Syria Unrest Will Shadow Romney's Israel Trip
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Buzzfeed
by Zeke Miller, Ben Smith - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

The deepening unrest in Syria threatens to drive an unlikely wedge between many American conservatives and their allies in Israel on the eve of Mitt Romney’s friendly visit to the country. Even before the violence intensified and closed in on Damascus this week, Romney and his advisers were pushing for more direct American support of the Syrian rebels, while the Obama administration focused bringing international pressure to bear and working through proxies.

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Interview: Israeli school books write out Palestinian, Arab story
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Brandon Davis - (Interview) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Professor of language and education at Hebrew University Nurit Peled-ElHanan recently released a book analyzing the portrayal of Palestinians in 16 history, civics and geography textbooks authorized by the Israeli Ministry of Education. 'Palestine in Israeli School Books' argues that the textbooks legitimate Israeli military policy in the eyes of young students, and prepares them for military service upon graduation. Ma'an spoke to Peled-ElHanan about the ideas behind her latest book.

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Israel's Barak: We'll block Syrian refugees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, standing within earshot of fighting in Syria, said Thursday that Israel would stop Syrian refugees from entering the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights if they try to flee there. Barak was touring the Golan, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, a day after three top officials in the regime of President Bashar Assad were killed in a suicide attack in Damascus. Israeli defense officials are closely monitoring the deteriorating situation in their neighbor to the north, worried it could spill across the frontier.

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Cracks in the foundation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Several recent developments to erode Israel’s support among American Jews and its political base on Capitol Hill. The government is grappling with questions involving conscription of ultra-religious Jews, recognition of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism, Israel’s control of the West Bank and the future of the settler enterprise.

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Ex-official: Israel targeted Hezbollah army chief; Iran has been retaliating
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
July 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Former National Security Adviser Uzi Arad responded on Thursday to comments made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and according to which Iran was behind the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, saying that Israel was not a "passive side" to the struggle against Iran and must do more to anticipate the responses. On Wednesday, Netanyahu, apparently supported by detailed intelligence, immediately blamed Iran for the terror attack on Israelis in Bulgaria, that let eight people dead, possibly including a suspected suicide bomber.

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Lieberman foresees early elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Moran Azulay - July 18, 2012 - 12:00am

With Kadima's withdrawl from the coalition final, all eyes are on Avigdor Leiberman's Yisrael Beiteinu which is now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's senior coalition partner again. However, Lieberman is in no hurry to threaten resignation, despite the fact that his universal draft bill is not set to pass the Knesset vote on Wednesday. "We won't give anyone that pleasure," he told Ynet and suggested there is a possibility elections will be held in early 2013.

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State will not oppose Migron petition to High Court
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Tovah Lazaroff - July 18, 2012 - 12:00am

The state does not plan to oppose a High Court of Justice petition by the residents of the West Bank Migron outpost to remain in their homes. Last summer, the High Court of Justice issued a binding order mandating the state to evacuate the outpost by August 1, because it was built without proper permits on land classified by the state as belonging to private Palestinians. But early this month, outpost residents announced that they had purchased 2.5 out of 5 hectares on which the outpost is located from its Palestinian landowners.

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Zionism 2012: A Guide for the Perplexed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) July 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Last week I opened the papers and finally had reason to sigh in relief. A panel headed by retired Supreme Court justice Edmond Levy has determined that Israel is not an occupying power. The bothersome international law that insists that Israel’s colonization of the West Bank is illegal simply doesn’t apply: All settlements are legal!

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The lie about rights and duties in Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Salman Masalha - (Analysis) July 18, 2012 - 12:00am

We are not going to discuss how to get the desert to bloom here but rather how the public discourse in Israel is made devoid of content. Many people with bad intentions take part in the attempt to cover our eyes and block our ears. Because after all, there is no greater lie than that sold by populist politicians, the cynical and "engaged" media, and those who tell all kinds of stories. Anyone who draws a link between granting civil rights and fulfilling duties will no doubt be surprised to read what will follow here.

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Though Bruised, Netanyahu Is Seen as Secure in Post After Coalition’s Demise
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - July 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s image of invincibility has taken a knock, Israeli analysts said on Wednesday, a day after the breakup of the large and broad coalition that had given him almost unprecedented power. But for now, they said, his political future seemed assured for one simple reason: he has no obvious rival for the premiership.

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