Palestine nominates birthplace of Jesus in controversial UNESCO World Heritage bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Colum Lynch - (Opinion) June 19, 2012 - 12:00am Palestine, recognized last October as the 195th member state by the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), recently launched its first initiative as a full-fledged government in the Paris-based agency, nominating the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem and a traditional pilgrimage route to be listed as an endangered site on the World Heritage List. » Read more

In Protest, Walker Won’t Allow Hebrew Translation of ‘The Color Purple’ ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Dave Itzkoff - June 19, 2012 - 12:00am The author Alice Walker has told an Israeli publisher that she will not permit it to release a Hebrew-language translation of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Color Purple,” as a protest of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. » Read more

A Marriage Made in Heaven, Except for Energy Issues ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Oilprice.com by John Daly - (Opinion) June 17, 2012 - 12:00am China and Israel are the most pragmatic of partners. For China, Israel’s prime attraction is as a source of cutting-edge high technology, for Israel, its gaining a foothold in the world’s largest market. China’s interest in Israel’s technology combined with China’s go it alone attitudes on energy issues represent a mixed blessing for Tel Aviv. » Read more

Jericho business park aims to inch Palestine towards sustainability ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Liz Ford - June 18, 2012 - 12:00am On a slab of dusty land near the city of Jericho, rows of solar panels are being installed and tested. Eventually, there will be 2,600 of them in the 11.5 hectare (28 acre) area, providing around 300kW a day to help power the Jericho Agro-Industrial Park (Jaip), a public-private enterprise designed to boost the economic fortunes of the Palestinian territories. » Read more

The next Middle East war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Osama Al-Sharif - (Opinion) June 19, 2012 - 12:00am Will there be a war in the Middle East this summer? It is a question that is frequently asked by pundits and laymen alike this time of the year, every year. » Read more

'Israel in a unique place to make peace with Arabs' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post June 20, 2012 - 12:00am Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan asserted that the Arab Spring and changes taking place in the region could have a positive effect on Israel's chances to improve its relations with Arab states, speaking on a panel at the Presidential Concerence in Jerusalem Wednesday. "The radicals in the Arab League are no longer there and a range of mutual interests that require regional cooperation provide an incredible opportunity for fostering peaceful relations," Dagan said. » Read more

Peter David, Journalist and Middle East Thinker ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Norman Ornstein - (Opinion) June 20, 2012 - 12:00am I last saw Peter David a couple of months before he died, when we had lunch at Vidalia, a downtown Washington restaurant on a holiday Monday. Because it was a holiday, we did not have to shout over the lunchtime crowds or rush to get through and move on to the next appointment. Instead, it was a perfect opportunity to have an extended and great conversation with one of the most informed, deep, witty and experienced people I have ever known. We talked about British politics, American politics, both societies, the global economy, and even a little about the Middle East. » Read more

National-religious messianism is endangering Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) June 13, 2012 - 12:00am Every month I drive to Bar-Ilan University to tape four or five discussions with national-Religious Rabbi Uri Sherki  that are posted under the title “The Rabbi and the Professor” (unfortunately there are no English subtitles so far). I do this because I believe that there is desperate need for dialogue between Israel’s liberals and the national-religious. We have come to the point where we live in universes so different that it is becoming questionable how these groups can ever cooperate fruitfully for a common future. » Read more

Three years since Netanyahu's Bar-Ilan speech: Was it for real? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) June 19, 2012 - 12:00am Few noticed that last Thursday, June 14, was the third anniversary of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at Bar-Ilan University during which he declared, for the first time, his willingness to accept "a demilitarized Palestinian state side by side with the Jewish state." » Read more

Forced Move Raises Anger in West Bank Villages ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Jodi Rudoren - June 19, 2012 - 12:00am A Palestinian walked through a mosque in the West Bank town of Jabaa, near Ramallah, that was burned and vandalized on Tuesday. » Read more