March 12th

A typical Gaza wedding ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - (Analysis) March 11, 2012 - 1:00am She slips through the door resembling any other Gaza girl, head scarf and jilbab concealing her hair and body, and emerges three hours later looking like a beauty queen. But before Aya Abu Shoqa steps outside the salon in her wedding finery, she dons a hooded ivory satin cape, complete with opaque veil. » Read more

Reality Check: A true friend ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Jeff Barak - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am At the risk of sounding like a teenage magazine agony aunt, here’s my definition of a true friend: A true friend is someone who will always look out for you, will protect your best interests and, when the situation demands it, tell you straight to your face a truth you might not particularly want to hear. In other words, a true friend will act exactly the way US President Barack Obama has acted toward Israel throughout his entire presidency. » Read more

This round will likely go to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Analysis) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Fewer rockets were fired at Israel on Sunday, but the fact that Katyushas did nonetheless fall in Be'er Sheva spurred tough talk from Israel, which threatened to continue attacking the Gaza Strip. Still, if there are fewer launches Monday, Israel will likely reduce its attacks, and this round of hostilities will wind down by midweek, much as last year's periodic flare-ups did. » Read more

Jewish identity and democratic values ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Since its inception, democracy, or more specifically an elected government, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, as well as equal rights have been the cornerstone of the identity of the State of Israel. To quote the Declaration of Independence: “it [Israel] will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.” » Read more

Israel needs an anthem that represents Arabs and Jews ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz (Editorial) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am It turns out that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message of support to Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran after the jurist chose not to join in singing the Israeli national anthem at the recent ceremony marking the installation of Asher Grunis as the court's new president. In his message, which was transmitted by diplomatic envoy Isaac Molho, Netanyahu informed the justice that he didn't expect an Israeli Arab like Joubran to sing lyrics such as "a Jewish soul yearns," which are in "Hatikva." » Read more

Israel's Red Riding Hood and the Arab wolf ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) March 12, 2012 - 12:00am During a quiz show on Channel 2 television last week, a contestant was asked which of three towns - Kalansua, Tul Karm or Jenin - was located within the Green Line. The contestant, a nurse with an M.A., hesitated for quite a while and then said she thought the answer was Tul Karm. In order to verify her answer, she requested the assistance of 71 fellow contestants. Seventeen of them - almost one in four - responded that either Tul Karm or Jenin was an Israeli town. » Read more

West Bank Jewish settlers agree to relocate from Migron ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Settlers at the Migron outpost will be moved to a nearby hill and the current site will be put under Israeli military control, Israel radio said. The Israeli Supreme Court had ordered the Migron outpost, north of Jerusalem, to be demolished by the end of March. Campaigners against Jewish settlements said the relocation was "a disgrace". The deal follows months of talks between settlers and Benny Begin, a minister without portfolio in the Israeli government. He said the agreement would avoid further clashes between settlers and Israeli security forces. » Read more

Palestinian solar power: why Israel may turn out the lights ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Ben Lynfield - March 11, 2012 - 1:00am She'b El Buttum, West Bank Israeli scientists defying military occupation restrictions have brought a great leap forward to the lives of traditional Palestinian herders in a remote corner of the West Bank. Over the last several months, tent dwellers in this hamlet on a rocky hillside south of Hebron have been brought out of the dark ages by Comet-Middle East, a German-funded project headed by two Israelis that affords them electricity for the first time through solar panels and wind turbines. » Read more

Ex-Israeli spymaster: Iran response to Israeli attack would be devastating ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said that an Israeli strike on Iran would lead to a missile attack on Israel that would have a "devastating impact" on the country, in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS's 60 minutes. According to Dagan, an attack will start a regional war. “And wars, you know how they start. You never know how you are ending it," he said. “I think that Israel will be in a very serious situation for quite a time,” Dagan told 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl, when asked about a possible Israeli response to an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program. » Read more

Gaza rockets strike 40 km south of Tel Aviv, on fourth day of heavy barrage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gili Cohen, Avi Issacharoff, Yanir Yagna - March 12, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired more than 40 rockets at Israel on Monday, as the heavy cross-border barrage continued into its fourth day. Two of the rockets fired Monday exploded near Gedera, just 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, and another struck inside the southern city of Ashdod. A woman and one other person sustained light to moderate shrapnel wounds as a result of a grad rocket striking Ashdod. The woman was evacuated to Rehovot's Kaplan Hospital. Four Israelis were also treated for shock. Damage was caused to store buildings and cars in the city. » Read more