Israel Bans Boycotts Against the State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - July 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The Israeli Parliament on Monday passed contentious legislation that effectively bans any public call for a boycott against the state of Israel or its West Bank settlements, making such action a punishable offense. Critics and civil rights groups denounced the new law as antidemocratic and a flagrant assault on the freedom of expression and protest. The law’s defenders said it was a necessary tool in Israel’s fight against what they called its global delegitimization.

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Vote set on Israeli settlement boycott bill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - July 10, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli backers of a bill that would punish people for boycotting West Bank settlements said Sunday they will push forward with the proposal, despite accusations that it's an undemocractic slap at freedom of speech. In recent years, settlement opponents in Israel have joined boycotts of products made in the settlements. The Palestinians and most of the international community say settlements are illegal because they are built on war-won land. The Palestinians want the West Bank for their future state. The local initiatives have angered settlers and their powerful political patrons.

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Israeli-instilled memory replaces the real
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) July 10, 2011 - 12:00am

For several weeks now, our army and navy have been in a state of high alert, bravely facing a deadly threat to our very existence: 10 little boats trying to reach Gaza. These vessels are carrying a dangerous gang of vicious terrorists, in the form of elderly veterans of peace campaigns. Benjamin Netanyahu has affirmed our unshakable determination to defend our country: We shall not let anyone break the blockade to smuggle rockets to the terrorists in Gaza, who will then launch them to kill our innocent children.

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In dealing with flotilla, Israel is anything but smart
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Like an anti-Semitic caricature, Israel has extended its long tentacles around the globe in an effort to stop 10 decades-old ships from sailing to Gaza. Many Israelis interpreted this as a great victory.

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Is Israel the 'National Home of the Jewish People'?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Time
by Tony Karon - (Opinion) July 7, 2011 - 12:00am

In a scathing commentary on the folly of the Obama Administration relying on Dennis Ross to resuscitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar notes that Ross has been at the center of just about every failed initiative on that front over the past two decades -- and that now, as ever, he is running interference for the Israelis, sustaining what he says is an illusion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's willingness to make major concessions while restraining the U.S. from putting any significant pressure on him.

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We must stop Israel from becoming a theocracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shaul Arieli - (Opinion) July 6, 2011 - 12:00am

Those of us who believe that the internal debate in the Jewish community in Israel is still focused on defense needs or the number of settlements that should be evacuated, were proven wrong by the followers of Kiryat Arba's Rabbi Dov Lior. The real controversy focuses on the image of Israeli society and the nature of the country's governance. The conflict with the Palestinians is only a platform for shaping positions on this issue.

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Borderline Views: Preserving human rights of 'the other'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by David Newman - (Opinion) July 5, 2011 - 12:00am

The real challenge facing human rights groups is respecting and upholding the civil rights of those with whom we often disagree. How appropriate that in the week the Knesset launched a new attack on human rights movements, especially those funded by the European Union, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) received the Gruber International Justice Prize.

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Israel arrests raise specter of rabbis vs state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Marius Schattner - July 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Challenges to Israel's justice system by a small group of ultra-nationalist rabbis have raised the specter of theocracy in Israel, where religion is deeply intertwined with affairs of state. Over the past week, police have detained, questioned and released two very influential rabbis as part of an ongoing investigation into a banned book called "The King's Torah," which justifies killing non-Jews under certain circumstances. The arrests have sparked violent protests and a raging debate about whether rabbis are above the law, and about the limits of religious freedom of expression.

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Blast at Sinai Pipeline Again Halts Gas to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Liam Stack - July 4, 2011 - 12:00am

Unknown attackers blew up a strategic natural gas pipeline that runs through Egypt’s rugged Sinai Peninsula to Israel and Jordan on Monday, bringing the flow of gas to a halt for the third time this year. Security sources described the explosion as “massive” and said it generated “high flames,” although it led to no injuries or damage to nearby buildings.

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Six years on, lessons of Gaza withdrawal resonate for West Bank
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Linda Gradstein - (Opinion) July 4, 2011 - 12:00am

SHILOH, West Bank (JTA) -- Yisrael Medad remembers when just eight families lived in the red-roofed homes in this Jewish settlement deep in the hills of the West Bank. Now some 2,500 Israelis live here, and Shiloh has playgrounds, schools and a yeshiva. The red-roofed homes sprawl over several hills, and new homes continue to be built. At the bottom of the hill is the archaeological excavation of the biblical Shiloh, where the tabernacle is believed to have been built.

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