Morocco offers a paradigm for good ties with Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Adina Friedman - February 22, 2013 - 1:00am

At a ceremony recently marking the end of the restoration of a 17th-century synagogue in Fez’s Old City, Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane read a message from King Mohammad VI hailing Morocco’s “spiritual wealth and diversity” and the “values of coexistence, tolerance and harmony between the different components of the nation.”

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Fayyad Condemns Israeli Attacks on Property Near Nablus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Palestine News Network
February 22, 2013 - 1:00am

  Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned Thursday Israeli army sabotage of electricity poles in the Nablus area village of Qusra and arson of cars in the same village by Israeli settlers.

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Yair Lapid's crucial choice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Yair Lapid, the chairman of Yesh Atid, wants to be prime minister. Okay, good. Lapid doesn’t have the experience necessary to be prime minister. Okay, good. But Lapid has impressive political skills, which he demonstrated during the election campaign. Okay, good. Therefore, in order to prove that he is indeed worthy of being prime minister in the future, the good Israeli needs to prove he is a good reader of the reality map. He has to prove he knows how to distinguish between what is important and what is not.

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The Many Scandals Of The Prisoner X Affair
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Michael Ross - (Opinion) February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

There is a joke among spies that the worst curse you can bestow on a colleague is, "I hope to read about you in the newspapers one day." In the tragic case of Ben Zygier, the curse wasn't a joke, and he had to die for it to become a reality. Needless to say, the gallows humor that is a hallmark of my former profession has lost much of its luster.

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Jewish Gays Should Fight Pinkwashing But Not With Censorship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Jay Michaelson - (Opinion) February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Is censoring disagreeable speech ever a good idea? A porn star and an aging Jewish icon seem to think so. Both men, Michael Lucas and Abraham Foxman, have recently opined that speech in favor of “BDS” — boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel — is hate speech and should be banned from Jewish, LGBT, and academic community institutions.

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Israel gives OK for oil drilling in Golan Heights
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Israel says it has given the go-ahead for a gas exploration project in the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau it captured from Syria in the 1967 war. Israel's Energy and Water Resources Ministry said Wednesday it has issued a permit for the American-Israeli company Genie Energy to drill for oil on the plateau. The company is headed by Effi Eitam, a hawkish former Israeli Cabinet minister.

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Israel's Oscar bid discomforts Netanyahu government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Dan Williams - February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

An Oscar-nominated Israeli documentary has brought little joy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, the focus of the film's criticism of Israel's policy toward the Palestinians. Featuring searingly confessional interviews with six former chiefs of the shadowy security service Shin Bet, "The Gatekeepers" portrays the 46-year-old West Bank occupation and Jewish ultranationalism as threats to Israel's survival.

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History professor Yehuda Bauer: 'Netanyahu doesn't know history'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Dalia Karpel - February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

 

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Palestinians have little faith Livni can influence peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Palestinians are not optimistic about the influence of Tzipi Livni as Israel's negotiator in talks with them after her appointment in the emerging coalition government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mrs Livni, a former foreign minister, was the leader of the opposition until March last year, when she formed her own party on a platform critical of Mr Netanyahu and his government's policy of expanding Jewish settlements.

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Math and the Israeli Election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Linda Gradstein - (Editorial) February 21, 2013 - 1:00am

Why is it taking so long to form a government? It is now a full month since the Israeli public went to the polls, but the winner, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, is not even close to forming a new government. He needs to reach the magic number of 61 parliament members out of a total of 120, who will join his coalition government.

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