Improving Arab education
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
(Editorial) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am

As the academic year kicked off this week, the Hebrew University honored the incoming freshman who received the highest grade on the psychometric entrance exam. The winner was Hamza Morad, of the Arab-Muslim town Bu’eine Nujeidat in the North.

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That Poll's Apartheid Problem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Noam Shelef - (Opinion) October 23, 2012 - 12:00am

The front page of today's Haaretz featured an article by Gideon Levy about a dramatic survey of Israeli Jewish public opinion. I admire Gideon Levy. He's had the courage over the years to document some of the ugliest aspects of the occupation.

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Disappointing Palestine Elections Point to Fundamental Issues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Ayyam
by Talal Awkal - (Opinion) October 22, 2012 - 12:00am

The results of the municipal elections did not meet the expectations of election officials in the West Bank. In fact, the outcome of the elections reflects the worsening political scene across the Palestinian territories. These local elections, which were supposed to be a cause for celebration for Palestinians, were a far cry from the 2006 legislative elections, which many Arabs wish to witness again. These were the first municipal elections to take place in seven years, and only occurred following repeated delays.

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Israel Bans Even Marriage Ties Between West Bank and Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al-Hayat
by Mohammad Younes - October 22, 2012 - 12:00am

Ali Batha — from the West Bank — met Rihab Abu Hashish — from the Gaza Strip — while studying at Birzeit University in the West Bank in 2000, and lived a love story that led them to marriage. However, at the time, this young couple didn't know that Israeli policy is aimed at completely separating the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, and prevents any contact between the two sides, including even marriage.

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5 Broken Cameras – review
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Phillip French - (Film Review) October 20, 2012 - 12:00am

Back in the late 70s and early 80s, before he embarked on the grander works that made him famous such as his Decalogue series and his Tricolor trilogy, Krzysztof Kieslowski made a succession of films about politics and personal responsibility. One of the most notable is Camera Buff about Filip, a minor functionary in a provincial Polish town who buys an 8mm camera to photograph his baby daughter.

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‘Making beer is a form of resistance’: brewing West Bank tensions
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Crikey
by Matthew Clayfield - October 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Beer brewers in Palestine lost many of their customers when the Israeli walls went up. But one defiant ale maker says it’s all part of a resistance fight for freedom. The most famous section of the Israeli-West Bank separation barrier is also the shortest: the eight feet tall concrete slabs festooned with anti-Zionist graffiti, the vast majority of it written, somewhat tellingly, in languages other than Arabic, make up only 6% of the structure’s total length.

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Gaza siege: A bomb waiting to explode
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) October 19, 2012 - 12:00am

One of the most urgent tasks for the international community in 2013 must surely be to lift Israel’s cruel siege of Gaza, now entering its sixth year, and end the misguided boycott of its Hamas government.

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Can the Palestinian Authority lead with civil disobedience?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Dawoud Abu Lebdeh - (Opinion) October 19, 2012 - 12:00am

Last month, large protests swept through major cities in the West Bank. In some places the demonstrations escalated into destruction of public property and a display of anarchy, while in others they were calm and collected. Peaceful or otherwise, the various demonstrations shared a common grievance: the economic policies of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, recently highlighted after price hikes on main consumer items such as fuel and flour.These protests have called into question whether the Palestinian Authority is still able to lead the Palestinian people.

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Palestinian local elections kick off in West Bank among concerns
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
October 18, 2012 - 12:00am

RAMALLAH, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian municipal elections started in the West Bank Thursday for the first time since 2005 among concerns of excluding the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The voting on Thursday was allocated for policemen and security staff, and the polling stations will be open for more than 518,000 eligible voters Saturday, Palestinian officials said.

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As Olive Harvest Begins Palestinians, Israelis Trade Accusations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Media Line
by Linda Gradstein - October 18, 2012 - 12:00am

[Aboud, West Bank] – Wearing a white hat with a flap to protect his neck from the hot sun, 57-year old Khalil Muallem, climbs on a stepladder and disappears into the green leafy branches of an olive tree. He carefully plucks the black fruit by hand, dropping them one by one into a bucket.

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