Internal Israeli Politics | The American Task Force on Palestine

Netanyahu attempt to split Kadima falters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - July 23, 2012 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a botched attempt to fragment Israel's main opposition party on Monday by wooing some of its lawmakers to rejoin his governing coalition just days after the bloc bolted his coalition. But the maneuver failed after he managed to win over only four Kadima Party lawmakers, leaving him with a relatively fragile majority that could be hard-pressed to survive challenges like a contentious court-ordered reform of the military draft and the 2013 budget.

Israel orders demolition of 8 Palestinian villages, claims need for IDF training land
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - July 23, 2012 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has ordered the demolition of eight Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills because the territory is needed for Israel Defense Forces training exercises, the state told the High Court of Justice on Sunday. The residents of the targeted villages will be moved to the town of Yatta and its environs; the state claims, based on information it obtained from local informers, that most of these people have permanent homes in that area.

Contrary to the laws of math
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Shaul Arieli - July 23, 2012 - 12:00am

For years, Israelis have ranked low in the sciences and mathematics - 41 out of 64 countries, according to the Program for International Student Assessment tests. That is not surprising when one examines the conduct of the state with respect to teaching these subjects, especially in the past decade. Following are a few simple mathematical problems whose answers could have gotten more than half the country out in the streets demonstrating if we had only studied the way we should have in elementary school.

Netanyahu’s falling stock
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jeff Barak - (Opinion) July 22, 2012 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu must be kicking himself as the Knesset enters the final days of its summer session this week. Had he not buckled at the very last minute and cancelled his plans for calling early elections, he would now be only a couple of months away from an easy victory and his third term in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Israeli PM unfazed by Kadima walkout of government
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - (Analysis) July 20, 2012 - 12:00am

It was labeled the "super coalition" which would give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a solid majority in the Knesset (parliament) to deal with challenges facing the nation. However, on Tuesday, Kadima party leader Shaul Mofaz decided to leave the government he had joined only 72 days earlier, after negotiations over a new draft law fell apart. The day after Kadima joined the government in May, the Knesset was scheduled to vote on a law calling for elections in September, but after Kadima joined the law was scrapped.

The Israeli left's zombie argument
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Nir Baram - (Opinion) July 20, 2012 - 12:00am

One of the primary concerns arguments of the Zionist left, from the time of Yitzhak Rabin's second government and until very recently, was, "What the world will think of us?" The argument went like this: In the absence of peace with the Palestinians, or at the very least of negotiations pretending to be serious, Israel will become a pariah state. Its economy will take a serious beating, and the aspiration of most Israelis to deny that they are part of the geographic region in which they live, and to see their country as part of the Western world, will turn out to be illusory.

The Real Problems with Israel's Newest University
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Ron Mandelbaum - (Opinion) July 20, 2012 - 12:00am

A few days ago, Israel named Ariel’s University Center as its eighth official university. It should not have done so for several reasons. First, the decision was facilitated because it was based on a peculiar institutional setup existing as a result of its occupation of the West Bank. Second, the decision goes against a basic tenet of academia: judgment of an argument should be based on its merit alone. The erroneous decision is only compounded by the current state of Israeli higher education.

Israel official: Suicide bomber attacked Israelis in Bulgaria
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yaniv Kubovich, Barak Ravid - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

The bombing in Bulgaria on Wednesday was committed by a suicide bomber and not by a charge planted in the bus beforehand as believed at first, a senior official in the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Haaretz on Thursday. The estimate was bolstered by comments made by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Metodiev Borisov as saying that chances were that the bombing was perpetrated by a suicide bomber.

Egyptian president meets Hamas chief
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi held talks Thursday with Islamic Hamas movement's politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, official news agency MENA reported. The two talked about the latest developments in the Palestinian reconciliation, efforts exerted by Egypt supporting the Palestinian issue, and ways to get a Palestinian independent state. The meeting was attended by the deputy head of Hamas movement office and members of the political bureau, including Mahmoud al- Zahar. Morsi met visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday.

Syria’s Stockpile of Chemical Weapons is Making Israel Nervous
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Linda Gradstein - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

During the first Gulf War in the winter of 1990, Israelis huddled in sealed rooms and donned gas masks as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein lobbed Scud missiles at the Jewish state. Israeli intelligence knew that Hussein had a stockpile of chemical weapons and was worried that he might use them.

Video: Inside ATFP Gala 2013

Photo Gallery: ATFP Gala 2013

Recent News