Palestinian Authority cracks down on mosques to promote moderate Islam
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - December 15, 2010 - 1:00am

EL BIREH, WEST BANK - Each week, Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian Authority's minister of religious affairs, sends an e-mail to mosques across the West Bank. It contains what amounts to a script for the Friday sermon that every imam is required to deliver. The practice, part of a broader crackdown on Muslim preachers considered too radical, shows the extreme steps the Palestinian Authority is taking to weaken Hamas, its Islamist rival, as it seeks to cement power and meet Israel's preconditions for peace talks.

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The 'Real Jew' Debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Opinion) December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

Ira Stup was raised in Philadelphia attending Jewish day school and camps. He found his home in the Jewish community and was “intoxicated with Jewish democracy” as framed in the ideals of Israel’s foundation. Now he has returned deeply troubled from a one-year fellowship based in Tel Aviv.

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Rabbis tell Israeli Jews not to rent to Arabs; even Holocaust museum frowns
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

Hundreds of prominent Israeli rabbis have signed a religious opinion calling on Jews not to rent or sell real estate to Arabs, sparking public uproar and debate over the essence of Judaism and its place in Israel's democracy. For Israeli Arab teens, a way to serve the country – without joining the army Israeli documentary captures citizen reconciliation – and encourages more

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Top Israeli rabbi slams anti-Arab edict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
December 10, 2010 - 1:00am

A top Israeli rabbi has condemned a controversial ruling forbidding renting or selling property to non-Jews. That ruling, which won the support of three dozen rabbis this week, has drawn vocal criticism in Israel. Israel's attorney general is weighing possible charges against the rabbis. Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv — considered the top rabbinic authority for many ultra-Orthodox Jews — weighed in against those rabbis on Thursday.

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Top Israel rabbis: Don't sell property to non-Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Amy Teibel - December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

Three dozen top Israeli rabbis threw their support Tuesday behind a religious ruling barring Jews from selling or renting homes to non-Jews — an indication of growing radicalism within the rabbinical community at a time of mounting friction between Israeli Arabs and Jews.

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Jailed Palestinian atheist sorry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Diaa Hadid - December 7, 2010 - 1:00am

A Palestinian atheist jailed for more than a month for sharing his anti-Islam views on the Internet has apologized for offending Muslims, and a Palestinian military spokesman said he expected "positive" developments in the case. Rights groups have criticized his arrest as a demonstration of the limits on free speech under the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which has trawled Internet sites like Facebook as part of a crackdown on dissent and unpopular views.

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Editorial: US responsibility
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) December 1, 2010 - 1:00am

We hear Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this week warning that the unresolved Jewish settlements issue is a time bomb waiting to blow apart any chance of a peace deal between Palestinians and Israelis. We hear, too, from international aid and human rights organizations that Israel’s claims to have eased the blockade on Gaza is a lie; it has had almost no effect and done nothing to improve the lives of ordinary Palestinians there. We hear, as well, that a poll of Israeli Jews finds that they are intolerant and suspicious of Israeli Arab citizens.

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Israeli orthodox rabbi stirs up racism debate
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News
by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes - November 30, 2010 - 1:00am

From a pine-covered mountaintop in the far north of Israel, the Sea of Galilee is just visible through the mist below. This is the idyllic setting for Tzfat, as it is known in Hebrew, or Safed, as Arabic-speakers call it, a holy place for Jews. It is said to have been founded by a son of Noah after the great flood. In the past few weeks it has also become famous for a decree made by its chief rabbi who instructed residents not to rent rooms or houses to Israeli Arabs.

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A Crisis in the Heart of Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Hussein Shobokshi - (Opinion) November 28, 2010 - 1:00am

Ever since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, its media has been trying to sell the idea that Israel is a secular state that brought together its children from the Diaspora, returning them to the Promised Land, as was promised in their scriptures and religious teachings where they can live their lives according to socialist principles in collective communities called Kibbutzim [or a Kibbutz]. This is a Yiddish language word which was spoken predominately by Jews in Eastern Europe.

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U.S. report highlights Israel’s religious freedoms violations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
November 18, 2010 - 1:00am

Government allocations favoring the Orthodox, extra legal protection to Jewish holy sites and Orthodox hegemony over life-cycle events are among Israel's religious freedom violations highlighted in a U.S. State Department report.

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