Israeli official: US resisting on Iran ultimatum
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ian Deitch - September 10, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — An Israeli official said Monday that Washington's refusal to issue an ultimatum to Iran over its nuclear program brings Tehran closer to producing an atomic bomb. Israel has been pushing for the international community to give Iran "clear red lines" with regard to the disputed program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes only. An Israeli official reiterated his country's position on Monday night, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

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Barak now opposes Israeli strike on Iran, sources say
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yossi Verter - (Opinion) September 7, 2012 - 12:00am

Word is that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is no longer as gung ho about an attack on Iran as his media interviews suggest. Haaretz's Amir Oren reported this week that Barak opposes launching an attack on the eve of the U.S. elections, and that he may be aiming to join a party headed by Tzipi Livni and to become defense minister in a Livni government.

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Obama on the fence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yoaz Hendal - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am

In Hebrew there is a slight difference between in the pronunciation and spelling of "obligation" and "commitment." There is a big difference when it comes to the nuclear threat. The Obama administration has said everything it had to say in order to convince us that it is committed to Israel's security. But what it isn’t saying is that it is obligated – because it isn't.

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A President's badge of honor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Stuart E. Eizenstat - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am

President Obama has demonstrated his unshakeable commitment to Israel's security in countless ways: enhancing security cooperation, passing unprecedented sanctions against Iran, and defending Israel against the Palestinian statehood bid, to name a few. While every single US president over the past six decades has had disagreements with Israel, some of President Obama's critics have completely ignored his pro-Israel record and labeled him anti-Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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The Obama gut test
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Lester Crown - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am

For the majority of my adult life, I have been privileged to call Chicago my home. It is a beautiful city with a large and active Jewish community. It is also where, several decades ago, many of my friends and I had the good fortune to know a lawyer who became a local community organizer and would, in fairly short time, become the most powerful man in the world.

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The Democrats' misstep on Jerusalem and Israel's place in the US election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Chris McGreal - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am

Just off the main road through West Jerusalem toward Bethlehem sits a prime but barren piece of real estate surrounded by luxury flats. It's the site of a future American embassy to Israel that, for nearly two decades, the US Congress has demanded be built immediately. But once American presidents begin navigating the minefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they quickly realise they don't need to add to their problems by shifting the US embassy from Tel Aviv - a unilateral statement on the status of Jerusalem.

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Obama on the fence
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yoaz Hendal - (Opinion) September 6, 2012 - 12:00am

  n Hebrew there is a slight difference between in the pronunciation and spelling of "obligation" and "commitment." There is a big difference when it comes to the nuclear threat. The Obama administration has said everything it had to say in order to convince us that it is committed to Israel's security. But what it isn’t saying is that it is obligated – because it isn't.

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DNC adds Jerusalem to platform
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Monitor
by Laura Rozen - (Blog) September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Update: The Democratic National Committee on Wednesday added an amendment to its 2012 platform saying Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The language, almost identical to that in the DNC 2008 platform, was added after its omission came under criticism from some Republican groups. “President Obama personally intervened to strengthen the language,” a Democratic aide involved in the process told Al-Monitor Wednesday.

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Amid some boos, Democrats return Jerusalem-as-capital language to party platform
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - September 5, 2012 - 12:00am

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (JTA) -- At President Obama's behest, and to boos from some delegates, Democrats on Wednesday night inserted a few lines into their party platform affirming Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Two of the lines had appeared in the 2008 party platform but had been dropped for some reason when this year’s platform was released Monday night; no one could quite explain the omission.

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Is peace a “vital” American interest?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) September 4, 2012 - 12:00am

“Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a vital national security interest,” the voice of the American foreign policy consensus has intoned, with its trademark gravitas, for the past decade. “But,” it continues sagely, “We cannot want peace more than the parties themselves.” Around Washington wise heads have nodded grimly at the self-evidence of this hegemonic dictum. 

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