King for a day
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Ari Shavit - (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am

A week ago Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's condition was nearly desperate. The Turkel committee became a committee with teeth liable to bite the prime minister, while State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss' scrutiny of the flotilla affair threatened to wound the prime minister. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman started making threats again and Defense Minister Ehud Barak continued to make trouble. Many observers are predicting that the government will start to disintegrate by September.

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Editorial: Fading hopes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
(Editorial) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am

The mood music was noticeably different after President Barack Obama's latest meeting with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and it is worth wondering why. The Tuesday encounter was widely expected to be as rancorous as its predecessor. Not only had the two leaders not previously hit it off but the Israelis had done little if anything to ease Obama’s frustration at their obdurate policies.

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Do U.S. Donors Drive Israeli Politics?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Naomi Chazan, Daniel Gordis, Ori Nir, Benjamin N. Schiff, Yossi Shain, Stephen Spector - (Opinion) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am

The Diaspora’s Influence Yossi Shain is a professor of political science and the director of the Aba Eben Program of Diplomacy at Tel Aviv University and a professor of comparative government at Georgetown University. He is the author of “Kinship and Diasporas in International Affairs.”

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ATFP President on MSNBC
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from MSNBC
(Interview) July 8, 2010 - 12:00am

Dr. Ziad Asali appears on MSNBC to comment on President Obama's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

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Israeli Right-Wing MKs: US president is still evil
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Gil Hoffman - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

US President Barack Obama’s attempts to portray himself as pro-Israel in his press conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday failed to persuade right-wing MKs, who warned that Obama is “still evil.” The MKs questioned the president’s motives and suggested that he was putting on a show for American Jews ahead of the crucial November mid-term elections, in which the Democrats may lose control of Congress. “He doesn’t sound evil now because he needs Jewish votes and money,” said Deputy Negev and Galilee Development Minister Ayoub Kara.

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President Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu try to mend fences
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Carol E. Lee, Laura Rozen - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to exude a new sense of warmth in their rocky relationship Tuesday as both expressed confidence that the Israeli leader will soon hold direct peace talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “The bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable,” said Obama, seated in the Oval Office alongside Netanyahu following their meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes. “We’ve seen over the last year how our relationship has broadened,” Obama added. “In fact, our relationship is continuing to improve.”

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U.S. and Israel Shift Attention to Peace Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Mark Landler, Sheryl Gay Stolberg - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama said Tuesday that he expected direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to begin “well before” a moratorium on settlement construction expired at the end of September, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel pledged to take “concrete steps” in the coming weeks to get the talks moving.

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Mr. Netanyahu at the White House
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel satisfied their short-term political goals with an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday. It is less clear that they achieved much of substance.

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Obama Says Direct Israeli-Palestinian Talks May Be Imminent
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bloomberg
by Jonathan Ferziger, Roger Runningen - July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama said direct Israel-Palestinian talks may get started within less than three months, praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a leader prepared to take “risks for peace.” Obama and Netanyahu, speaking to reporters at the White House yesterday after an 80-minute meeting, both said they wanted to dispel concerns that the U.S. commitment to Israel has been weakened by disputes over construction in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem. The two leaders ate lunch together with advisers.

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Nice pictures, but what did Obama and Bibi discuss?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Ron Kampeas - (Opinion) July 7, 2010 - 12:00am

The optics were perfect, but the meaning was elusive. President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat together Tuesday, joshing and smiling, trying to project a clear message: The rift was over. Israel and the United States are on the same track again.

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