Internal American Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

Newt, the Jews, and an “Invented” People
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New Yorker
by David Remnick - (Blog) December 11, 2011 - 1:00am

Late last week, as part of a Republican pander-fest for the Jewish vote—what Jon Stewart aptly called a “tuchus kiss-off”—Newt Gingrich, the frontrunner in Iowa and South Carolina, turned on the spigot of his pedantry and called the Palestinians an “invented” people.

Why Israelis may not be thrilled by sweet nothings from Gingrich, GOP
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - December 11, 2011 - 1:00am

Israelis have grown accustomed to being the object of affection by US politicians and a stop on the campaigns of aspiring candidates over the past decade. But the recent one-upmanship in the Republican primary on Israel has taken the debate into new territory. Newt Gingrich’s declaration that the Palestinians are an "invented" people potentially put him further to the right of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, whom Mitt Romney then name dropped in promising to stay on the same page with the government. An embarrassment of diplomatic riches for Israel? Not necessarily.

Statement of Senator Carl Levin Regarding Newt Gingrich’s Comments about the Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Carl Levin - December 10, 2011 - 1:00am

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued the following statement today in regards to Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s comments on the Jewish Channel television network regarding the Palestinian people: "Newt Gingrich is wrong to think his attempt to turn the Palestinians into a non-people with no claim to a state will appeal to his audience on the Jewish Channel on which they are apparently to be aired on Monday.

Gingrich: Palestinians 'invented,' promises Netanyahu-style foreign policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ben Smith - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich dismissed the Palestinian bid for statehood as the effort of an "invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community." Gingrich also said the Palestinian Authority, which has typically represented the moderate wing of Palestinian leadership and formally accepts Israel's right to exist, is motivated by "an enormous desire to destroy Israel."

Gingrich calls Palestinians an ‘invented’ people
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Amy Gardner, Philip Rucker - December 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich said in a cable TV interview that Palestinians are an “invented” people with no apparent right to their own state, a rejection of a decade of bipartisan U.S. foreign policy. In the interview, which was taped Wednesday in Washington and will be broadcast Monday on The Jewish Channel, Gingrich spoke about his mistrust of Palestinian leaders, his admiration for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his view that the Obama administration is “favoring the terrorists” with its foreign policy.

Appeals court upholds convictions in Holy Land Foundation case
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
December 8, 2011 - 1:00am

NEW YORK (JTA) -- A U.S. appeals court upheld the convictions of five Holy Land Foundation organizers on charges of conspiring to send money to Hamas. The ruling was handed down Wednesday by a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Texas. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation had its assets frozen by the Bush administration in December 2001. The Islamic charity and five defendants were found guilty in 2008 on charges of funneling money to Hamas.

Gingrich and Adelson Forge Firm Alliance
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman, Josh Nathan-Kazis - December 8, 2011 - 1:00am

In the battle for the Republican pro-Israel vote, Newt Gingrich lacks Mitt Romney’s broad base of prominent Jewish donors. But he has something potentially more powerful: the support of one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s most significant American backers, and a relationship with the Israeli prime minister himself that stretches back decades.

Israel rift roils Democratic ranks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ben Smith - December 7, 2011 - 1:00am

Two of the Democratic Party’s core institutions are challenging a bipartisan consensus on Israel and Palestine that has dominated American foreign policy for more than a decade. The Center for American Progress, the party’s key hub of ideas and strategy, and Media Matters, a central messaging organization, have emerged as vocal critics of their party’s staunchly pro-Israel congressional leadership and have been at odds, at times, with Barack Obama’s White House, which has acted as a reluctant ally to Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government.

ACLU sues bus agency over refusal of ‘Boycott Israel’ ad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
November 29, 2011 - 1:00am

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against a Michigan bus agency that refused to post an advertisement calling for a boycott of Israel. The lawsuit was filed Monday in Detroit federal court, the Detroit Free Press reported. The suit claims that the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority is violating the free-speech rights of Blaine Coleman, who attempted to purchase the ads on buses in that city. The agency's board rejected the ad at a Nov. 17 meeting because of a standing policy against ads that ridicule people or groups.

A Jerusalem embassy creeps closer toward becoming law
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - November 29, 2011 - 1:00am

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), appointed to his job when his predecessor John Ensign resigned in scandal, faces a tough election battle next year against Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.). His is one of only two likely Dem pickups (the other is Massachusetts). Now he's got a Jerusalem bill that, barely noticed, just might become law. One of Berkley's fortes is her uncompromising pro-Israelism. Which may help explain (I've asked Heller's office for an interview) his decision in September to introduce a bill that would move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Video: Inside ATFP Gala 2013

Photo Gallery: ATFP Gala 2013

Recent News