The Shadow over Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Margaret Atwood - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

The Moment The moment when, after many years of hard work and a long voyage, you stand in the centre of your room, house, half-acre, square mile, island, country, knowing at last how you got there, and say, I own this, is the same moment the trees unloose their soft arms from around you, the birds take back their language, the cliffs fissure and collapse, the air moves back from you like a wave and you can’t breathe. No, they whisper. You own nothing. You were a visitor, time after time Climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming. We never belonged to you.

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Why Israeli raid on Freedom Flotilla makes Abbas's job harder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

The diplomatic uproar over a fatal Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound "Freedom Flotilla" is likely to complicate the US-mediated peace talks. But not because Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is pulling out. Rather, the flotilla incident has boosted international sympathy for Hamas, the chief rival of Mr. Abbas's Fatah party and a long-time critic of peace negotiations with Israel.

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US response to Israel’s flotilla raid will shape the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Suat Kiniklioglu - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

I am the only Turkish politician who has visited Israel since Israel unleashed the Gaza war in 2008, and the Davos incident in 2009 between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the differences between our countries. I have many friends in Israel, and I did not hesitate to visit Israel when an invitation was extended to me by an Israeli think tank. Despite the many challenges, I maintained my optimism that Turkey and Israel would be able to mend their differences despite their disagreements over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

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Can Israel see itself through the eyes of others?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Once Israel is done with its internal debate about whether it applied the wrong tactics in boarding the Mavi Marmara and killing civilians, it might do some soul-searching. Here, a history lesson would be helpful. States that keep a large group of those among them separate, and deny them equal treatment, rarely end up on the right side of history.

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Abbas urges world to protect Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday praised activists who took part in an aid sail to the Gaza Strip, which left nine people dead following an Israel Defense Forces raid of the ships. Abbas lauded the passengers killed in the raid and said that the act of solidarity with Gaza was "very respectable". Speaking at the Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem, the Palestinian president said that just like the sail, which was aimed at breaking the blockade imposed on the Strip, the conference was a sail aimed at breaking the economic siege on Palestine.

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Mossad chief: Israel gradually becoming burden on U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - June 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Mossad Chief Meir Dagan said on Tuesday that Israel is progressively becoming a burden on the United States. "Israel is gradually turning from an asset to the United States to a burden," said Dagan, speaking before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Dagan said that the U.S. government has recently examined the possibility of coercing a settlement on Israel and the Palestinians, but retreated from the idea after realizing it would not lead to a peace agreement.

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Mossad chief: Israel gradually becoming burden on U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Jonathan Lis - June 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Mossad Chief Meir Dagan said on Tuesday that Israel is progressively becoming a burden on the United States. "Israel is gradually turning from an asset to the United States to a burden," said Dagan, speaking before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Dagan said that the U.S. government has recently examined the possibility of coercing a settlement on Israel and the Palestinians, but retreated from the idea after realizing it would not lead to a peace agreement.

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U.S. must deal with Benjamin Netanyahu
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) June 1, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel’s disastrous commando operation against the Gaza relief flotilla delays and complicates — but does not entirely derail — the kiss-and-make-up session that would have played out at the White House on Tuesday, had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not canceled his planned meeting with President Barack Obama

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'We're the only ones who believe them'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Politico
by Ben Smith - June 1, 2010 - 12:00am

A delicate diplomatic maneuver by President Barack Obama to smooth frayed relations with Israel without alienating America’s Arab allies may have been blown out of the water Monday morning by Israel’s botched attempt to enforce the Gaza blockade — and by the lack of condemnation from Washington that followed it.

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What’s Behind White House Strategy To Woo U.S. Jews
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Nathan Guttman - May 27, 2010 - 12:00am

Washington — As the Obama administration’s charm offensive toward the Jewish community enters its second month, a clearer picture is emerging of the White House’s strategy for recouping lost ground with American Jews on Israel. First and foremost, the administration is touting its strengthening of military cooperation and security ties with Israel, even as public clashes recede, for now, over expanding Israeli-Jewish settlements in predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

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