Dichter quits Knesset to take home front defense ministerial position
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
August 14, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli lawmaker Avi Dichter resigned from the Kadima Party and the Knesset in order to join the government as minister of home front defense. Dichter reportedly sent Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin his resignation on Tuesday after being offered the position Monday night during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He will replace Matan Vilnai, who on Monday became Israel's ambassador to China.

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Driving Hezbollah Off Social Media
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - August 13, 2012 - 12:00am

A campaign to drive designated terror organizations off social media platforms is proving effective on some fronts in preventing Hezbollah from reaching out to members and supporters through the Web. Several key social media sites, including Facebook, agreed recently to delete accounts and applications belonging to the Lebanon-based group and its TV station, Al-Manar, which have both been designated by the United States as terror groups.

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New Israeli bill calls to divide prayer times for Jews, Muslims at Jerusalem holy site
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 13, 2012 - 12:00am

A new bill introduced to the Israeli Knesset parliament Sunday suggested dividing prayer times at the Temple Mount holy site in Jerusalem. The bill was introduced by Knesset member Arye Eldad, from the right-wing National Union party, reported The Jerusalem Post. According to the legal proposal, the bill seeks to implement " freedom of worship for all three religions at Temple Mount."

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Despite rocky region, Israeli tourism booming
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Aron Heller - August 12, 2012 - 12:00am

It's priming for a risky showdown with Iran over its suspected nuclear program, concerned about neighboring Syria's bloody civil war spilling across the border and dealing with terrorists attempting to infiltrate from Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula. But that doesn't seem to be deterring hundreds of thousands of tourists from flocking to Israel each month. Despite the region's turmoil, Israel is enjoying an unexpected tourism boom, and 2012 is shaping up to be a record year.

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On Jerusalem’s Jaffa Road, an artist evokes mood at time of suicide attacks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Joel Greenberg - August 12, 2012 - 12:00am

It was a tour that could happen only here: a stroll to the sites of Palestinian suicide bombings up and down Jaffa Road, Jerusalem’s main thoroughfare, which has the dubious distinction of being the street hit by the most such attacks anywhere in the world. The guide was a young Israeli performance artist, Yossi Atia, and the tour was an attempt to map the trauma and explore the scars left by the attacks, which have dwindled since their peak about a decade ago, receding from the day-to-day consciousness of most Israelis.

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Preparations and Rhetoric for Possible Israeli Strike on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Linda Gradstein - August 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Sometime this week, all Israelis will get the following SMS message in Hebrew on their cell-phones:  “Home Front, testing cellphone warning system.” The test is the final preparation before declaring the new warning system operational next month, according to military officials who explain that the mechanism is believed to be an effective way to transmit messages during wartime.

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Bibi and Barak: Enough Chatter, Decide Already
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'ariv
by Ben Caspit - (Opinion) August 12, 2012 - 12:00am

You can all relax — in the last two weeks, nothing new has happened with regard to an attack on Iran. The cabinet hasn’t convened, the defense minister hasn’t summoned the IDF general staff and no new information has been received. Everything that is known today was known two months ago.

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IDF court convicts Palestinian of lynching Israeli soldier in 2000
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Chaim Levinson - August 10, 2012 - 12:00am

The military appeals court last week convicted Wisam Radi of murdering a soldier during the 2000 Ramallah lynching, overturning a lower court's decision to acquit him.

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'Netanyahu, Barak mulling fall strike on Iran'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
August 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak advocate an attack of Iran's nuclear facilities in the upcoming fall, Yedioth Ahronoth's senior commentators Nahum Barnea and Shimon Shiffer reported Friday. 

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An Israeli strike on Iran nuclear facilities could endanger Israel's Dimona reactor
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amir Oren - (Opinion) August 10, 2012 - 12:00am

A foul wind is blowing over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with weekend gusts toward Caesarea. A wind of pugnacity. Before the eyes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and in the spirit of the chants of which he is so fond ("They are frightened"; "There's no free lunch" ) - it's as if a new sign has been raised high, bearing the words: "Strike now!"

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