Tibi’s Limerick on MK Michaeli’s ‘Plumbing’ Earns Him Suspension
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Moran Azulay - January 17, 2012 - 1:00am

The Knesset's Ethics Committee on Tuesday suspended Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi from the plenum and from participating in committee meetings for a period of one week over a limerick he read out during a plenum sitting called "Anasstasia's plumbing was damaged." Tibi wrote the limerick following the incident in which MK Anasstasia Michaeli threw a glass of water in MK Raleb Majadele's face. The suspension will come into force on Sunday.

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Israel Plays a Role
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
by Ghassan Khatib - (Analysis) January 16, 2012 - 1:00am

There has always been a very strong correlation between internal Palestinian issues and Palestinian-Israeli relations. This is true because Israel is a key player in all aspects of Palestinian life. Israel's troops are on the ground in the West Bank, and occupy the Gaza Strip by air and sea. But Israel's occupation was never an issue of military or security control alone; it has interfered with Palestinian economic and political development for the four decades of its existence.

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Israel's "national suicide"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Jazeera English
by Mark Levine - (Opinion) January 16, 2012 - 1:00am

Irvine, California - Say what you will about Israel's High Court of Justice, it knows how to name a decision. In titling last Wednesday's legal decision, upholding the controversial Citizenship Law that prevents Palestinian spouses of Israeli citizens from living in Israel "Human rights are not a prescription for national suicide", the court's majority well summed up the existential predicament Israel faces today - indeed, has always faced - as it attempts to be both Jewish and democratic.

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2 Israeli Web Sites Crippled as Cyberwar Escalates
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - January 16, 2012 - 1:00am

JERUSALEM — Israel faced an escalating cyberwar on Monday as unknown attackers disrupted access to the symbolically strategic Web sites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and El Al, the national airline. A hacker identifying himself as oxOmar, already notorious for posting the details of more than 20,000 Israeli credit cards, sent an overnight warning to Israel’s Ynet news outlet that a group of pro-Palestinian cyberattackers called Nightmare planned to bring down the sites in the morning.

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Israel's negative campaign against Palestinians is on the backburner, for now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - (Opinion) January 16, 2012 - 1:00am

The Prime Minister’s Office, as well as senior officials in the Palestinian Authority have been reporting, rather laconically, on the positive atmosphere and the in-depth and serious discussions taking place in Jordan, despite the hidden bitterness and anger on the side of the Israelis. When the talks started, both sides committed to Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh that they would avoid leaking information, and make sure that the contents of the talks would remain within his office's hands.

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Netanyahu to unveil political plan in March?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - January 15, 2012 - 1:00am

Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to hold a fourth meeting, scheduled to be held on January 25, a day before the Quartet's deadline. On Saturday, Israeli envoy Attorney Yitzhak Molcho and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat met for the third time in Amman. State officials said prior to the meeting that Israel wants to arrange a summit meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and hold an ongoing dialogue until March. It is expected that Netanyahu will present his plan on borders and security at this time.

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Supreme Court Thrusts Israel Down the Slope of Apartheid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) January 13, 2012 - 1:00am

The High Court of Justice's ruling Wednesday on the legality of the Citizenship Law proves the erosion of this institution's role as Israel's guardian of civil rights. Let's look at how the justices voted at the moment of truth on the law, which bans Palestinians from living in Israel with spouses who are Israeli citizens.

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Hardliners See Opportunity to Create a ‘Greater Israel’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) January 13, 2012 - 1:00am

This past year has dealt a heavy blow — perhaps even a terminal one — to the project, long supported by the international community, of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of two states. When the United States itself proved unable to halt Israel’s relentless land grab, it seemed that nothing and nobody could rein in Israel’s iron-willed ambition to expand its borders towards a ‘Greater Israel.’

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Protecting Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

Critics were quick to attack the High Court of Justice’s decision Wednesday to uphold the Citizenship and Entry Law, which severely restricts the right of Palestinians married to Israelis to receive Israeli citizenship. Before rushing to accuse our highest court of discrimination, racism or worse, it would be instructive to recall how the Citizenship and Entry Law came about in the first place.

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Two Israelis’ Identity Struggles
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Jordana Horn - (Film Review) January 12, 2012 - 1:00am

The word “Israel” has been interpreted to mean “a struggle with God,” but 60 years of Israel as a Jewish nation has shown a country in perpetual struggle. As well as wars with its neighbors, Israel has grappled with its history and identity, and the implications of each for the other. Though not explicitly addressed, these issues are deeply felt by the subjects of two quite different biographical documentaries offered by the New York Jewish Film Festival: the leader of the legendary 1976 raid on Entebbe, and an Ethiopian Jewish immigrant on a personal odyssey.

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