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

J Street head in Israel to lobby Knesset over group's commitment to Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Natasha Mozgovaya - March 20, 2011 - 12:00am

The leftist pro-Israel lobby J Street launched a petition and letter writing campaign on Sunday calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to treat J Street and other pro-peace movements as allies. The Knesset committee is scheduled to debate this Wednesday whether J Street is sufficiently "committed" to Israel to be called a pro-Israel organization.

US criticizes Israeli settlement construction plan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - March 14, 2011 - 12:00am

The U.S. Embassy said Monday it was "deeply concerned" by Israel's plans to build hundreds of new homes in the West Bank following a deadly attack on a settler family, calling Israeli settlements "illegitimate" and an obstacle to peacemaking. In a rare interview to the Israeli media, the Palestinian president reached out to the Israeli public, decrying the weekend attack in the settlement of Itamar as "despicable, immoral and inhuman." But he rejected the Israeli suggestion that his government was indirectly to blame.

Israel may ask U.S. for $20 billion more in security aid, Barak says
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel may request an addition $20 billion in military aid from the United States in light of the unrest sweeping the Arab world, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Monday. Barak deemed the changes in the region a "movement in the right direction", and said that in the long run, Israel should not fear the "movement of Arab societies toward modernity." But in the more immediate future, he told the WSJ, Israel would have to contend with the fact that Iran and Syria "might be the last to feel the heat" and join the trend of unrest.

Might Obama gamble on a new Netanyahu peace plan?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Bradley Burston - (Blog) March 8, 2011 - 1:00am

You needn't be an optometrist to see that Israel has a vision problem. We have become a nation whose only vision is peripheral.

For Better or for Worse
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy
by Aaron David Miller - (Editorial) March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

Israelis, like most Jews, worry for a living. The dark side of Jewish history and the security challenges of their national life compel them to. And these days there's plenty to worry about. Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and turbulent changes in the Arab world unleashed by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia are shifting the power balance against Israel. Indeed, its position in the neighborhood -- in part as a consequence of its own policies -- is growing increasingly precarious.

At Berkeley campus, Jewish students from left to right on Israel talk about their motivations
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
by Sue Fishkoff - March 7, 2011 - 1:00am

It’s March, which means the days get longer and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict heats up on campuses across North America with the annual staging of Israel Apartheid Week. Last year, pro-Israel activists countered Apartheid Week events ranging from anti-Israel speeches to the staging of mock Israeli army checkpoints with pro-Israel events on 28 campuses highlighting Israel’s diversity and progressive character. This year, more campuses are expected to join in.

Go to Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Roger Cohen - (Editorial) March 3, 2011 - 1:00am

Go to Jerusalem, Mr. President. Israel is anxious. It preferred the old Middle Eastern order. It could count on the despots, like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, to suppress the jihadists, reject Iran, and play the Israeli-Palestinian game along lines that created a permanent temporariness ever more favorable to Israeli power. Israelis are doubly worried. They wonder, Mr. President, if you like them in a heart-to-heart way. You’ve been to Cairo, you’ve been to Istanbul, so what’s wrong with Jerusalem? Why won’t you come and kvetch with us, President Obama, and feel our pain?

Obama: Israelis must show seriousness on peace
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yitzhak Benhorin - March 3, 2011 - 1:00am

US President Obama this week called on Jewish leaders to speak to their colleagues in Israel and to “search your souls” over Israel's seriousness about making peace, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported Wednesday. According to participants, Obama told the Jewish leaders that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is eager to secure his legacy by establishing a Palestinian state and would accept a decent offer if one were on the table. “The Palestinians don't feel confident that the Netanyahu government is serious about territorial concessions,” the president reportedly said.

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