March 26th

The Palestinian financial crisis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from World Jewish Congress by Pinhas Inbari - (Analysis) March 26, 2012 - 12:00am The community of donors to the Palestinian Authority met in Brussels over the weekend. Both the government in Ramallah, sponsored by the donors, and the Hamas government in Gaza are in dire financial straits and progressively more dependent on foreign aid and susceptible to political pressure. In Ramallah, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is unable to put together a budget that would pay for Palestinian salaries. In Gaza, Hamas’ government has sunk into even deeper trouble. It is unable to provide for the steady flow of electricity, gasoline, or home cooking gas. » Read more

Stop the excuses, boycott the settlements ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Lara Friedman - (Opinion) March 25, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Peter Beinart’s recent New York Times article advocating a settlement boycott has sparked a spectacular public display of Jewish angst. Apparently for many who view themselves as the judges, advocates and juries of what is “kosher” progressive Jewish activism, his suggestion is beyond the pale. They agree that settlements are a problem, even a shonda, but boycott fellow Jews? Heaven forbid. And even if it weren’t Jewishly distasteful, it wouldn’t work anyway, so don’t go there. » Read more

Netanyahu: The Man Who Won't Take "Yes" For an Answer ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Yedioth Ahronoth by Yigal Sarna - (Opinion) March 14, 2012 - 12:00am Things are bad. The prime minister is a gloomy man, a man without hope, a weak man, trapped in the hands of others, carrying childhood memories of a somber, subdued home, where the study of the Inquisition set the tone (his father was a historian who specialized in medieval Spanish Jewry). Forever feeling deprived, always suspicious and wary of others, keeping aloof, friendless, anticipating catastrophe where there is no threat, prone to improbable, pessimistic forecasts and casting his gloom over an entire nation. » Read more

Migron case only reveals tip of Israel's occupation iceberg ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Eyal Gross - (Opinion) March 26, 2012 - 12:00am In theory, Migron should have been an open-and-shut case. The state did not deny that Migron had been erected illegally, on private Palestinian land. Nor did it deny that the settlers' claims that they had purchased the land were found to be baseless. In the words of the High Court of Justice, the building of the outpost and its ongoing expansion were a blatant violation of the law that undermined the property rights of the Palestinian owners. It had to be demolished. Thus the court had ruled. » Read more

Ignoring Israel's complete domination ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amira Hass - (Opinion) March 26, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's position in its periodic report to the donor-coordination group for the Palestinian Authority reminds one of the boy who kills his parents and then demands an orphan's pension. Israel describes the failings of the Palestinian economy as if the colonialist occupation is not their primary cause. » Read more

The State of Israel's worst missed opportunity ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 26, 2012 - 12:00am Tuesday, according to the civil calendar, is the 10th anniversary of the terror attack on Netanya's Park Hotel, which killed 30 people as they were sitting down to their Passover seder. Wednesday will mark 10 years since the Arab Peace Initiative, which began as a joint Saudi-Jordanian effort. Thursday will be the 10th anniversary of Operation Defensive Shield, which was launched in retaliation for the Park Hotel bombing. » Read more

Christians Called To Serve Jewish Settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Jeffay - March 25, 2012 - 12:00am Psagot, West Bank — It is a typical, even stereotypical, West Bank settlement scene: bearded young men pruning vines while enthusing about the Chosen People’s God-given right to this region. But in this case it is Jesus, and not Jewish identity, that animates these tillers. For years, Westerners have flocked to the Israeli-occupied West Bank to help Palestinians with their olive harvest, as part of left-wing activist groups like the International Solidarity Movement. Among other things, the activists seek to resist efforts by settlers to disrupt the Palestinians’ reaping. » Read more

Translating U.S. pro-Israel advocacy for Jewish communities abroad—and taking care about context ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - March 25, 2012 - 12:00am WASHINGTON (JTA) -- It takes more than a translator to translate American-style pro-Israel activism for foreign audiences. Nearly a decade after an effort by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to replicate its model overseas collapsed in acrimony, a range of Jewish organizations are helping smaller Diaspora Jewish communities enhance their advocacy. They have found receptive audiences. In recent years, pro-Israel initiatives in a number of countries have taken on a higher profile. » Read more

Young Palestinians act out their struggle on another stage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Killian Fox - March 24, 2012 - 12:00am On 4 April 2011, Juliano Mer-Khamis turned up unexpectedly at the Freedom theatre in Jenin and went inside to talk with his students and staff. Usually he'd call ahead whenever he planned a return to Jenin, but this time, driving up from Ramallah where he had just premiered a new production of a play by Eugène Ionesco, he gave no advance warning. » Read more

Report: Hamas wants fuel, commodities only via Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Elior Levy - March 24, 2012 - 12:00am Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip have instructed gas station owners to stop selling petrol and diesel fuel in order to enrage the local Palestinians and encourage them to riot against the Egyptian government. The terror organization wishes to pressure Egypt to supply Gaza with fuel without preconditions, reported Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper on Saturday. » Read more