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

Peres hands Obama letter from Pollard
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
April 26, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli President Shimon Peres handed President Obama a letter from Jonathan Pollard pleading for his release. "I write to implore you, Mr. President, in the wake of numerous calls by senior American officials urging you to commute my sentence to time served, and in light of the official request by Prime Minister Netanyahu, to please send me home to Israel now, in time to celebrate my first Passover in freedom in 26 years," said the April 1 letter, Pollard's first direct communication with an American president.

The Ultimate Ally
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) April 26, 2011 - 12:00am

What is the definition of an American ally? On an ideological level, an ally is a country that shares America's values, reflects its founding spirit, and resonates with its people's beliefs. Tactically, an ally stands with the United States through multiple conflicts and promotes its global vision. From its location at one strategic crossroads, an ally enhances American intelligence and defense capabilities, and provides ports and training for U.S. forces. Its army is formidable and unequivocally loyal to its democratic government.

Whiff of Desperation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Stephen Walt - (Opinion) April 26, 2011 - 12:00am

It is an ambassador's job to burnish his government's image; fidelity to the usual canons of logic and evidence are neither required nor expected. It is therefore unsurprising that Michael Oren's portrait of Israel as America's "ultimate ally" is a one-sided distortion of reality.

Bibi and Obama: hand over peace process to the UN
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Tony Karon - April 25, 2011 - 12:00am

President Barack Obama and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, we are told, are in a "bizarre diplomatic race" to be the first to outline a new initiative for Middle East peace. That's according to the New York Times, which last week reported that Mr Netanyahu is planning to preempt Mr Obama when he addresses US Congress next month, at the invitation of the president's Republican adversaries.

President Obama and the Peace Process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - (Editorial) April 24, 2011 - 12:00am

President Obama began his presidency vowing to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian peace. He backed off in the face of both sides’ obstinacy and after a series of diplomatic missteps. Since then, the stalemate, and the mistrust, have only deepened, and it is clear that nothing good will happen until the United States fully engages.

We have the right to know where Israel is going
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Gideon Levy - (Opinion) April 21, 2011 - 12:00am

A word of warning: This article is being written without the slightest cynicism; this call on Benjamin Netanyahu is being written with due sincerity and seriousness. And I'm begging him to tell us and the world what he wants and where he is heading.

When in Doubt, Give a Middle East Speech
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) April 21, 2011 - 12:00am

The looming U.S.-Israeli tensions over who says what first about Israeli-Palestinian peace obscures the broader question on which any successful American initiative depends: Are Israelis and Palestinians ready for a conflict-ending agreement? And if not, is there anything Washington can do about it?

US: Shelve Goldstone Report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - April 21, 2011 - 12:00am

America against Goldstone: US Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, urged the world body Thursday to end its preoccupation with a report accusing Israel of committing war crimes during the Gaza War. "The United States urges the United Nations to end, once and for all, its actions in relation to the Goldstone Report," she said.

JNF Challenged on Discrimination
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Forward
by Josh Nathan-Kazis - April 20, 2011 - 12:00am

A challenge to the tax-exempt status of Jewish National Fund’s American arm introduces a new wrinkle into an ongoing debate over how the Internal Revenue Service should treat charities whose foreign operations run counter to public policy of the United States. A coalition of anti-Zionist groups has claimed in its challenge that JNF ethnically discriminates by refusing to sell or lease its land in Israel to non-Jews.

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