November 30th, 2011

Israel releases frozen Palestinian tax funds ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters November 30, 2011 - 1:00am JERUSALEM, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Israel announced on Wednesday it was releasing millions of dollars in tax revenues it owes the Palestinian Authority, lifting a month-old freeze that had threatened to undermine the West Bank government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had come under international pressure to hand over the funds, about $100 million a month that includes import duties Israel collects on behalf of the PA. The money is vital for paying civil servants employed by the PA. » Read more

At last, ‘Occupation Zionists’ and Israel-loathing U.S. Jews can agree ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Bradley Burston - (Blog) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am We're a people that can appreciate nasty, us Jews. Chalk it up to survivor guilt or oppressor guilt, put it down to a legacy of Talmudic and tribal disputation, to a legacy of abuse, or to a tradition of stand-up, the evidence is clear: Two Jews, Three Zingers – barbed, caustic, and intentionally so. » Read more

On My Mind: Employing Israeli Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Kenneth Bandler - (Opinion) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am American Jews rightly marvel at Israel’s remarkable economic success, achieved despite the conflict with her neighbors, most of whom continue to deny Israel’s right to exist. But part of Israel’s labor pool, Arab Israeli citizens, do not participate as fully as they should in the nation’s workforce. Increasing the rate of Arab employment over the next 20 years “is the top economic issue for Israel’s survival,” says Eytan Biderman, chairman of the Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development in Israel (CJAED). » Read more

A Jewish role model ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post (Editorial) November 30, 2011 - 1:00am On November 29, 1947, when the UN General Assembly, in a 33-13 vote, supported the creation of a Jewish and an Arab state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, Israel was already a fait accompli. Resolution 181 essentially gave international recognition to what was already a fully operating Jewish sovereign entity. » Read more

Both sides are to blame ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Yossi Alpher - (Opinion) November 28, 2011 - 1:00am Israeli politics are becoming increasingly right-wing and nationalist. Israel's Arab citizens, along with its human rights community and democratic society in general, are the victims of the resultant legislation. » Read more

The rules of the game are being changed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons by Haneen Zoubi - (Interview) November 28, 2011 - 1:00am bitterlemons: What is driving the push for right-wing legislation in Israel? Zoubi: Israel is engaging in a struggle between the Jewishness of the state and democracy. She perceives that she is in a position to choose between "Jewish values" and "democratic values". She is making a very clear statement that she intends to defend the Jewishness of this country and to place obstacles in the path of the true struggle for democracy. » Read more

Reiterating need for peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times (Opinion) November 30, 2011 - 1:00am Just as His Majesty King Abdullah was discussing with visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres the need to stop unilateral actions which “pose a major and real obstacle to peace efforts”, Israel declared that 100 more housing units will be constructed in the West Bank settlement of Shilo. To say the least, settlements - which are illegal under international law - on occupied Palestinian lands remain a major hurdle to achieving progress in the already stalled peace process. » Read more

November 29th

Goodbye, Israeli democracy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Asaf Gefen - (Opinion) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am Everyone talks about the "Arab Spring," yet nobody mentions the "Israeli Spring" – an exciting period where democracy’s horrific regime is finally drawing to an end around here, following a popular uprising at the Knesset cafeteria. If a few months ago it appeared that the Arab world is moving closer to Israel’s democratic model, now it turns out that Israel is the one quickly approaching the Saudi model. Finally, we joined the "Spring of Nations" - and so what if we are referring to the Belorussian, Afghani and North Korean peoples. » Read more

Prime Minister Fayyad: “Unity and Non-violence” Requisites for Statehood ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line by Felice Friedson - (Interview) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am With skepticism rife over a Fatah-Hamas rapprochement and the Hamas demand to replace him, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the man credited with energizing the movement toward statehood and the man Western governments want holding the PA’s purse strings, discusses the pending issues with Friedson Friedson, President and CEO of The Media Line news agency, at his Ramallah office. Below is the first of two sessions between Prime Minister Fayyad and Ms. Friedson. Friedson: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for taking the opportunity to speak with me and The Media Line. » Read more

Further from peace, closer to reconciliation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) November 29, 2011 - 1:00am Hamas and Fatah just ended another round of talks in Cairo on what they call reconciliation. Both sides are reporting that progress was made, but they have not yet reached the point of agreement on several key issues. In May of this year Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal signed an agreement orchestrated by Egyptian intelligence. Initially the deal was described as a landmark reconciliation pact aimed at ending their bitter four-year rift. » Read more