Religion | The American Task Force on Palestine

Defying, again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
September 30, 2009 - 12:00am

It is vexing to see Israel repeatedly refusing to understand that Al Aqsa Mosque, the entire Haram Al Sharif compound, is a red line that should not be crossed unless it seeks to trigger another militant Palestinian Intifada. And so it is that a few days ago, Jewish zealots and Israeli security forces clashed with Palestinian worshippers defending the sanctity of their holy sites from intruders in and around the area.

Violence between Palestinians, Israelis may spread
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by Xu Gang, David Harris - September 30, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Violence between Palestinian Muslim prayers and Israeli troops and Jewish worshippers on Sunday at the holy site of al-Haram al-Sharif in East Jerusalem, or known as Temple Mount to the Jews, may spread in the near future, analysts said.

Palestinians and Israelis Clash at Jerusalem Holy Site
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Clashes broke out Sunday between Palestinians and the Israeli police at a holy site in Jerusalem revered by both Muslims and Jews, after Muslim worshipers threw stones at a group of foreign tourists, apparently mistaking them for Jewish activists.

A call to moral accounting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Chicago Tribune
by Brant Rosen - (Opinion) September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

On Sunday night, the Jewish community will begin our annual Yom Kippur fast. The physical deprivation is a crucial element of the day, but as with many faith traditions, the fasting itself isn't really the point. Going without food and water is, rather, a device, intended to sharpen our senses and lead to reflection. This reflection is notably, pointedly, not a personal pursuit. All through the Yom Kippur prayers, we're called to do "cheshbon nefesh," a moral accounting, as a community: "We have sinned," we pray. "Forgive us."

Dahlan warns of third intifada over Al-Aqsa clashes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Muhammad Dahlan, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, warned on Sunday a third intifada could arise in light of "Israel's contempt for the feelings of Muslims." Responding to clashes that left dozens of Palestinians injured by police batons and tear-gas canisters on Sunday, Dahlan condemned Israel for allowing "extremist Jewish groups" to "storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque." In a statement, Dahlan said he considered "the violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa playing with fire and crossing red lines." He said Israeli authorities permitted groups to enter the area to "attack worshipers inside."

Erekat: Israel deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Palestinian leaders warned Israel on Sunday not to stoke tension in Jerusalem in the hope of thwarting peace talks, after clashes at a sacred site in which Palestinians and Israeli police were injured. "At a time when [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama is trying to bridge the divide between Palestinians and Israelis, and to get negotiations back on track, Israel is deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem," chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erakat said Sunday evening.

Anger at Jerusalem shrine clash
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
September 28, 2009 - 12:00am

Police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse 150 Palestinian protesters who had thrown rocks at non-Muslims who entered the al-Aqsa mosque compound. The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is sacred to both religions. Israeli police said the visitors were foreign tourists, but Palestinians said they were Jewish extremists. "At a time when (the US administration) is trying to bridge the divide... Israel is deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem," said Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Israeli drive to prevent Jewish girls dating Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - September 25, 2009 - 12:00am

A local authority in Israel has announced that it is establishing a special team of youth counsellors and psychologists whose job it will be to identify young Jewish women who are dating Arab men and “rescue” them. The move by the municipality of Petah Tikva, a city close to Tel Aviv, is the latest in a series of separate – and little discussed – initiatives from official bodies, rabbis, private organisations and groups of Israeli residents to try to prevent interracial dating and marriage.

Jerusalem Diary: Monday 21 September
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Tim Franks - September 21, 2009 - 12:00am

It's one of the grandest geo-political entities of them all, every word capitalised … The Middle East Peace Process. But its current progress, or signal lack of it, has been hanging on something rather more lower case - whether Israel is prepared, for a few months, to stop giving out new permits for construction in West Bank settlements. Dani Dayan believes it's not so much mundane as barmy. He's the Chairman of the Settlers' Council. "Two pandemics are running wild all over the world," he says. "The first is swine flu, the second is 'settlement psychosis'."

West Bank settlements become havens of Israeli surburbanites
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Ilene Prusher - September 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Meet the Ovadiahs, the Allons, and the Cohens. They're new arrivals in Israeli neighborhoods where freshly laid red-tile roofs and toddler toys dotting green lawns are a picture of the Israeli equivalent of the American dream, minus the white picket fence.

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