March 1st

Let us compare al-Assad to Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat by Tariq Alhomayed - (Opinion) March 1, 2012 - 1:00am When considering much of what is being repeated in our region, on all levels about Syria, one is struck by confusion, for one party justifies what is happening, whilst another casts doubt, and a third attempts to be clever. Therefore you feel as if you are looking at a situation that is impossible to understand, namely an Arab case par excellence, which is a problem with no solutions, or in the desperate manner of Nabih Berri, a case where there is ‘no winners and no losers”, which is what I term a case of political fluidity. » Read more

A boy's death exposes Israel's deliberate fiction ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) March 1, 2012 - 1:00am In 2000, as the second intifada raged, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, Mohammed Al Dura, was one of many children killed by the Israeli Defense Forces. Mohammed was shot as he and his father attempted to find cover and he died moments later in his father's lap. A Palestinian cameraman caught the incident on film, causing shock around the world. But not even that evidence was enough for some to condemn Israel's actions; 12 years later, there is still a debate in France about the authenticity of the report. » Read more

Rick Santorum and the Jewish Vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) March 1, 2012 - 1:00am Pennsylvania, it’s sometimes said, can best be understood as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh separated by Alabama. Geographically speaking it’s a big state in the heart of the liberal Northeast, home to great universities, Ben Franklin and the Liberty Bell, anchored by a great Eastern metropolis at one end and a once-booming Midwestern steel town at the other. Everything in between, though, is rural, gun-totin’, Bible-thumpin’ country. » Read more

Israeli, Palestinian leaders hastening the next intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) March 1, 2012 - 1:00am At last Likud and the moderate right have found a formula to save the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. No longer will they talk about "conflict resolution" - the phrase now is "conflict management." The explanations are many and they sound convincing - the split between Hamas and Fatah, the large gap between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the core issues, and the most common excuse of all: There's no partner on the other side. » Read more

Arab justice's 'Hatikva' silence was a song of protest ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) March 1, 2012 - 1:00am It was so moving on Tuesday at the President's Residence and so stately; another celebration of Israeli democracy, which so loves to effusively praise itself. The honorable Supreme Court justices posing for a group photo; the retiring court president taking leave with tears in her eyes; the incoming court president making an emotional speech - everyone complimenting one another, praising one another and lauding our exalted democracy. » Read more

Iran’s last diplomatic chance? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yonah Alexander, Milton Hoenig - (Opinion) February 29, 2012 - 1:00am As an ancient Persian proverb wisely reflects, “Even with the strength of an elephant and the paws of a lion, peace is better than war.” It is time for Iran to heed this thousand-year-old lesson and relinquish its nuclear ambitions before a doomsday scenario occurs. » Read more

Jerusalem, Washington, and the Iranian bomb ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) March 1, 2012 - 1:00am The view from Washington: We went into an unnecessary, awful war in Iraq. We're in a complicated, depressing war in Afghanistan. Our economy is finally beginning to recover from the worst crisis it has known since World War II. In November we have elections. So we don't have the slightest intention of doing anything that could entangle us in a third war and a renewed economic recession. By no means will we attack Iran and we won't let Israel attack either. By no means will we impose a maritime blockade on Iran or collapse its central bank. » Read more

Israel’s Last Chance to Strike Iran ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Amos Yadlin - (Opinion) February 29, 2012 - 1:00am Tel Aviv ON July 7, 1981, I was one of eight Israeli fighter pilots who bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak. As we sat in the briefing room listening to the army chief of staff, Rafael Eitan, before starting our planes’ engines, I recalled a conversation a week earlier when he’d asked us to voice any concerns about our mission. » Read more

Democrats Will Not Cede Israel to Republicans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Gal Beckerman - February 29, 2012 - 1:00am The Democratic National Committee has a new commercial, called “The Facts,” that seems targeted at pro-Israel voters (I didn’t say “Jewish voters” for a reason). It reminds them that they shouldn’t listen to the mud being slung at Obama for supposedly abandoning the Jewish State. » Read more

Jordan’s Lukewarm Welcome for Gazan Job Seekers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Abdullah Omar - February 29, 2012 - 1:00am AMMAN -- Jordan is reportedly taking steps toward easing restrictions on Palestinians from the Gaza Strip looking for work in the kingdom, but progress has been slow amid controversy over its impact on the unemployment rate and the country’s sensitive demographics. But even as progress has been slow, Gazans living in the kingdom like Ahmed Abdel Munim, who lives in a refugee camp near the Roman-era city of Jerash and is one of the beneficiaries, say they are already feeling the change. » Read more