Obama makes his Jewish outreach work harder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Blog) November 12, 2011 - 1:00am

It's not nice to publicly use overheard conversation, but during tense elections, there is no chance that a dialogue between the French and the U.S. presidents will be easily dismissed. On Friday, Republican presidential hopeful, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, addressed the Obama-Sarkozy "hot mic" remarks at the opening of his New Hampshire campaign office.

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Israeli Disruption
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Hassan Haidar - (Opinion) November 10, 2011 - 1:00am

The report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s activities could have had a greater impact, despite its highly dangerous nature, had not Israel anticipated its being issued with media and political uproar over its resolve to wage a military attack against Iran.

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Palestinians may push for UN vote they expect to lose
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - (Opinion) November 10, 2011 - 1:00am

The Palestinians are resigned to losing their battle for majority backing within the United Nations security council for their application for full UN membership but may still press for a vote next week in an attempt to discomfort countries who abstain or vote against. The security council is to meet in New York on Friday to consider a report on the Palestinian bid. However, the Palestinians have failed to muster the required two-thirds majority among its 15 members, thus sparing the US the need to use its veto to prevent the application being approved.

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Report: No consensus on Palestine bid
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 9, 2011 - 1:00am

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- A draft report by a key UN Security Council committee, obtained on Tuesday, declared that members could not reach consensus on whether Palestine should be accepted as a UN member state. "The committee was unable to make a unanimous recommendation to the Security Council," said the draft report of the council's committee on admitting new member states. It was circulated to all 15 Security Council members on Tuesday.

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Why do Sarkozy and Obama hate Netanyahu?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Jackson Diehl - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Binyamin Netanyahu seems to have been the target of some ugly — if off the record — barbs from President Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Speaking privately (they thought) following a news conference in Cannes last week, Sarkozy said “I cannot bear” Netanyahu, adding that he was “a liar.”

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Getting it wrong in the Mideast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asheville Citizen Times
by Edwin L. Brown - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has it exactly backward when he criticizes the Palestinians for seeking membership in UNESCO and perhaps other U.N. agencies. Rather than blame the Palestinians for having the temerity to seek their rights and freedom, Ban ought to criticize the U.S. Congress for antiquated 20th-century legislation requiring our country to defund any U.N.

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Palestinians: Not enough UN support for state
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mohammed Daraghmeh - November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian foreign minister admits for the first time there is not enough support in the U.N. Security Council for recognition of a Palestinian state, This comes as the Security Council receives a report saying there's no consensus among the 15 members. Nine votes would be needed for approval, and any of the five permanent members could cast a veto. The U.S. and Israel insist that a Palestinian state must result from negotiations.

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Israel and Iran's "Nuclear Program": Serving Each Other
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from
by Walid Choucair - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

There is nothing new in hearing talk that Iran is trying to develop its military nuclear program, and there is nothing new in the talk about western countries' attempt to stiffen up sanctions on Iran because of this presumed program. The same goes for the talk that Israel is threatening to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.

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Sarkozy, Obama Anti-Netanyahu? Not So Simple
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Fox News
by Judith Miller - (Opinion) November 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Open mic. Open mouth. Insert foot. It seems that politicians never learn: wearing a microphone is like carrying a loaded weapon. You can never be sure when it will go off, or in this case, go live. The French government is deeply “chagrined” – now we know why it’s a French word – about the latest diplomatic “faux pas” that is turning into a major “scandale”: the all-too-candid conversation between French President Nicholas Sarkozy and President Obama about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the G-20 Summit in Cannes.

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Israeli diplomat: Le Pen lunch was an 'error'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald MacIntyre - (Analysis) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel's Foreign Ministry said yesterday that the country's ambassador to the UN made an "error of judgement" by chatting and being photographed with Marine Le Pen, leader of France's extreme right wing National Front, at a New York reception.

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