August 25th

Support builds for boycotts against Israel, activists say Media Mention of ATFP In The Boston Globe - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am In May, rock legend Elvis Costello canceled his gig in Israel. Then, in June, a group of unionized dock workers in San Francisco refused to unload an Israeli ship. In August, a food co-op in Washington state removed Israeli products from its shelves. The so-called “boycott, divestment, and sanctions’’ movement aimed at pressuring Israel to withdraw from land claimed by Palestinians has long been considered a fringe effort inside the United States, with no hope of garnering mainstream support enjoyed by the anti-apartheid campaign against South Africa of the 1980s. » Read more

Stakes are high in Mideast peace talks Media Mention of ATFP In The Boston Globe - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am The United States will host the launch of direct peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Washington early next month, a diplomatic breakthrough for the Obama administration, which has invested much of the president’s global political capital in an attempt to broker peace in the Middle East. » Read more

In New Mideast Talks, A Small Victory For U.S. Media Mention of ATFP In National Public Radio (NPR) - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am The Obama administration has set the date for the first direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in two years, a small diplomatic victory for an administration that made Arab-Israeli peace an early priority. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have been invited to the White House on Sept.1. They will be joined by Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. » Read more

Mideast talks offer promise, peril for Obama Media Mention of ATFP In Politico - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's announcement Friday of new direct Middle East peace talks will renew the sense of opportunity that had faded as the regional stalemate hardened. But the talks also renew the political peril for President Barack Obama, who once again is in the position of pledging progress that's easier to promise than to deliver. » Read more

Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks: What Will Help, Hinder? Media Mention of ATFP In PBS - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am Transcript JEFFREY BROWN: And to talk about the talks, we go to David Makovsky, senior fellow at the Washington Institute and co-author of the book "Myths, Illusions and Peace," and Ghaith Al-Omari, advocacy director at the American Task Force on Palestine and a fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is a former aide to President Abbas. Ghaith al Omari, what is your answer to the question posed at the announcement today, why now? » Read more

End of settlement freeze could derail Mideast talks Media Mention of ATFP In The Washington Times - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians that are set to begin next week in Washington may be scuttled before they even get going. Israel has yet to commit to extending a freeze on construction of settlements that the Palestinian side says it needs to continue negotiations. That settlement freeze is set to expire Sept. 26. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated in a letter to President Obama that he would not participate in the direct talks if Israel continued construction in the West Bank and Jerusalem. » Read more

August 17th

Israeli-Palestinian direct talks expected to be announced soon Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - August 17, 2010 - 12:00am An announcement that Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to go into direct peace talks is expected in the coming days, U.S. officials, Mideast watchers and European diplomats said Monday. “We are close, we are optimistic,” a U.S. official said. “There’s still work to do, details remain.” One western diplomat said the announcement was expected Monday, adding that both parties are essentially agreeing to go into direct talks based on assurances they have received from the United States. » Read more

August 5th

Obama Administration Presses Palestinians To Enter Direct Talks With Israel Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Jewish Daily Forward - August 5, 2010 - 12:00am State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley strove hard to hit the right note August 2 in describing the Obama administration’s recent effort to push the Palestinians into direct peace talks with Israel. » Read more

July 12th

'Palestinian-Israeli situation could lead to a holy war if not resolved soon' Media Mention of Ziad Asali In Arab News - July 12, 2010 - 12:00am WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama assured Mahmoud Abbas by telephone on Friday of his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The call followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House meeting with Obama on Tuesday, in which the two leaders discussed a number of issues including Israel's stalled peace talks with the Palestinians. Dr. Ziad Asali, the president and founder of the Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine, said it is important to keep focused on the efforts the president is making in outreach to both Palestinians and Israelis. » Read more

July 8th

More on conversation with Ibish Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Meretz USA Blog - July 8, 2010 - 12:00am The Web editor of In These Times required a 2,500 word limitation for the online article. The ISRAEL HORIZONS version, pending for the fall, will include almost all of my discussion with Hussein Ibish. What I particularly regret having had to exclude from the ITT piece is the following further response from Hussein Ibish to my question on how he felt about the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state: » Read more