Arab democracy good for us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Nechama Duek - (Opinion) February 10, 2011 - 1:00am

The images we receive from Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen make me happy. They indicate that the Arab world is finally joining the global trend of shifting from dictatorships to democracies. As we know, democracy isn’t perfect, yet a better alternative has yet to be invented.

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What Israel fears in Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Sallai Meridor - February 9, 2011 - 1:00am

One might expect that Israelis, who live in the only democracy in the Middle East, would turn out in the squares of Jerusalem and the gardens of Tel Aviv to show solidarity with the demonstrators in Egypt. The protesters, after all, are seeking to overthrow an authoritarian regime. Israelis, however, have stayed at home, warily following events on TV and the Internet.

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Abbas says Israeli measures against Palestinian dangerous
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
February 9, 2011 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday described Israeli measures against people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as "dangerous." In his meeting with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez, Abbas called on Israel to stop house demolitions and settlement building in east Jerusalem, and to lift the blockade on Gaza. "These dangerous violations must stop," Abbas said.

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The real 'realism' on Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Jonah Goldberg - (Editorial) February 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Finally, I can put the rumors to rest: The land of Zion isn't merely an abstraction, it's an actual country. I am in Israel — my first time — to cover the Herzliya Conference, the country's premier national security forum. (Full disclosure: My trip, as well as that of several journalists, was underwritten by the Emergency Committee for Israel, which seeks "to educate the public about the serious challenges to Israel's security." But the views here are my own.)

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Israel's stake in an Egyptian democracy -- now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
February 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt once seemed as solid as the stones of the pyramids. It provided a “cold peace” for more than three decades between the former enemies. But the pact was based on a weak reed – the assumption that a friendly autocrat like Hosni Mubarak would always rule in Cairo. Now with young Egyptians like Google executive Wael Ghonim waging a pro-democracy revolt in Tahrir Square, the security pact’s future could be sinking like an army tank in the Sinai sands.

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Seize the Day, Tomorrow Could Be Worse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Forward
by Leonard Fein - February 8, 2011 - 1:00am

“We are witnessing a genuine grassroots revolution in Egypt and its outcome will have to reflect the will of the people, not our desires.” So writes a friend from Israel. But “the will of the people,” as awesomely impressive it has been these past days in Tahrir Square and elsewhere, inevitably becomes a chimera the morning after the old regime has been chased from power.

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Battle over Mideast transit ads heating up across U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ben Harris - February 8, 2011 - 1:00am

With public bickering over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict already having spilled over into university student senates, corporate pension boards and even local farmers markets, the latest battlefield in the debate over the conflict is municipal transit systems.

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News Analysis: Israel fears Islamist takeover in Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Adam Gonn - February 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday expressed concern that the demonstrations in Egypt may lead to Islamist groups taking over if President Hosni Mubarak were to step down. Netanyahu outlined three possible scenarios for the future of Egypt, ranging from a secular democracy to an Iranian-style theocracy. There is also another possibility: that the Islamists will exploit the situation to gain power over the country and lead it backwards, Netanyahu added.

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Charges filed against ‘Irvine 11’
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
February 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Criminal charges were filed against 11 Muslim students who disrupted a speech at the University of California, Irvine, by Israel's U.S. ambassador. During the Feb. 8, 2010 speech by Michael Oren, the 11 defendants stood one by one and shouted at the ambassador, calling him a “mass murderer” and a “war criminal,” among other insults. The disruptions, organized to protest Israeli actions in Gaza, prompted Oren to walk off the stage twice.

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Israeli prime minister says peace can come apart
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
February 7, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's prime minister is warning that peace treaties can be canceled, hinting at his concern over the turmoil in Egypt over anti-government protests. Benjamin Netanyahu said peace is not necessarily permanent. He said, "It can be unraveled from without; it can be unraveled from within." He did not mention Egypt by name in a speech Monday before European Parliament members, but he has expressed concern about a takeover by Islamic radicals who might cancel the Israel-Egypt peace treaty signed in 1979.

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