Internal American Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

Obama's Middle East Strategy Stalls
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In Voice of America - November 11, 2009 - 1:00am

From the beginning of his administration, U.S. President Barack Obama said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be a top foreign policy priority. After nearly 10 months of diplomacy, however, the peace process appears to be stalled and no negotiations are on the horizon. Some Middle East analysts say the failure to make progress is due, at least in part, to missteps made by the Obama administration. Last January, on his second full day in office, President Obama named a special envoy to the Middle East as part of an effort to rejuvenate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

'US attitude to Israel may be changing'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - November 9, 2009 - 1:00am

A leading Republican congressman warned that the climate toward Israel on Capitol Hill could be changing, ahead of his address to a major Jewish conference Sunday. "The possibility is there," US House of Representatives Minority Whip Eric Cantor told The Jerusalem Post, speaking about the prospect that Congress's support for Israel could be ebbing.

Farouk Shami: Palestinian Immigrant, Entrepreneur and Texas Gubernatorial Candidate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Felice Friedson - (Interview) November 8, 2009 - 1:00am

FAROUK SHAMI is Palestinian-American immigrant who invented an ammonia-free line of hair care products which he parlayed into a fortune. Passionate about his adopted United States, Shami recently made news by turning his Farouk Systems into an all-American operation, building a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Houston, Texas, creating thousands of jobs for the local community. Shami is running for the office of Governor of the State of Texas. He was interviewed by The Media Line’s Felice Friedson. ***

U.S. Eases Pressure on Israel, Leans On Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Relations between Washington and Jerusalem are warming, as months-long tensions over West Bank settlements and other issues have gradually eased. Israeli officials and Jewish communal leaders point to a series of events, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s praise of Israel’s movement on the settlement issue, and President Obama’s upcoming speech at the General Assembly of Jewish Federations of North America, as signs of softening in the administration’s approach toward the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Campus, a Divide Over ‘Pro-Israel’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Josh Nathan-Kazis - November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

When an Israeli student at Carleton College complained that the school’s Jewish organization had made no official statement recognizing Israel’s right to exist, Jewish student leaders at the small liberal arts school in Minnesota found themselves stuck between two poles. They wanted to make the Israeli student feel comfortable, but they didn’t want didn’t want to alienate community members by presenting them with deep misgivings about the Jewish state.

Rips in the Peace Camp’s Big Tent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

The first national conference of J Street, the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby, convened October 25 in Washington, D.C., with all the understated reserve of a new iPhone launch or the christening of the Queen Mary. Gathered in a swank hotel a short walk from the White House, some 1,500 activists from across the country sat through hours of speeches by big-shot politicians and diplomats, earnestly debated tactics and philosophy, handed out awards over chicken dinners and jabbered excitedly in the corridors.

Clinton's Middle East message seems to misfire
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Politico - November 2, 2009 - 1:00am

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's message on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks this weekend was not notably different from what President Barack Obama himself said in New York in September at a meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. But the prevailing perception and coverage in the wake of Clinton's meetings in Israel and Abu Dhabi Saturday are that the U.S.

No to settlements is yes to peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Eric Yoffie - (Opinion) October 30, 2009 - 12:00am

Too many American Jewish groups have their heads in the sand when it comes to the damage the settlement project has done to Israel. They embrace those on the American religious right who endorse settlement as a religious principle, without realizing that the influence of these groups is declining. They talk to each other or to themselves, but not to their own children on campus who must deal with this topic every day. Yet those of us who do the actual work of making Israel's case in local communities know full well the damage the settlement issue causes in grassroots America.

Washington Watch: What's so scary about J Street?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) October 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Bernie Madoff's punim may be the best selling mask this Halloween season, but what scares the stuffing out of many Jewish leaders is the new pro-Israel peace lobby called J Street. What has them quaking in their Guccis is the fear that its message appears to be igniting interest in the community and on Capitol Hill despite a frantic campaign to douse it.

J Street student head: We're pro-Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - (Opinion) October 29, 2009 - 12:00am

Following controversy in some quarters of the Jewish community over the decision of the J Street U student board not to include "pro-Israel" in its messaging, J Street sent out statements this week affirming the organization's commitment to Israel. They also referred to "incorrect reports" on the decision, with student board president Sophia Manuel putting out a statement Wednesday that, "The national board of J Street U neither discussed nor voted on any action to remove the term 'pro-Israel' from our platform, policy or the way we describe ourselves at J Street U's national conference."

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