U.S.-Israel Relations | The American Task Force on Palestine

Municipality ‘hiding’ house demolitions in e. J'lem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Melanie Lidman - July 13, 2012 - 12:00am

The Jerusalem Municipality has manipulated the statistics of housing demolitions in east Jerusalem to make it look like fewer are taking place, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The policy of not including “self-demolitions” – where Arab families are threatened with staggering fines if they do not demolish their own houses – in the official count, has allowed Jerusalem to present a picture of a dramatic decrease in demolitions during Mayor Nir Barkat’s term.

Christian Zionism's Own Reality Check
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast
by Matthew Duss - (Opinion) July 13, 2012 - 12:00am

Growing up in the evangelical church, support for Israel was simply part of the culture. It was just accepted that the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of biblical prophecy, heralding the Last Days and the return of Jesus to the earth. In Sunday school we performed plays from the Old Testament. This history was part of our own history, and the miracle of the modern State of Israel was seen as proof that God continued to work in the world.

Does the U.S. matter any more in Egypt and Israel?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) July 13, 2012 - 12:00am

Poor Hillary Clinton. Later this week and next, she'll have the unenviable task of visiting Egypt and Israel at a time when America's capacity to influence the policies of both countries has fallen to new lows. And not even the secretary of state -- a veritable superstar of persuasion -- can charm America back into a position of influence.

Shrinking Palestinian Land Depicted in N.Y. Ad
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
July 12, 2012 - 12:00am

Anti-Israel billboards showing a series of four maps to bolster claims that Israel has systematically confiscated land from the Palestinians have appeared at some New York train stations. The ads that went on display this week at Metro North train stations in Westchester County show a succession of shrinking Palestinian territories in four maps and contain a headline stating that 4.7 million Palestinians are classified as refugees by the United Nations. The billboards were posted under the auspices of The Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine

Will Romney outsource foreign policy?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Douglas Bloomfield - (Opinion) July 11, 2012 - 12:00am

Earlier in this space I noted how Mitt Romney seems to emulate Groucho Marx’s famous line, “I have my principles, and if you don’t like them, I have others.” That was on display again last week when he was tied in knots contradicting himself and his top advisers on both immigration and Romneycare following two key Supreme Court decisions. Romney may also have a Nixonian trait. No, I’m not saying he’s a crook or paranoid, but he does appear obsessed with secretiveness.

How Not to Host a Summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) July 10, 2012 - 12:00am

Twelve years ago this week, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat gathered at Camp David to launch a historic bid to put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Young Jews More Interested in Israel: Poll
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Simi Lampert - July 9, 2012 - 12:00am

Young Jews are now more attached to Israel than the previous generation, almost reaching the level of interest of their elders, a new poll reveals. While Jews 45 and older were rated as having a 40-44 level of attachment to Israel, those between 35 and 45 only scored a 24. Those under 35 got a 39 out of 100, according to the poll carried out by the Workmen’s Circle.

In Close Vote, Presbyterian Church Rejects Divesting in Firms That Aid Israeli Occupation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Laurie Goodstein - July 5, 2012 - 12:00am

A deeply divided Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Thursday became the latest American church to shy away from divesting in companies that supply equipment to Israel to enforce its control in the occupied territories, after a passionate debate that stretched late into the evening and a vote that was nearly a tie.

Carter compares conflict to U.S. civil rights movement, not apartheid, says former adviser
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Mordechai Twersky - (Opinion) June 29, 2012 - 12:00am

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter views Israel's treatment of the Palestinians as similar to that of the "African Americans of the 1950s and '60s," a former Carter adviser told Haaretz during a recent trip to Israel. According to Stuart E. Eizenstat, who served as Carter's chief White House domestic policy adviser from 1977 to 1981, Carter "looks at the conflict through the lens of the Civil Rights movement, as a Southerner who witnessed discrimination against African Americans, who he equates with the Palestinians."

Caterpillar pulled from social indexes over company’s use in Palestinian territories
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — A U.S. investment firm has removed Caterpillar Inc. from three of its popular indexes that track socially responsible investments, citing concerns about the Israeli military’s use of company bulldozers in the Palestinian territories.

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