Israel let Iran have it, but it’s the Israelis running scared
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yoel Marcus - (Opinion) February 10, 2012 - 1:00am

We won't deny there is a sense of disquiet, not to say fear, among the public about Iran becoming a nuclear power and what our response might be. In a world that invests so much in the manufacture of advanced weaponry, the use of nuclear weapons is off limits. The two bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led the Great Powers to the conclusion that further slaughter on this scale could not be permitted. With other kinds of slaughter, it's not so terrible.

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Israel to Mull Tax Exemptions on Donations ‘Zionist Settlement’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - February 9, 2012 - 1:00am

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation will discuss on Sunday a bill recognizing donations to "Zionist settlement" for tax purposes. The bill would confer a tax exemption of up to thirty-five percent on such donations. The bill did not specify whether "Zionist settlement" referred to settlement in the West Bank or anywhere in Israel, although in practice it most likely means giving assistance to organizations that promote settlement beyond the Green Line.

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In praise of Israel's abnormality
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Israel Harel - (Opinion) February 9, 2012 - 1:00am

It is indeed true that Israel does not have, and quite possibly could not have, an "umbrella definition of a Hebrew nation that, from a political and legal standpoint, is supposed to embrace us in all our factions and variations, including religious and ethnic ones, while separating religion and state," as Doron Rosenblum wrote (Haaretz, February 3 ). Such lamentations over the lack of "Israeliness," and therefore, of "normalcy," date back many years, and represent the feelings of a nontrivial segment of Israeli society.

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Special from Israel: Officials mull path forward after historic Palestinian reconciliation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Egyptian Independent
by Roger Hercz - (Opinion) February 9, 2012 - 1:00am

Jaffa -- Mahmoud al-Zahar, the co-founder of Hamas, was clearly satisfied as he spoke to Israeli TV following the historic Palestinian reconciliation pact signing last week. “Your intelligence organizations are not so impressive after all,” he told Channel 10 News. Israeli leaders were certainly caught off guard when news broke that Fatah and Hamas had reached a deal to mend ties, four years after a schism erupted between the two Palestinian factions and Hamas security forcibly ousted Fatah personnel from the Gaza Strip. Al-Zahar was rubbing Israel’s lack of anticipation in its face.

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Israeli Court Grants Reprieve to Abandoned Palestinian Village
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Joel Greenberg - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem court has ruled against plans to build a luxury housing development on the remains of a Palestinian village abandoned in the 1948 war that followed the establishment of Israel. The court battle was seen as a test case for preservation of Palestinian heritage in Israel, where remains of Arab villages whose residents either fled or were expelled in the fighting have largely vanished under modern buildings, parks and planted forests.

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Israel’s National Photo Collection Being Released For Free Use
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- The Israeli government is gradually releasing its National Photo Collection from copyright restrictions. It's an online treasure trove of 150,000 photographs compiled and scanned from around half a million pictures and put on a searchable website in honor of Israel's jubilee year in 1998.

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By Avoiding Peace, Netanyahu is Punishing Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

In a Pavlovian response to the reconciliation agreement signed by the rival Palestinian factions, under which Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will also serve as temporary prime minister, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented Abbas with a simplistic ultimatum - peace with Hamas, or peace with Israel.

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West Does Not Have Monopoly On Veto Morality
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Opinion) February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

"At the end of last week we received a reminder about the environment we're living in. We heard Iran's ruler talk about Israel's destruction, we saw the Syrian army massacring its own people. Some leaders have no compunctions about harming their people or their neighbors," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the cabinet meeting. True, it's a lousy environment. Only one sentence is needed to complete the picture: "And there are governments that don't mind continuing to occupy other nations for nearly 50 years."

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Racism and political tension tied to Israel's soccer league
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Batsheva Sobelman - February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- High drama exists in Israel's soccer league for reasons other than goals scored, as political tension and racism sometimes play out on and off the fields. The Beitar Jerusalem soccer club, most recently owned by Dan Adler and Adam Levine of the U.S., remains closely associated with its fans' far right-wing politics and slurs against opposing players. The club faces numerous penalties because of fan behavior, with Beitar fans often chanting personal and religious insults at other players. A group dubbed "La Familia" is viewed by many as setting the tone.

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Israel overcome by paranoia
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) February 8, 2012 - 1:00am

At first glance, one is shocked. The images one recalls of the pastoral desert border between Israel and Egypt have been erased. The landscape is cut by a grey, towering metal fence. At the top of it one sees not only barbed wire, but also sharp knives. Alongside this menacing fence lies more barbed wire, affixed to the earth, with a patrol road nearby.

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