Arabs in Israel | The American Task Force on Palestine

The “Arab” Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Husam Itani - (Opinion) September 13, 2011 - 12:00am

The Arab revolutions took Israel, and the rest of the region’s countries, by surprise. The reports published in the last few days and that carry advice from the security services to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, indicate that neither the services nor the government have learned anything from the events taking place around Israel.

Israeli Arab couple wins legal battle to build home in northern Jewish town
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jack Khoury - (Analysis) September 6, 2011 - 12:00am

An Arab couple will finally be permitted to take possession of a plot of land and build a house in the Jewish community of Rakefet in the Misgav region of the Galilee, the Israel Lands Administration decided last week. The decision came after a long legal battle, still ongoing, against the ILA and the community's Admissions Committee. The couple, Ahmed and Fatina Zabeidat, residents of Sahknin, petitioned the High Court of Justice over their rejection by Rakefet's Admissions Committee five years ago - a story made public in a 2007 Haaretz expose.

Palestinian, Jew give both sides on joint Jerusalem tours
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Catriona Davies - August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

As a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces, Kobi Skolnick once fired shots at Aziz Abu Sarah's aunt's house in the West Bank town of Hebron. Ten years later, Skolnick, a former Israeli settler, who grew up in an ultra-orthodox household, and Abu Sarah, once a Palestinian militant, work together explaining both sides of the Middle East conflict to tourists. They discovered the uncomfortable coincidence during a tour in Hebron for Mejdi, a "dual-narrative" tour company co-owned by Abu Sarah, where every tour is jointly led by Jewish and Palestinian guides.

Semites unite! You’ve nothing to lose but your pain
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Roi Ben-Yehuda - (Opinion) August 19, 2011 - 12:00am

On July 15 a small bit of history was made in Jerusalem. Around 3,000 Jews and Arabs marched from the Jaffa Gate in the Old City to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem calling for Palestinian independence, freedom and dignity. The demonstration was organized by the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement and leaders of the Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood committees. We, an Israeli from Tel Aviv and a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem, were among those who joined and made our voices heard.

7 Dead in Attacks on Israelis Near Egypt
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by J. David Goodman, Isabel Kershner - August 18, 2011 - 12:00am

Attackers mounted at least three separate strikes on Israeli civilians and soldiers around the popular Red Sea resort of Eilat on Thursday, in what the country’s defense minister called a “grave terrorist incident.” Seven Israelis were reported killed and 20 wounded, and the military said seven attackers were killed.

Knesset Set To Define ‘Jewish State’, Critics See Threat to Democracy and Rights of Arabs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

A proposal likely to pass the Knesset would for the first time clarify what it means that Israel is a Jewish state, sparking controversy over its potential to clash with principles of equality and civil liberties.

Obama will not save Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amir Oren - (Opinion) August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

Newly born Israel arose while suffering a surprise blow. On the morning of May 15, 1948, Egypt's air force dared attack Israel's sleepy air force at Sde Dov. Sometimes, however, the surprised is the one that pulls a surprise. During the Six Day War it was one way, during the Yom Kippur War it was another.

Fetishizing nationalism
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from NOW Lebanon
by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) August 16, 2011 - 12:00am

For those in the grip of its authority, a clearheaded understanding of how nationalist ideology actually operates seems extremely difficult. All contemporary nationalisms are based on constructed and imagined narratives about history, geography, culture, ethnicity and religion. Such narratives invariably involve a great deal of what can only be described as fiction. In particular, reading the past—whether real or imagined—as a justification for present-day political projects is, by definition, intellectually treacherous territory.

Encouraging Peace: The summer of discontent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gershon Baskin - (Opinion) August 15, 2011 - 12:00am

One month has passed since the onset of the middle-class uprising of summer 2011. One month from now, the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly will open in New York. At this mid-point, looking back and looking forward one thing is clear – the State of Israel is standing at the crossroads of its most important decision since June 1967. For me and many others, the summer uprising has provided a great sense of hope. Apathy is gone, activism is in. People have taken to the streets to raise their voices in demands for change. All is not well in the State of Israel.

Israel's rights groups condemn 'Jews only' businesses
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - August 10, 2011 - 12:00am

NAZARETH // We don't employ Arabs - so dozens of companies listed in Israel's Yellow Pages plainly state. The businesses, which include a bus firm, plumbers, electricians and a removal firm, openly advertise under the banner of "Hebrew labour" - a policy to hire only Jews that Israeli civil rights groups say is a violation of the country's anti-discrimination laws. The groups believe such advertising is one of a series of initiatives that aim to give preferential treatment to Jewish job-seekers over the country's Arab citizens, a fifth of the population.

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