Explosive Dust-Up Over Iran Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by J.J. Goldberg - (Opinion) May 2, 2012 - 12:00am

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in late April, Israel put its raucous, divided political culture on full exhibition in New York for a day — and New York did not like what it saw.

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US House Panel adds $68om. For Iron Dome
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Hilary Leila Krieger - April 27, 2012 - 12:00am

WASHINGTON – A US House subcommittee voted Thursday to dedicate an additional $680 million in funding for Israel’s short-range missile defense system. The move by a House Armed Services subcommittee adds the funding for the Iron Dome program on top of nearly $100m. in US assistance for medium- and long-range missile defense and $3.1 billion in other military assistance that comes from the State Department budget.

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PM stance on Palestinian contiguity debated
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - April 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Government officials played down Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s comments in a CNN interview this week expressing a seeming willingness for Palestinian contiguity, saying he was referring to the West Bank, and not necessarily a physical link from it to Gaza. Netanyahu, the officials said, has not publicly articulated a position on what he believes a link or “safe passage” between the West Bank and Gaza should look like in a possible future agreement.

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Defense Minister Adds to Israel’s Recent Mix of Messages on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Jodi Rudoren - April 26, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — One day after Israeli newspapers reported that the nation’s top general had said economic and diplomatic pressures against Iran were beginning to succeed, his superior, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, said Thursday that the chances “appear low” that the Iranian government would bow to international pressure and halt its nuclear program.

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An Anthem for All?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
(Editorial) April 26, 2012 - 12:00am

There are times when beautiful, soulful music can transport us to a new and challenging place, a place we might never have visited were we not swept along with song. Neshama Carlebach performs that sort of music — when, for instance, she mixes ancient Jewish tropes with the pulsating rhythms of an African American Baptist choir, creatively pushing the boundaries of expectation. The Forward thought there was no better artist to launch a musical conversation about whether and, if so, how the words of “Hatikvah” could be altered to include all Israel’s citizens.

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The second Israeli democracy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Avraham Burg - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

If I were prime minister I would feel very uneasy these days. Something is wrong, I would tell myself on Independence Day, the day of national spiritual stocktaking. Having no other choice, I would close myself off from the world and think. I would conclude that the first State of Israel was fading on my watch.

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What Israeli hasbara won't hide
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Doron Rosenblum - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

When the Israeli universe was still young and full of hope, the cartoonist Dosh drew the iconic figure that reflected the collective self-perception: Srulik, a naive boy in a kova tembel (that sort of blue or khaki sailor cap with the brim turned down, sometimes still sighted on kibbutzim and in kindergartens ) whose intentions are pure and whose hands are clean. Were we called upon to update that icon today, possibly a great many Israelis would still cling to the self-image of an innocent child in a hostile world.

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Israel’s Big Day, Under Sun and Cloud
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — The paradox that is Israel — wealthy, dynamic and safe, yet mistrusted, condemned and nervous — was on full display on Wednesday as the country mourned its fallen soldiers and began celebrating its 64th Independence Day. Commentators on the left and the right stuck to their scripts, with the left asserting that the country’s treatment of the Palestinians and its regional saber rattling have made it isolated and stagnant, and the right glorifying Israel’s accomplishments: high-tech innovations, long life expectancies and democracy.

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When I’m 64: Farewell to hysteria - Welcome to pragmatism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Carlo Strenger - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

First of all Mazal Tov to us all: Israel will be celebrating its 64th Independence Day tomorrow. We will all go to parties, see friends, and probably eat too much at tomorrow’s barbecues.

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Muslim, Zionist and proud
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Kasim Hafeez - (Opinion) April 25, 2012 - 12:00am

I am a Zionist, a proud Muslim Zionist, and I love Israel, but this was not always the case. In fact, for many years I was quite the extreme opposite. I experienced the high levels of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity taking place on British university campuses, because I was the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel activist.

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