May 25th

U.S. to reaffirm commitment to Israel's security ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters May 25, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) - A senior State Department official will travel to Tel Aviv on Friday to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Israel's security following just-concluded talks between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program. Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, will discuss bilateral and regional issues with senior Israeli officials during her visit, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday. » Read more

Israeli court: Reconsider Gaza student travel ban ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press May 25, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the military to reconsider its ban on Gaza residents studying in the West Bank. The court posted its decision Thursday, implying it would order a change. The Israeli military has 45 days to respond. Sari Bashi, head of the Israeli human rights group Gisha who was involved in petitioning the court, said this was the first time such a ruling has been made. » Read more

Israel steps up security ties with China ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Josef Federman - May 25, 2012 - 12:00am JERUSALEM — After a prolonged chill, security ties between Israel and China are warming up. With Israel offering much-needed technical expertise and China representing a huge new market and influential voice in the international debate over Iran's nuclear program, the two nations have stepped up military cooperation as they patch up a rift caused by a pair of failed arms deals scuttled by the U.S. » Read more

May 24th

Command and Control ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Olivia Holt-Ivry, David Makovsky - (Opinion) May 23, 2012 - 12:00am This week, the world's major powers resumed negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. Should they fail, the specter of a possible Israeli strike looms large, seeming to grow more likely as Tehran's nuclear program advances.  » Read more

Who's Racist? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Peter Beinart - (Opinion) May 23, 2012 - 12:00am Even if you’re not a Zionist of South African parentage (not everyone can be so fortunate), it’s worth grabbing your biltong (don’t worry, it’s kosher now) and tuning into the political brawl currently underway between Israel and South Africa. » Read more

Dennis Ross: Political Solution Still Possible with Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Joyce Karam - (Interview) May 23, 2012 - 12:00am As world powers make their way to Baghdad for another meeting with Iran in an attempt to resolve the nuclear standoff, former US negotiator Dennis Ross tells Al-Hayat that a political solution is still possible on the issue. » Read more

Adopting a shared perspective on Arab-Jewish relations ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Samia Hathroubi - (Opinion) May 23, 2012 - 12:00am For a while now, the both of us, two French citizens, a Muslim and a Jew, having strong ties with Tunisia and Israel respectively, realized that it is high time we speak out. We have both committed to YaLa-Young Leaders in France, in Tunisia and in the Middle-East, and saw Toulouse and Montauban’s attacks as a national tragedy that challenged our beliefs. It revealed and highlighted issues concerning Muslim and Jewish dialogue in France and in the world. This piece, which we wrote together, points out the necessity to stand united beyond hatred and division and calls for peace. » Read more

Palestinian irreconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) May 23, 2012 - 12:00am Fatah and Hamas signed another power sharing agreement this weekend in Cairo, but if experience is any guide it is doubtful this one will be any more successful than the previous attempts at reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions. The new pact calls for voter registration in Gaza and consultations on formation of an interim government of technocrats to begin May 27. The new cabinet, to be agreed upon within 10 days, would operate for six months, during which time it would set a date for presidential and parliamentary elections, probably sometime next year. » Read more

Not All Israeli Citizens Are Equal ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Yousef Munayyer - (Opinion) May 24, 2012 - 12:00am I’M a Palestinian who was born in the Israeli town of Lod, and thus I am an Israeli citizen. My wife is not; she is a Palestinian from Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Despite our towns being just 30 miles apart, we met almost 6,000 miles away in Massachusetts, where we attended neighboring colleges. » Read more

Israel's politics of nothing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Tzipi Livni - (Opinion) May 24, 2012 - 12:00am Espouse the vacuous, the hollow slogan; appropriate the show, the gestures. Lose the content, the vision and the values. Do not let a position or an opinion stand in your way, pick-pocket the opinions of others before they take your idea first. Conduct public opinion polls and tell the masses what they want to hear. Do nothing, because in any case it is unnecessary. » Read more