US-Israeli relationship takes new direction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Jeffrey Heller - June 3, 2009 - 12:00am

After George W. Bush’s terms of endearment for Israel — a country he once described as a “light unto nations” — a different terminology is being used to describe its cloudy relationship with his successor, Barack Obama. At odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Palestinian statehood and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the new US president will try to patch ties with the Muslim world in an address he will deliver in Egypt tomorrow.

»

With Speech in Egypt, Obama Calculates Risk of Alienating Israel
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In Fox News - June 3, 2009 - 12:00am

As President Obama prepares to depart for the Middle East to promote improved U.S. relations with Muslim nations, he has reaffirmed Iran's right to develop nuclear energy and met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The president is not headed to Israel on his five-day tour, one of the most important trips of his fledgling presidency. Instead, he will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and deliver a speech at Cairo University in Egypt on Thursday. He then travels to France and Germany for D-Day commemorations.

»

Obama: U.S. will be 'honest' with Israel on settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid - June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

The United States will be more blunt in raising objections to Israel's settlement policies in the Palestinian territories than previous administrations, President Barack Obama told a U.S. radio network in an interview on Monday. "Part of being a good friend is being honest," Obama told National Public Radio. "And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests.

»

Israeli Minister's Visit Aims To Calm Settlements Dispute
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In The Washington Post - June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak began a round of meetings with top U.S. officials yesterday in a bid to head off an increasingly sharp dispute between the United States and Israel over the expansion of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory.

»

Obama is right
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Danny Rothschild - (Opinion) June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

The American president’s viewpoint on the Israeli-Arab conflict is refreshing and interesting. As one who is not committed to any one of the parties to the conflict, Barack Obama utters axioms that we must understand, even if we don’t like them.

»

AFTP Advocacy Director Joins Panel on "After the Visits: What Next for Middle East Peace?"
Press Release - Contact Information: Ghaith al-Omari - June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

On Monday, June 1, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, AFTP Advocacy Director Ghaith Al-Omari took part in the panel "After the Visits: What Next for Middle East Peace?" along with M.J. Rosenberg, the Director of Policy Analysis at the Israel Policy Forum, and Geoffrey Aronson, Director of Research and Publications at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. The panel was co-sponsored by the Foundation for Middle East Peace, the Middle East Institute, the Israel Policy Forum, & the American Task Force on Palestine.


Obama Plays Down Divide With Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Helene Cooper, Alan Cowell - June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

On the eve of a visit to the Middle East and Europe, President Obama on Tuesday played down a dispute with Israel over his demand for a suspension of further Jewish settlement in the West Bank but reiterated his call for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians that Israel’s hawkish leaders have not accepted.

»

Obama unexpectedly joins Barak-Jones meeting
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon, Hilary Leila Krieger - June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

With the public spat between Jerusalem and Washington over construction in the settlements intensifying daily, US President Barack Obama dropped in unannounced on Defense Minister Ehud Barak while he was meeting National Security Adviser James Jones in the White House on Tuesday.

»

Groups silent in face of Obama calls for settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Eric Fingerhut - June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

Even as it publicly stakes out a hard-line position against Israeli settlement expansion, the Obama administration is avoiding serious criticism from most U.S. Jewish groups and pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers. Key pro-Israel Jewish Democrats have backed the president on the importance of an Israeli settlement freeze while also suggesting there is room for a compromise between the Netanyahu government and the White House.

»

Israelis growing increasingly anxious about Obama policies
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News
by Cliff Churgin - June 2, 2009 - 12:00am

Sirens blared across Israel on Tuesday as the nation carried out its biggest-ever "doomsday" drill meant to simulate a catastrophic attack. The faux fears, however, were overshadowed by deepening anxiety in Jerusalem that Israel is heading for an unavoidable political showdown with President Barack Obama over the center-right government's refusal to stop building Jewish homes in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank. Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's largest daily newspaper, carried a front-page story Tuesday bluntly titled: "The American Threat."

»


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