With Romney visit, Israelis worry about becoming a partisan issue
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - July 29, 2012 - 12:00am

Mitt Romney’s visit to Jerusalem on Sunday prompted an escalation in the competition among candidates to demonstrate who’s a stronger supporter of the Jewish state.  

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Back lot Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - (Analysis) July 29, 2012 - 12:00am

With a setting Jerusalem sun casting shadows on the Tower of David and the walls of the Old City as his background, US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney got what he wanted Sunday before he even delivered a word of his speech – valuable Holy City campaign footage.

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Romney on Israel: What is doing the 'opposite' of Obama?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Jan Schakowsky - (Opinion) July 29, 2012 - 12:00am

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney boldly declares that, if elected to the most powerful office in the world, he will do the opposite of US President Barack Obama on Israel. Speaking by satellite last month to the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference of Christian conservatives, meeting in Washington DC, Gov. Romney said he would represent “the opposite” of what President Obama is doing on US relations with Israel and Iran.

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U.S. presented Netanyahu with contingency plan for Iran strike
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Barak Ravid - July 29, 2012 - 12:00am

The U.S. national security adviser has shared with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the United States' contingency plans for a possible attack on Iran. According to a senior American official, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon briefed Netanyahu on the plans during Donilon's visit to Israel two weeks ago. According to the official, who requested anonymity, Netanyahu hosted Donilon at a three-hour dinner. For part of the time, Israel's national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror, was on hand.

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The 'opposite' of Obama: A primer for Democrats
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Abraham Katsman - (Opinion) July 29, 2012 - 12:00am

In June, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told an audience of Christian conservatives that he would do the “opposite” of what US President Barack Obama has done in terms of Israel. “I think, by and large, you can just look at the things the president has done and do the opposite.” Romney explained that his “overarching” message was that “I would not want to show a dime’s worth of distance between ourselves and our allies like Israel. If we have disagreements, we can talk about them behind closed doors.

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Panetta Sidesteps Issue of Israel’s Plans on Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Elisabeth Bumiller - July 29, 2012 - 12:00am

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Sunday that he did not think Israel had yet made a decision to strike Iran, but that his goal in meeting with the Israeli leadership this week was to strengthen ties with the United States “so that we can be fully prepared to deal with any contingency that may happen.”

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Key Pro-Israel Obama Ally Splits
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Eli Lake - July 28, 2012 - 12:00am

As Republican donors are financing multimillion-dollar campaigns to bring Jewish voters over to Mitt Romney, one of President Obama’s most important liaisons to the pro-Israel community has opted to sit out the 2012 election cycle.

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Mitt, Are You Sure This Trip Was a Good Idea?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Gershom Gorenberg - (Opinion) July 27, 2012 - 12:00am

Even before he gets to Israel this weekend, Mitt Romney has discovered the perils of trying to look like a statesman overseas while running for office at home.

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What Romney said: Highlights from Haaretz's interview with Obama's adversary
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Interview) July 27, 2012 - 12:00am

On the eve of his visit to Israel, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican candidate for U.S. President spoke to Haaretz about Iran, Syria and Benjamin Netanyahu, but declined to comment on his opponent, U.S. President Barack Obama, adhering to the American political tradition of refraining from criticism of the president while "on foreign soil." In the same vein, he begged off commenting on Israel's settlement policy, saying it would demonstrate his "distance" from the president's policy.

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Obama to sign Israel security bill on eve of Romney visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
July 27, 2012 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama will sign a bill to strengthen US-Israeli military cooperation on Friday on the eve of a visit to Israel by his Republican presidential challenger, Mitt Romney. Obama will seek to stress his commitment to Israel's security for American Jewish voters at a White House ceremony that appeared timed to upstage Romney, who has accused the president of undermining US-Israeli ties. Congress passed the legislation, the US-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act, with broad support from Obama's Democrats and Republicans last week.

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