Boycott Law lets Israel defend itself
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Elihu Stone - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

The anti-boycott legislation recently enacted by the Knesset has invoked a firestorm of criticism from many, fulminating against such legislation as inherently “undemocratic.” Allow me to present an alternative viewpoint, dealing with the particulars of the case.

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Maybe It's Time for American Jews to Boycott Netanyahu (UPDATED)
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

This is what the prime minister of the "Middle East's only democracy," Benjamin Netanyahu, said about the free-speech suppression bill that passed in the Knesset earlier this week: He said, unbelievably, that the new law doesn't taint Israeli democracy. "What stains (Israel's) image are those savage and irresponsible attacks on a democracy's attempt to draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not." Yikes.

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Boycott boomerang?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Globes
by Ami Brand - (Opinion) July 14, 2011 - 12:00am

The Boycott Law, which it seems will have to overcome the hurdle of the High Court of Justice, has had one unexpected result. After a dormant decade, the moderate Israeli left is suddenly showing signs of revival. On the evening of the vote, following calls on Twitter and Facebook for a protest against the infringement of the right of free speech, several hundred demonstrators gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. Compared with the average attendance at similar events, this was an impressive achievement.

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Israel's stupid and self-defeating new law
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph
by Michael Weiss - (Blog) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

One of the more elegant ways pro-Israel activists used to be able to confront the absurdities of anti-Israeli activists was by referring to the tolerance and patience that Israel has for its many critics and enemies. An Islamist cleric whose answer to the Jewish Question is straight out of Torquemada? We’ll let him become mayor of an Arab village. A sinister campaign for the economic and cultural boycott of Israel? We’ll let the head campaigner work toward his doctorate at Tel Aviv University, where his oral defence will no doubt be an attack on his own academic viability.

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A Self-Defeating Boycott Bill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Jeffrey Goldberg - (Opinion) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Supporters of Israel's settlement movement want to criminalize calls for boycotts, not only of Israel, but of products made in the settlements. The way to fight calls to boycott Israel itself is through argument; the way to fight calls to boycott settlements is to bring about the creation of a Palestinian state, and let the settlers become part of Palestine, or encourage them to come home to Israel proper. About the boycott-Israel movement I have no mixed feelings at all; it is a type of anti-Jewish discrimination campaign (as are these awful flotillas).

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Israeli leader defends contentious boycott law
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Josef Federman - July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday defended a contentious new law targeting local boycotts of West Bank settlements, as the issue escalated into a battle over the limits of Israeli democracy. Supporters say the law is needed to counter what they consider "delegitimization" of Israel's very existence. Critics say it is a violation of the basic right of free speech and part of a chilling trend by the government to stifle dissent.

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We Can’t Say This
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

We could get in trouble for this. Not in New York City, where this editorial is being written, because legitimate comment is protected under the First Amendment. But our editorials, along with many other stories and columns in the Forward, also appear every Sunday in the English edition of the Haaretz newspaper in Israel. And now, with a new anti-boycott law approved by the Knesset and due to take effect in less than 90 days, the boundaries of free speech and legitimate expression have grown unpredictably and suffocatingly tight.

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Israelis, Palestinians must unite to end occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yitzhak Laor - (Opinion) July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the political right argues, has a solid parliamentary majority, so not accepting such a majority's decisions is undemocratic. Right-wing advocates use this argument widely. But of course, this argument harms Israel because it treats its colonialism as if it were part of its political structure.

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Killing chance for peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Ben Simon - (Opinion) July 12, 2011 - 12:00am

In the final moments of the vote on the Boycott Law, when it was clear that my opposition colleagues and myself are again about to be defeated, my thoughts wandered to the founders of this state. These well-known and unknown heroes who left their countries of birth, left families behind, and moved to the Land of Israel in order to build one of the 20th Century’s most ambitious projects.

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Israel Kicks Down its own Democratic Hill?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Atlantic
by Steve Clemons - (Opinion) July 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Part of the annual foreign policy ritual in Washington is that the US President, Vice President, and leading Members of Congress make major campaign and fundraising speeches, sign on to resolutions, and pledge unconditional support to Israel, often referring to it as "the only genuine democracy in the Middle East." But will it remain so? The Israel Knesset just passed 47-38 a bill outlawing its citizens from supporting any anti-Israel boycotts.

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