considerable amount of time in Ramallah, assisting in the development of a project on trade facilitation which will be funded by the US government to help the Palestinian private sector to build the economy and ensure continued stability. » Read more

Israeli officials see Syria falling into battle between al-Qaida, Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) April 10, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli officials are very skeptical the Syrian government and opposition will stick to the cease-fire that UN envoy Kofi Annan hopes will take hold on Tuesday. Annan, a former UN general secretary, has been traveling to Syria for several weeks in an attempt to broker a truce between President Bashar Assad and opposition forces, after many months of unrest. Human rights reports show that more than 100 civilians have been executed so far this year, and the opposition says more than 150 civilians - including 17 children - were killed on Monday alone. » Read more

For fear of a political turnaround, Israel's government is destroying democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Sefi Rachlevsky - (Opinion) April 10, 2012 - 12:00am Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to stamp out judicial review in order to perpetuate his governing coalition. Unlike most people on the center-left, the right-wing coalition knows that the most significant political differences are not that those that divide individual parties but those that divide the two major blocs: the right wing and the non-right. » Read more

Balancing power ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) April 9, 2012 - 12:00am Judging from the reactions of opposition lawmakers one would think that a new legislative initiative called Basic Law: Legislation is downright undemocratic. Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On quipped that Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, the driving force behind the bill, misread the Passover Haggada, and “does not understand the meaning of the Festival of Freedom,” because the bill claims to protect freedoms, but actually violates them and called for “all parties who fear for democracy” to form a united front against the bill. » Read more

Israeli Justice Ministry bypassing the High Court ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) April 10, 2012 - 12:00am Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman has pulled out an old-new way to bypass the High Court of Justice. This happened just after the court ruled unconstitutional the law that lets yeshiva students defer army service. This ruling is threatening the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. Now the Justice Ministry has published a preliminary draft of a bill that would become the Basic Law on Legislation. It would allow the Knesset, with the support of at least 65 MKs, to pass a law that has been struck down by the High Court. » Read more