March 11th

Israeli soldiers seriously wound 2 Palestinians in Gaza, Hebron: medics ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua March 8, 2013 - 1:00am Two Palestinians were seriously injured Friday evening in clashes with Israeli soldiers in Gaza City and the southern West Bank town of Hebron, medics said. Ashraf al-Qedra, a spokesman of Gaza health ministry, told reporters that a 20-year-old Palestinian was seriously injured by an Israeli army gunshot in the chest in northern Gaza Strip. The young man is in serious conditions, al-Qedra said. » Read more

Racism widespread in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Smadar Shir - (Opinion) March 10, 2013 - 1:00am The racism disease has been living within us from time immemorial. Its roots may be found as early as the days of Torah, when the Creator of the universe defined us as the "chosen people," and we were foolish enough not to interpret the definition as a mission but rather as a fact. Already then we saw ourselves as superior and put on airs, and therefore the Torah preached that we should love those who are foreigners. » Read more

CEC: Final electoral register to be published April 10 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency March 11, 2013 - 12:00am The Central Elections Commission on Sunday completed the transfer of voter registry forms from Gaza to Ramallah and will publish the final registry on April 10, the CEC said. In February, Palestinian officials told Ma'an that Israel was impeding the delivery of the electoral registers. Head of the Central Elections Committee Hanna Nasser said the CEC used scanners to digitally transfer the data as Israeli prevented the transfer of the registration applications to a West Bank processing center. » Read more

The Pro-Palestinian Left's Hamas Blindspot ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Peter Beinart - (Analysis) March 8, 2013 - 1:00am Earlier this week, news that Hamas had barred women from participating in a marathon in the Gaza Strip scrolled across my twitter feed. Instantly, I knew two things. First, that “Pro-Israel” hawks would lambast the Islamist group without ever considering the way in which Israel and America’s policy of isolating Gaza makes it easier for Hamas to practice the very misogyny the hawks rightly condemn. Second, that the anti-Zionist left would say nothing at all. » Read more

On Questioning the Jewish State ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Joseph Levine - (Opinion) March 9, 2013 - 1:00am I was raised in a religious Jewish environment, and though we were not strongly Zionist, I always took it to be self-evident that “Israel has a right to exist.” Now anyone who has debated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will have encountered this phrase often. Defenders of Israeli policies routinely accuse Israel’s critics of denying her right to exist, while the critics (outside of a small group on the left, where I now find myself) bend over backward to insist that, despite their criticisms, of course they affirm it. » Read more

March 8th

Attacks and anti-Arab bigotry 'more acceptable' in Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from March 8, 2013 - 1:00am A spate of epithet-laced attacks by young Israeli Jews against Arabs indicates anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry is becoming more acceptable in many sectors of Israeli society, according to rights workers. Police have arrested four people, including two minors, over the bludgeoning on Saturday of an Arab Israeli citizen on holiday with his wife in the Israeli city of Tiberius, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported this week. » Read more

Court: PA liable for terror attack by teen in ‘03 ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yonah Jeremy Bob - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am The Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday held the Palestinian Authority liable for NIS 1.3 million in damages for training and indirectly encouraging a 15-and-ahalf- year-old Palestinian to murder Amit Amos Monitin on June 26, 2003. The boy murdered Monitin while he was on the job as a technician for the Bezek telephone company in Baka al- Gharbiya, east of Hadera. The killer was caught, tried, convicted and is serving his sentence in Israel. » Read more

US defers activist's award amid anti-Semitic tweets ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Hilary Leila Krieger - March 8, 2013 - 1:00am The US State Department is holding off on presenting a prestigious award to Egyptian activist Samira Ibrahim after anti-US and anti- Semitic tweets from her Twitter account were uncovered. “After careful consideration, we’ve decided we should defer presenting this award to Ms. Ibrahim this year so that we have a chance to look further into these statements,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Thursday. » Read more

Holland to label settlement goods? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - March 7, 2013 - 1:00am The Foreign Ministry confirmed Thursday that it has obtained unofficial information regarding a Dutch directive instructing retail chains in Holland to state the origin of products from settlements. » Read more

Carl Levin won’t run again ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) March 7, 2013 - 1:00am Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a veteran Jewish lawmaker who had major influence on defense policy, will not seek reelection. Levin, 78, was quoted Thursday by The Associated Press as saying that his decision was "extremely difficult" but that he wanted to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2014, without "distraction." Levin heads the Senate's Armed Services Committee, and in that capacity has been influential in defense policy, helping to maintain record levels of defense assistance for Israel. » Read more