ATFP in the News | The American Task Force on Palestine

Another Look at Palestinian Culture
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Opinion) - August 9, 2012 - 12:00am

Given the current conversation about issue of Palestinian culture and its relationship to politics and economics, I feel it's appropriate for me to add my own Palestinian-American perspective.

“Dear President Perez”
In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - August 7, 2012 - 12:00am

A major controversy erupted last week when Israel announced that Egyptian President Mohammad Morsy had sent a letter in reply to Ramadan greetings he had received from Israeli President Shimon Peres. Spokespersons for Morsy's office, his Freedom and Justice Party, and the Muslim Brotherhood issued angry denials, calling the reports “fabrications” and “lies” spread by the Israeli media in order to embarrass Egypt’s new Islamist president.

In Israel, Romney wows crowds but puzzles with grasp of Palestinian relationship
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The Washington Post - July 31, 2012 - 12:00am

Touring U.S. allies this week in his first foreign trip as the likely Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney often appeared to be visiting just another set of swing states, pleasing audiences with parochial promises, puzzling others with off-the-cuff remarks, and raising loads and loads of money. Only the trip was designed to be more than that for a campaign playing catch-up — a chance to show that a former governor light on foreign policy qualifications could represent the United States abroad. On that, the verdict is still out.

Romney Versus the World Bank
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - July 30, 2012 - 12:00am

Republican candidate Mitt Romney's visit to Israel was marked by a series of largely boilerplate comments about the special relationship between the United States and Israel. And, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he almost entirely avoided the question of peace and the two-state solution, preferring to focus on the threat posed by Iran's nuclear weapons. In his speech in Jerusalem, the word “Palestinian” did not once cross his lips.

Report From the Two-State Frontlines
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Jewish Daily Forward - July 20, 2012 - 12:00am

UPDATE, 12:38 PM The session ended with summaries by the three panelists of where they see things heading.

Was Yasser Arafat Poisoned?
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In Voice of America - July 18, 2012 - 12:00am

Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in 2004 of a sudden illness, which led to a fury of conspiracy theories that have never died down. The rumors surrounding his death were revitalized recently after a the Lucerne-based Swiss Institute of Radiophysics found traces of the deadly radioactive agent polonium on Arafat’s clothing and personal effects. So what has prompted this investigation into Arafat’s death - and could an autopsy of his remains finally put a rest to this enduring mystery?

The Anti-Balfour Declaration
In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Daily Beast (Opinion) - July 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Wonder what it feels like to have inadvertently put yourself between a rock and a hard place? Just ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Monday the Levy Committee, which he appointed last January, issued its report that was supposed to examine the question of Israeli “state lands” in the occupied Palestinian territories, but has far exceeded its mandate. The most significant aspect of the report is its blunt assertion that Israel is not “the occupying power” in the occupied territories.

Arafatuous
In Print by Hussein Ibish - Foreign Policy (Editorial) - July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

In November 2004, a sad but very familiar scene played itself out: A sick, 75-year-old man who had been living in squalor for several years after an extremely difficult life -- including a near-death experience in the Libyan desert -- finally passed away. Doctors at the Percy hospital in France determined he died of natural causes: a stroke caused by an unidentified infection. As is so often the case, human life ends not with a bang, but with a whimper.

What Does Morsi Mean for Israel?
Media Mention of Hussein Ibish In The New York Times - July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

Is the election of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, as president of Egypt the beginning of the end of the Camp David peace treaty between Israel and Egypt? It doesn’t have to be. In fact, it could actually be the beginning of a real peace between the Israeli and the Egyptian peoples, instead of what we’ve had: a cold, formal peace between Israel and a single Egyptian pharaoh. But, for that to be the case, both sides will have to change some deeply ingrained behaviors, and fast.

Ten Questions + One for the One-Staters
In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Blog) - June 29, 2012 - 12:00am

The supporters of the two-state solution are often told that this vision is unrealistic and has become unachievable. Young, idealistic seekers of justice and equality are increasingly offering what they claim is a more "realistic" solution: a single state for all Israelis and Palestinians, including refugees.

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