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

Israel's backers step up efforts to win African-American support
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from CNN
by Heather Higgins - (Blog) November 26, 2011 - 1:00am

The aroma of allspice wafted through the air as calypso melodies and gospel voices brought more than four dozen people to their feet, a typical community gathering in the heavily West Indian neighborhood of East Flatbush, Brooklyn. But no one could remember a meeting like this happening before. Inside a former Seventh-day Adventist church, there were the beginnings of what some hope is a budding relationship between American blacks and Jews, with a major assist from some Christian Zionists.

Bibi Is a Liar, So What's the Fuss?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Leonard Fein - (Opinion) November 20, 2011 - 1:00am

Few stories that start out as potential bombshells end up as utterly duddish (from “dud”) as the “hot mic” exchange between Presidents Sarkozy and Obama. Duddish, that is, here in Israel, where I am for a couple of weeks; not so back home, in the States, as we shall see. If I were a rich man, I’d immediately do a survey of Israeli public opinion, a survey with just two questions: (1) Do you believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu is a liar? (2) Do you hope that Prime Minister Netanyahu will stay in power for another term after the next elections?

American activist takes Israel to court for injuries sustained in pro-Palestinian protest
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
(Analysis) November 14, 2011 - 1:00am

An American badly injured by the Israeli military during a pro-Palestinian demonstration will have his first day in an Israeli court. Tristan Anderson, of Oakland, Calif., was hit in the head with a tear gas canister fired during a demonstration against Israel’s West Bank separation barrier in March 2009. He lost an eye and suffered brain damage that paralyzed part of his body. Anderson’s Israeli lawyer Ghada Hlehi says the hearing will be held on Nov. 24 in Jerusalem. She says he is suing the Israeli government for unspecified damages.

Obama makes his Jewish outreach work harder
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - (Blog) November 12, 2011 - 1:00am

It's not nice to publicly use overheard conversation, but during tense elections, there is no chance that a dialogue between the French and the U.S. presidents will be easily dismissed. On Friday, Republican presidential hopeful, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, addressed the Obama-Sarkozy "hot mic" remarks at the opening of his New Hampshire campaign office.

Obama must stop Netanyahu, Barak from attacking Iran
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Akiva Eldar - (Opinion) November 7, 2011 - 1:00am

Some six months before a devil incarnate shot Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the back in order to stop the peace process, two American politicians stabbed him in the neck. In May 1995, at the height of the fragile negotiations on the interim peace agreement, the two welcomed Rabin to Washington with a fatal legislative initiative. The Republican candidate for the presidency, Bob Dole, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, proposed recognizing united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and requiring the administration to move the U.S. Embassy there.

Israel: A true ally in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
(Opinion) October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

American leaders have traditionally explained the foundations of the U.S.-Israel relationship by citing shared democratic values and the moral responsibility America bears to protect the small nation-state of the Jewish people. Although accurate and essential, this characterization is incomplete because it fails to capture a third, crucial aspect: the many ways in which Israel advances U.S. national interests.

Israel: A true ally in the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Robert Blackwill, Walter B. Slocombe - (Opinion) October 31, 2011 - 12:00am

American leaders have traditionally explained the foundations of the U.S.-Israel relationship by citing shared democratic values and the moral responsibility America bears to protect the small nation-state of the Jewish people. Although accurate and essential, this characterization is incomplete because it fails to capture a third, crucial aspect: the many ways in which Israel advances U.S. national interests.

Israel denies US request for settlement freeze
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
October 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel denied a request by the United States on Thursday to temporarily freeze settlement construction in order to promote peace talks with the Palestinians. In a meeting with Interior Minister Eli Yishai, US Ambassador Dan Shapiro requested the freeze - a repeated Palestinian precondition for negotiations - in order to bolster political goodwill as the US tries to counter Palestinian efforts to seek full UN membership. Shapiro promised that the United States would veto such efforts regardless of Israel's decision on settlements.

New York mayor visits Jerusalem, dedicates first aid station, meets Israeli premier
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Associated Press - (Analysis) October 23, 2011 - 12:00am

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in Jerusalem to dedicate a first aid station and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bloomberg dedicated the station, built with the help of donations from him and other Americans and named for his father, in a ceremony Sunday. Meeting with Netanyahu, Bloomberg gave the Israeli leader a U.S. flag and asked him to pass it on to the family of Gilad Schalit, the Israeli soldier freed last week in a prisoner swap with Hamas.

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