Washington Watch: Barack Obama, gird thy loins
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - July 22, 2009 - 12:00am

Just when it looked like a serious Washington-Jerusalem rift might be avoided - thanks in large part to the Saudis and their mishpucha - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened it wider with a burst of provocative demagoguery. A meeting last week between the new Israeli ambassador and a State Department official was inexplicably blown up into a crisis. Initial news leaks out of the Prime Minister's Office said Michael Oren had been "summoned" to Foggy Bottom and presented a "demand" that an east Jerusalem apartment project be halted.

»

Envoy to U.S.: Differences on settlements to be resolved soon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
July 22, 2009 - 12:00am

There is no crisis in relations between Israel and the United States, despite a lingering dispute - which will be settled "soon" - over settlement construction in the occupied territories, Israel's new ambassador to Washington said Wednesday. "There is no crisis in Israel-U.S. relations. Here we are talking about disagreements over certain subjects, very, very specific," Michael Oren told Israel Radio.

»

Outgoing envoy: Conflict with US could hurt peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Yael Levy - July 21, 2009 - 12:00am

Outgoing Israeli ambassador to the US, Sallai Meridor warned this week that direct confrontation with the United States over Israeli construction in the West Bank could prove detrimental to Israel's interests. In a conversation with Ynet, the man, who until Monday was in charge of Israel's ties with its closest ally, also criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policy on the matter.

»

Amar: US settlement policy contravenes Torah
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Matthew Wagner - July 21, 2009 - 12:00am

In his first public declaration on Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar called this week on American Jews to explain to the Obama administration the religious obligation of every Jew to live in every part of the Land of Israel.

»

Israel deploys cyber team to spread positive spin
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Jonathan Cook - July 21, 2009 - 12:00am

The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitters and Facebook may not be all that it seems. Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel. Internet-savvy Israeli youngsters, mainly recent graduates and demobilised soldiers with language skills, are being recruited to pose as ordinary surfers while they provide the government’s line on the Middle East conflict.

»

Mitchell heads to Mideast after new spat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Matthew Lee - July 21, 2009 - 12:00am

The special U.S. envoy for Middle East peace departs for the region this week amid new signs of tension between the Obama administration and the Israeli government over settlement construction. Former Sen. George Mitchell plans to visit Israel, the Palestinian territories and several neighboring countries, including Bahrain, an itinerary still being worked out Monday.

»

What Netanyahu wants from Obama's 'self-hating Jews'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) July 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Who is to blame for the latest dispute with the United States over the new neighborhood going up in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah area? Mayor Nir Barkat? Certainly not. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stood behind him? Ridiculous. Any child knows that everything is the fault of other Jews: Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, two American administration officials who are inciting President Barack Obama against their own people.

»

Ministers: Netanyahu, Obama have their wires crossed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roni Sofer - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am

"(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama have their wires crossed, and this is detrimental to US-Israel relations," Labor Party ministers told Ynet Sunday night. According to the ministers, the prime minister has no direct channel of communication with the American president, and contact between the two is conducted mainly through Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell.

»

'Limits on settlement freeze being set'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - July 20, 2009 - 12:00am

Jerusalem's decision to leak to the media US displeasure with a plan to build a small housing complex in east Jerusalem was designed to clarify to the Americans that construction in the capital should not be lumped together with any limitations Israel may agree to on building in the settlements, senior diplomatic officials told The Jerusalem Post Sunday. Moskowitz's critics: building in sensitive areas is a strategy to undermine the peace process

»

How to Achieve a Lasting Peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Ehud Olmert - (Opinion) July 17, 2009 - 12:00am

Israel's partnership with the United States is one of its greatest strategic assets. The United States provides Israel with crucial security and economic aid and invaluable political backing in the international arena. Amid the legitimate rapprochement President Obama has initiated with the Arab and Muslim world, it is important not to underestimate the multifaceted nature of U.S. relations with Israel, the only real Middle Eastern democracy whose founding principles are based on the Western values of liberty and freedom for all.

»


American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017