Anti-Israel speech should be protected, not banned, on American campuses
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Justin D. Martin - (Opinion) September 20, 2011 - 12:00am

An Israeli legal group sent more than 100 US college and university presidents a letter this month, warning them to crack down on anti-Semitism and terrorist activities. Seems reasonable enough. But the letter, drafted by the Israel Law Center, contains suggestions that come perilously close to stunting First Amendment protections for unpopular speech.

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Capitol Letter / Obama is stuck between a veto and a hard place
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Blog) September 20, 2011 - 12:00am

As President Barack Obama prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, many recall what he said to the body last year when he devoted over a quarter of his speech to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. One particular phrase drew much attention: "When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that will lead to a new member of the United Nations - an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel."

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The Tsuris
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from New York Magazine
by John Heilemann - (Opinion) September 20, 2011 - 12:00am

The last time Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu shared each other’s company, you could say that the encounter did not go well—if by “not well” you mean abysmally. This was on May 20, the day after Obama gave his big speech on the Arab Spring, in which he unleashed a tsunami of tsuris by endorsing the use of Israel’s 1967 borders “with mutually agreed [land] swaps” as the basis for a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

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Dear U.S. Jews, please don't let Netanyahu deceive you
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Sarid - (Opinion) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

What follows is an emotional and perhaps late appeal to Israel's friends in America, particularly the Jews among them, who see themselves as people looking out for own welfare. Don't bring us ill instead of good. Don't let Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman deceive you.

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U.N. Palestine vote: Time to exhale
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin - (Opinion) September 19, 2011 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas early this week will likely fulfill his longstanding vow to introduce in the U.N. Security Council a resolution to recognize Palestine as the 194th member state. No one should be the least bit surprised.

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Israel and New York’s Ninth District
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) September 15, 2011 - 12:00am

There has already been a lot of theorizing about why a little-known Republican businessman, Bob Turner, won Tuesday’s special Congressional election in a traditionally Democratic New York City district. The grim economy appears to have been a big factor in his victory over Assemblyman David Weprin, and some voters also complained about Mr. Weprin’s principled vote in Albany to legalize gay marriage, which was anathema to many ultra-Orthodox Jewish voters.

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Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen tells Haaretz: We must stop Palestinians' ‘dangerous scheme’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Blog) September 14, 2011 - 12:00am

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Representative for Florida and chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is one of the loudest voices in Congress opposing the Palestinian plan to secure United Nations recognition for statehood. A bill she introduced earlier this month would cut funding to any UN body that supports the Palestinian bid. The initiative was criticized by Obama administration officials and Ros-Lehtinen’s Democratic colleagues in Congress, but the Congresswoman made it clear on Tuesday that she has no intentions of backpedalling on the issue.

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Obama: Palestinian statehood vote at UN would be counterproductive
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 13, 2011 - 12:00am

U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday that if the Palestinians try to achieve statehood in the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. would oppose the proposal. "If this came to the Security Council we would object very strongly, precisely because we think it would be counterproductive. "We don't think that it would actually lead to the outcome that we want, which is a two-state solution," he told Spanish-language media in an interview.

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Pro-Palestinian activists in U.S. optimistic about UN vote
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Blog) September 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Despite the rapid unraveling of Israeli ties with both Turkey and Egypt, September is still seen as the month that would precipitate a “diplomatic tsunami" as a result of the impending UN vote on Palestinian statehood, letting the fact that two Israeli ambassadors were forced to leave neighboring countries take a distant backseat.

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Progressive except on Palestine
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill
by Rebecca Vilkomerson - (Blog) September 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Tomorrow’s special election for New York’s 9th district to replace Rep. Anthony Weiner is a disturbing example of the limited range of acceptable political discourse on Israel in American politics.

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