Religious Extremism | The American Task Force on Palestine

The Strip Under Hamas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Abdullah Iskandar - August 29, 2010 - 12:00am

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has been escalating its political discourse against the Palestinian Authority, on the occasion of the latter answering Washington’s call for direct negotiations with Israel. The debate over taking such a step will thus prevail over other issues with the nearing of the date for starting these negotiations on the 2nd of next month.

A Grim Teaching
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Ideas Daily
by Yehudah Mirsky - August 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Every first-year law student knows that hard cases make bad law. In Israel, a particularly hard case lies in the ongoing controversy around an inflammatory Hebrew-language volume of Jewish religious law (halakhah) that offers justifications for violent treatment of non-Jews in general and of Israel's foes in particular. The debate has highlighted longstanding divisions within Israeli society; now that the courts and the police have gotten into the act, it has also highlighted the difficulties of drawing meaningful lines between free speech and incitement.

In the Mideast, the peace process is only a mirage
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by George F. Will - August 26, 2010 - 12:00am

Immersion in this region's politics can convince those immersed that history is cyclical rather than linear -- that it is not one thing after another but the same thing over and over. This passes for good news because things that do change, such as weapons, often make matters worse.

Israel's foreign minister says no to extending West Bank settlement construction slowdown
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Aron Heller - August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel's foreign minister said Wednesday that it would be unacceptable to extend a slowdown on West Bank settlement construction, even as Mideast peace talks get under way next week. Avigdor Lieberman, whose ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party is a major partner in the governing coalition, told Israel Radio he realized that resuming settlement construction would antagonize both the U.S. and the Palestinians. But he said that maintaining tight restrictions on building would "punish" tens of thousands of Israelis living in the settlements.

Israeli and Palestinian extremists are attempting to sabotage negotiations before they begin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) August 25, 2010 - 12:00am

I suppose it was to be expected, but the brazenness with which extremists on both sides are trying to sabotage upcoming Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is simply breathtaking. The far more serious effort is on the Israeli side, in which activists, and even members of the government, to the right of PM Netanyahu are trying to destroy the key to the talks, which was a private understanding between Netanyahu and Pres.

Those noisy barbarians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Noam Ben Ze'ev - August 23, 2010 - 12:00am

Dov Lior, the chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba and Hebron, head of the rabbinical committee in the territories and a power broker in the halls of government, is this country's real prime minister, writer Sefi Rachlevsky said in an op-ed in Haaretz's Hebrew edition last week.

Anshel Pfeffer / It's all too easy for Israeli rights groups to call the IDF's bluff
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Anshel Pfeffer - August 20, 2010 - 12:00am

This week I published in Haaretz the story of a small group of reserve soldiers who last month, while on active duty in the Jordan Valley, decided to make a small modification to their routine: They replaced the standard collection of curt phrases in basic Arabic - used by generations of IDF soldiers to order Palestinian civilians to stop, open their car door, present documents and identify themselves - with the more pleasant greetings and respectful, traditional blessings of which Arabic is so full.

Rally held for rabbis suspected of incitement
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Kobi Nahshoni - August 19, 2010 - 12:00am

Dozens of rabbis, educators, public figures and right-wing activists attended on Wednesday a support rally for Rabbis Dov Lior and Yaakov Yosef, who refused to report for police questioning over their endorsement of the controversial book "Torat Hamelech," which relates a halachic perspective on violence against non-Jews. The two, along with other rabbis and the author of the book, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, are being investigated on suspicion of incitement. The rally was moderated by Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira, head of Ramat Gan's Hesder Yeshiva and brother of the book's author.

Two Israeli soldiers wounded in attack from Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ori Lewis - August 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two mortar bombs into Israel on Tuesday, wounding two soldiers, the Israeli military said. Security officials in the ruling Hamas Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip said after the incident that six Israeli tanks crossed into the territory and that one fired a shell at a house near the town of Khan Younis. No casualties were reported. The army said the two soldiers were lightly wounded and taken to hospital for treatment.

Video: Inside ATFP Gala 2013

Photo Gallery: ATFP Gala 2013

Recent News