The Nakba is a question of responsibility
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Hannan Hever - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am

On May 23 in these pages, Professor Yehuda Bauer wrote an open letter to Palestinian director and actor Mohammad Bakri in response to Bakri's public assertion that Israel was only created because of the Holocaust. Bakri made his statement at an event marking Nakba ("catastrophe") Day –which Palestinians commemorate annually on the anniversary of Israel's establishment.

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A display of leadership with a price
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  prevented Israel's law books from being stained on Wednesday by the retroactive legalization of thefts of land from its Palestinian owners, for the sake of building settlements. Netanyahu forced his cabinet to oppose a bill that would do just that, and his threat to fire anyone who voted for it indeed deterred those ministers and deputy ministers who sympathized with the settlers' struggle.

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The Netanyahu Paradox
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Vanity Fair
by David Margolick - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am

At one point or another for an entire week last November, most of the Israeli establishment showed up at the Bauhaus home in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem: members of the Cabinet and Knesset, security officials, rabbis, businessmen, journalists, supplicants of all stripes, “everyone who didn’t want to get in any trouble,” as one participant put it. They stood solemnly around the small stone courtyard with a tent on top, officially mourning, but also studying who else was there, who was whispering to whom.

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Israeli PM stronger after parliament rejects settlement legalization bill
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Dave Bender, Adam Gonn - (Analysis) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new unity government on Wednesday successfully navigated the first major test of its stability, since its inauguration last month. The country's Knesset members killed a bill that would have legalized disputed Jewish construction in a West Bank settlement that the Supreme Court recently ruled as illegal. The court said five three-story apartment buildings in the Ulpana neighborhood of Bet El near Ramallah were build on private Palestinian land, and ordered the government to remove them by July 1.

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The Netanyahu government and the Arab stereotype
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Blog) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am

It used to be an old Jewish habit to try to understand our surroundings. One reason was curiosity; the other was to figure out whether current events are good for the Jews or not – because this allowed Jews to survive under often very difficult circumstances. The first motivation is certainly laudable; the second reflects good old prudence.

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Knesset votes down bill to sanction illegal West Bank outposts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis, Oz Rosenberg - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am

Israel's Knesset on Wednesday voted down a bill that aimed at legalizing homes on the Ulpana Hill neighborhood in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, which were built on privately owned Palestinian land. In a preliminary reading, 69 Knesset members voted against the bill, while 22 voted for it.

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PM to head ministerial committee on settlement affairs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - June 6, 2012 - 12:00am

In a move meant to placate right-wing ministers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he will head a new ministerial committee that would deal with settlement affairs. The announcement was made hours before the Knesset convened to vote on a bill aiming to legalize homes built on contested land in the West Bank.

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Far-right Europeans and Israelis: this toxic alliance spells trouble
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Rachel Shabi - (Opinion) June 6, 2012 - 12:00am

Last month, demonstrations against African refugees in Tel Aviv turned violent. Protesters looted shops, broke windows and firebombed buildings, including a nursery. Days ago, arsonists torched the home of 10 African migrants in Jerusalem, injuring four, and leaving the unequivocal graffiti: "Get out of the neighbourhood."

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Israel's 'draconian' measures will not deter African migrants
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Vita Bekker - June 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Refugee advocates yesterday criticised as "draconian" Israel's announcement that it would begin jailing African asylum-seekers for up to three years, saying the measure would do little to deter more migrants from entering Israel illegally. In another development that reflected hostility towards the newcomers arriving through the Israeli-Egyptian desert border, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli premier, said yesterday that Israel will step up deportation plans for 25,000 of the migrants.

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Israeli leadership suffers from unilateral withdrawal syndrome
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Moshe Arens - (Opinion) June 5, 2012 - 12:00am

It seems that some of our military-men-turned-politicians are suffering from the unilateral withdrawal syndrome. It may be typical of the military mindset: Get it over with! Finish the job! Do something! Do anything! Actually, on some occasions that may be the correct strategy. It usually comes under the heading of "Cutting your losses." But often it may be the wrong way to go.



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